Saturday, October 31, 2009

Froggy nurses

Claire is really interested in sewing. I picked up a couple craft kits at the 99c store to make felt hand puppets. She had a great time putting the plastic needle through all the pre-punched holes around the edge of each puppet. I was surprised at how long this captivated her attention. I would show her the next hole after each stitch otherwise she would want to plunge it in randomly. When we were done with the second puppet she wanted to do another one.

I've been using some activities from the book Teaching Montessori in the
Home: The Pre-school Years
and have picked up some learning games and toys from the thrift store and Lakeshore. It is always interesting to see which activities she gravitates towards. This week she was really interested in playing Cootie. This is a game where you roll a die and get to pick various body parts to create a "Cootie" bug. It is still a bit difficult for her to put the pieces in and take them out again when we clean up she is starting to pay more attention to the dots on the die and figure our which part to pick after she rolls.

Emily's favorite activity is having someone hold her hands so she can walk around. This is a real back breaker since she is so short. She also loves her stuffed animals and is very affectionate with them giving them hugs and kisses. Yesterday after her nap she nursed and when she was done she put her stuffed animal (a frog) up my shirt so he could have a turn.

Saturday, October 24, 2009

chit chat

New picts on flickr tagged october09.
Mark and Claire are at the zoo today.
There were several things I thought about adding to the blog during the week but now I can't think of them...
Emily's new word is "happy". She has a dozen words in her vocabulary now and three signs. It is so fun to communicate with her and see her express herself. She recently started handing things to others. She is very interested in music and usually will bounce or dance a bit when it goes on or when someone sings. She has had a little cold the past couple days but it hasn't slowed her down at all. She will crawl all over the house now from one room to the next.

Went to the NICU follow-up on Wed with both girls. We had to wait for an hour before it was our turn. UGH!!!!!! Emily is healthy and on track with all her skills. She is gaining weight... now 14 lbs 14 oz. Her height is now ahead of her weight on the curve. Claire had a melt down after spending 2 hours there and then being told she couldn't touch the therapists toys. Poor girl.

Claire has been asking the same several questions over and over and over.
"Is my hair long enough for braids?" "is Daddy's hair long enough for braids"
"Am I big enough to go up kids stairs?" (the ones at California Science CEnter are for 4 and up and lead to a loft.)
"Are you a boy or a girl?"
"Where are Jesus' clothes?"
"Do you have kids?"
I've taken to asking her the question or answering her in Spanish.

Saturday, October 17, 2009

Pumpkin fest

First a recipe. I've been doing this a lot for lunch lately
healthier "nachos"
microwave refried beans with grated cheese on top add diced tomatoes and eat with whole grain crackers. I dip in Ryvita Dark Rye crackers. Claire likes it with just beans and crackers.

Today we went to the pumpkin festival at CalPoly Pomona.
It was great! Claire got to ride a pony for the first time ever. She and I went on a big slide and we all went to the petting zoo (Too bad Emily was asleep for this.) Claire selected a pumpkin and spaghetti squash and butternut squash to bring home. Yum. (sorry, no photos-- we forgot the camera.)

Notes on what to take when you spend the day out on a hot day.
1. water for everyone incl. sippy cups for both girls
2. hats for everyone and sunscreen
3. back-up food for Claire
4. ergo pack and stroller
5. diapers and wipes
6. cash
7. one or two small toys
8. hand cleaner

By "take" I mean have these items packed and on your person after you park the car at the event. Unbeknownst to us, the parking for the pumpkin patch was a 1 mile shuttle-ride away from the event itself. Also, the weather turned out to be a bit different than it seemed. We weren't the only ones sweating it on Saturday.

Wednesday, October 07, 2009

pre-school violence


Yesterday Claire witnessed two girls hitting and kicking each other and today she got whacked in the head by a younger boy at the park. She cried and cried. She was in shock because she only touched his shoe and he hit her in the head 3 times. I hope she doesn't start lashing out at others after this. It has been a while since she has has anyone intentionally hurt her and last time she did respond by copying the behavior.

Tuesday, October 06, 2009

Hi



Emily has figured out how to do a little "cruising" (walking along a piece of furniture.)
Yesterday she learned to say "Hi". We went to playgroup yesterday and she said Hi to several moms. She really loves being around lots of people. She also loves playing in the sand. She also enjoys transferring items from one location to another.

Claire played with the other kids her age at playgroup for the first time yesterday. Hurray!
I tried to upload photos to flickr recently with no luck. I'll try again soon.