Saturday, October 31, 2009
10/31/09...hand motions to Wiggle*s song
L does the hand motions and says "tapa" to this aborigine song on the Wiggle*s video. It's really cute!
Friday, October 30, 2009
10/30/09...crib tent to the rescue
Today is her first night in a crib tent (we borrowed one...it's to keep her inside her crib). She thinks it's special.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
10/28/09 - Playing in the snow
Today we got a lot of snow in our area of Colorado (about 16 inches so far; its still snowing), and L wanted to go out and play in it. I guess E had already taken her outside earlier in the day and when I got home she wanted to go outside again. E was a great wife and actually shoveled a little more than half the driveway earlier so when L, E, and I went outside I shelved the other side. Our neighbor was great and bought L a little snow shovel so she could help... and she loved it. She would take her little shovel and hold it in front of herself and push the snow into a pile. Now, she didn't move that much snow but it was still really cute and she was excited about helping. She also had a shovel and bucket, like the ones you would take to the beach, but instead of shoveling sand she would shovel the snow into the bucket and then dump the bucket out and do it again. She also take her shovel and dig out a little "chair" in the bank of snow on our lawn and sit in it. She had a great time and it was awfully cute to see her run around in her little snow outfit with her snow shovel saying "Daddy's turn" after she pushed some snow into a pile... I love my daughter :)
10/29/09...puzzles & sayings
- I realized today that L can do the 1-9 puzzle and the shapes puzzle by herself.
- L said, "school bus. get older. excited school bus get older."
- When L sees a baby picture of herself, she says, "L-dee was born." Later she said, "born a baby."
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Monday, October 26, 2009
Your 2-Year-Old: from babycenter.com
Your 2-Year-Old: Go, Kid, Go!
Now that walking's old hat, your 2-year-old has probably moved on to running, jumping, and hopping. When she gets all wound up, let her go — otherwise you'll have a restless, cranky child on your hands. Playing provides a chance to work off some of that energy while building coordination. Repeating a game over and over is how her body practices, which is probably why she comes equipped with so much raw energy in the first place!
Sometimes it can seem like your child has the concentration and persistence of a scientist. In fact, she's developmentally driven to do certain things over and over again. Repetitive actions perfect her motor skills. That's part of the reason she can't help climbing something that you've asked her repeatedly not to. She's almost compelled to try, try again.
Help your child practice her large-motor skills by bringing home ride-on toys and push and pull toys. For fine motor skills practice, look for puzzles with knobbed handles, lock boxes and latch boards, and dress-up dolls that need buttoning and lacing. Or get some yarn and string together different pasta shapes or large buttons and beads.
Another developmental benefit of repetitive play is to build the brain. Experimenting is one way your preschooler figures out how the world works. And that's just what she's up to when she pulls off her shoes over and over, stacks, unstacks, and restacks blocks, or seems endlessly fascinated with water dripping from a garden hose. ("Hmmm," she's thinking. "What does it look like on the grass? On the pavement? If I hold the hose high? If I hold it low?")
Your 2-Year-Old: Read It Again!
One of the best parts of a day with a preschooler is time spent snuggled up reading. And there are endless picture books perfect for this age. With so many choices, it can feel frustrating (and, yes, boring) when your child wants to read the same darn book over and over. But indulge him as long as you can bear it. Re-reading helps your child absorb new lessons, and it fuels confidence, too.
Five Little Monkeys Sitting in a Tree again?! Oh yes. Reading the same book over and over provides a measure of comfort to preschoolers, who see the familiar characters and plot as an oasis in a world full of unknowns. But there are cognitive and language benefits to re-reading, too. Re-reading helps your 2-year-old connect the words he hears with the pictures he sees. This is an important kind of pre-reading that will be a useful skill in a few years when he learns to read. Hearing the same sentences again and again helps him decode grammar. Your child also gets a rush of confidence when you turn the page and he sees the expected next part of the story: "Yes! I knew that was going to happen!"
Let your child choose which book to read. If it's the same old favorite, mask your boredom and read it once again. (Hey, at least most preschooler books aren't terribly long.) He may well want to hear the same story several times in a sitting. Keep a wide variety of books on hand by making frequent library visits; eventually he'll be ready to switch to a new favorite or expand his repertoire.
Your 2-Year-Old: The Buddy Benefit
How many friends does your 2-year-old need? One or two is plenty, but very useful. Being exposed to other children helps your kid learn basic social skills. You don't have to go out of your way to arrange elaborate playdates or even have your child play with others on a regular basis. Just keep in mind that your 2-year-old is curious and ready to learn about other kids, so look for short, happy opportunities to let her mix with her peers.
Whether your child is a social butterfly or a wallflower, she'll begin to show an increasing interest in other children. While their play may often look like a lot of ignoring one another or bickering to you, these first friendships are very real to your child. They also help preschoolers practice social skills and add variety to their play. If your child attends daycare, she may already be gravitating to certain favorite playmates. If she's at home all day, the playground and playdates are great opportunities for interacting with other kids.
To help foster early friendships:
Your 2-Year-Old: Normal? Or Gifted?
As you watch your child this year, you might notice clear strengths. Maybe he's a whiz on a tricycle and can pitch a ball like a 5-year-old. Or maybe he seems to take in and use every new word he hears. At this age, it's hard to say whether this is a gift or whether it simply means your child is working hard to master a skill. Either way, all preschoolers need the same enrichment: exposure to books, talk, new experiences, and lots of free play.
Preschoolers seem to learn so much, so fast. Can you know at this age if your child is gifted? Learning specialists say that sometimes it's clear from infancy that a child learns more quickly than others his age. But for many children, signs of giftedness — usually defined as achievement in one area that's much deeper and faster than that of a child's peers — aren't evident until the elementary school years.
There are many different kinds of giftedness. More common than being brilliant at everything is a child whose talents lie in certain areas. Some kids may have extra-strong spatial or musical aptitudes, for example, while others excel in physical activities or are further along verbally than other kids their age.
Try not to get hung up on the "gifted" label. What an advanced preschooler needs is exactly the same as her peers: lots of stimulation in the form of conversation, books, fresh air, diverse and challenging play experiences, and exposure to new people and places — along with plenty of free play and downtime.
At this age, a gifted child can thrive at home or in a daycare that meets those needs, but an environment with an academic, learn-and-drill emphasis, even for the brightest preschooler, is universally frowned on by child development specialists because it emphasizes skills that will be easily learned later at the expense of the creativity, repetitive play, and security that studies show the brain needs most during the preschool years in order to function optimally later.
Now that walking's old hat, your 2-year-old has probably moved on to running, jumping, and hopping. When she gets all wound up, let her go — otherwise you'll have a restless, cranky child on your hands. Playing provides a chance to work off some of that energy while building coordination. Repeating a game over and over is how her body practices, which is probably why she comes equipped with so much raw energy in the first place!
Sometimes it can seem like your child has the concentration and persistence of a scientist. In fact, she's developmentally driven to do certain things over and over again. Repetitive actions perfect her motor skills. That's part of the reason she can't help climbing something that you've asked her repeatedly not to. She's almost compelled to try, try again.
Help your child practice her large-motor skills by bringing home ride-on toys and push and pull toys. For fine motor skills practice, look for puzzles with knobbed handles, lock boxes and latch boards, and dress-up dolls that need buttoning and lacing. Or get some yarn and string together different pasta shapes or large buttons and beads.
Another developmental benefit of repetitive play is to build the brain. Experimenting is one way your preschooler figures out how the world works. And that's just what she's up to when she pulls off her shoes over and over, stacks, unstacks, and restacks blocks, or seems endlessly fascinated with water dripping from a garden hose. ("Hmmm," she's thinking. "What does it look like on the grass? On the pavement? If I hold the hose high? If I hold it low?")
Your 2-Year-Old: Read It Again!
One of the best parts of a day with a preschooler is time spent snuggled up reading. And there are endless picture books perfect for this age. With so many choices, it can feel frustrating (and, yes, boring) when your child wants to read the same darn book over and over. But indulge him as long as you can bear it. Re-reading helps your child absorb new lessons, and it fuels confidence, too.
Five Little Monkeys Sitting in a Tree again?! Oh yes. Reading the same book over and over provides a measure of comfort to preschoolers, who see the familiar characters and plot as an oasis in a world full of unknowns. But there are cognitive and language benefits to re-reading, too. Re-reading helps your 2-year-old connect the words he hears with the pictures he sees. This is an important kind of pre-reading that will be a useful skill in a few years when he learns to read. Hearing the same sentences again and again helps him decode grammar. Your child also gets a rush of confidence when you turn the page and he sees the expected next part of the story: "Yes! I knew that was going to happen!"
Let your child choose which book to read. If it's the same old favorite, mask your boredom and read it once again. (Hey, at least most preschooler books aren't terribly long.) He may well want to hear the same story several times in a sitting. Keep a wide variety of books on hand by making frequent library visits; eventually he'll be ready to switch to a new favorite or expand his repertoire.
Your 2-Year-Old: The Buddy Benefit
How many friends does your 2-year-old need? One or two is plenty, but very useful. Being exposed to other children helps your kid learn basic social skills. You don't have to go out of your way to arrange elaborate playdates or even have your child play with others on a regular basis. Just keep in mind that your 2-year-old is curious and ready to learn about other kids, so look for short, happy opportunities to let her mix with her peers.
Whether your child is a social butterfly or a wallflower, she'll begin to show an increasing interest in other children. While their play may often look like a lot of ignoring one another or bickering to you, these first friendships are very real to your child. They also help preschoolers practice social skills and add variety to their play. If your child attends daycare, she may already be gravitating to certain favorite playmates. If she's at home all day, the playground and playdates are great opportunities for interacting with other kids.
To help foster early friendships:
- Keep playdates small. Having too many children in one place can be overwhelming and invite fights. A good rule of thumb: Children do well in groups the size of their age. So, 2-year-olds do best in pairs.
- Keep playtime short. Especially with new friends, don't count on more than a half hour to an hour of peaceful play at this age.
- Mix up the ages. Your 2-year-old can learn a lot from slightly older preschoolers and younger toddlers, too.
- Avoid toys when you can. Running around outside or playing with simple objects — have a big box on hand? — encourages interactions without the possessiveness that triggers arguments. Use pillows and blankets to create an obstacle course, a fort, or a "secret cave."
- Use the word "friend." Talk about your friends and your child's: "Your friend Max is coming over after your nap today."
Your 2-Year-Old: Normal? Or Gifted?
As you watch your child this year, you might notice clear strengths. Maybe he's a whiz on a tricycle and can pitch a ball like a 5-year-old. Or maybe he seems to take in and use every new word he hears. At this age, it's hard to say whether this is a gift or whether it simply means your child is working hard to master a skill. Either way, all preschoolers need the same enrichment: exposure to books, talk, new experiences, and lots of free play.
Preschoolers seem to learn so much, so fast. Can you know at this age if your child is gifted? Learning specialists say that sometimes it's clear from infancy that a child learns more quickly than others his age. But for many children, signs of giftedness — usually defined as achievement in one area that's much deeper and faster than that of a child's peers — aren't evident until the elementary school years.
There are many different kinds of giftedness. More common than being brilliant at everything is a child whose talents lie in certain areas. Some kids may have extra-strong spatial or musical aptitudes, for example, while others excel in physical activities or are further along verbally than other kids their age.
Try not to get hung up on the "gifted" label. What an advanced preschooler needs is exactly the same as her peers: lots of stimulation in the form of conversation, books, fresh air, diverse and challenging play experiences, and exposure to new people and places — along with plenty of free play and downtime.
At this age, a gifted child can thrive at home or in a daycare that meets those needs, but an environment with an academic, learn-and-drill emphasis, even for the brightest preschooler, is universally frowned on by child development specialists because it emphasizes skills that will be easily learned later at the expense of the creativity, repetitive play, and security that studies show the brain needs most during the preschool years in order to function optimally later.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
10/25/09...zoo sayings
L said, "See zoo after nap." D said, "No, we already went to the zoo." L said, "See zoo all day." Guess she really liked the zoo!
Friday, October 23, 2009
Thursday, October 22, 2009
10/22/09...oven heat
L said that she'd sit down away from where I was going to open the oven door. Then she covered her ears with her hands and, when I asked her why, she replied, "Steam come out of there." Too funny.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
10/21/09 - L escapes
I don't know if we mentioned before but our lovely daughter can climb in and out of her crib. It's actually kind of funny to watch her get in because she kind of does a head dive to get in but her getting out is just good climbing skill. To execute either climb, she uses her legs to swing over the railing so, with her sleep sack on, it was never an issue of her getting out. Well, all that has changed now. Tonight, I put her to bed as usual and went downstairs. E asked me to make cookies so I started that and then went upstairs to go to the bathroom. As I passed L's room I could hear that she was still up, but that wasn't anything unusual. I went to the bathroom and when I came out I heard some noises down stairs but couldn't make out what E was doing. As I passed L's room, her door was shut and she was quiet so I assumed she was asleep... that is until I was a couple of steps down the stairs and realized that the noise I was hearing was balls bouncing down the basement steps. As I finished going down the stairs and came around the corner, there was L, holding her new doggy and trick-or-treat pail, throwing balls down the basement stairs. She turned around and saw me and said "came down, get toys"... because as we all know, you can't sleep unless you have toys. So yes, our daughter can now get out of her crib whenever she wants... OH JOY!!
Sunday, October 18, 2009
10/18/09...climbed out of crib
L climbed out of her crib this morning and came into our room and said, "Hi daddy. Climb out crib. See daddy." D forgot to put her sleep s@c on backwards last night so she was able to take it off this morning and climb out.
Saturday, October 17, 2009
10/17/09...song & sayings
I sang "Do you know what time it is?" and L replied, "clean-up!" She'll also tell you it's getting dark and it's past her bedtime. :)
Friday, October 16, 2009
10/16/09...L sayings
- L says "B-I-N-G-O"
- L has been singing "twinkle twinkle little star" for about a month.
- L says "Oh no!" to things she deems a big tragedy
- L peed in grammie's toilet using a step stool the entire 11 day trip
Thursday, October 15, 2009
10/15/09...climb out of crib
Both this morning and this afternoon, L climbed out of her crib while I was standing there.
Thursday, October 08, 2009
10/8/09...climbed out of pack-n-play
I didn't put a sleep s@c on L because she had a fever and the next morning she climbed out of her pack-n-pl@y and ran into Grammie's room.
Thursday, October 01, 2009
10/1/09...peed on floor
I don't know what is going on with L, but today she peed through her underwear and pants onto the floor upstairs. Just stood there and peed.
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