I have been spending the last two weeks touring the playgrounds of Salt Lake, Portland and Seattle. I have to say that Washington might be the best - but i am willing to take up a world tour if i can find a sponsor.
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
23 Months - Ode to my second year
I'm glad I'm writing this post this week and not last week. It was a tough week with insights of what the terrible two's look like. Ellie fought everything I asked of her. There was a lot of crying and whining. She showed little affection in way of kisses or hugs even when I asked for them. I panicked. Was this the way it was going to be for the next year. But I breathed a sign of relief yesterday. Ellie was her peppy, fun, happy self yesterday. Gives me hope, or is it perspective, on this upcoming third year.
To be completely honest, I wasn't ready for Ellie to leave toddlerhood so soon and progress towards preschooler as fast as she has. She used to toddle. Now she runs, practices jumping and can walk down a couple stairs without aid.
We used to communicate in one and two words. Now they can be surprisingly long sentences and grammatically interesting. (Although they are still heavily accented words that only Mom understands some times) She listens intently to new words and how they are used in context. And is starting to share her perspective on what she sees or experiences.
She asks "why" about things she doesn't understand. Arrggghhh...wasn't ready for the why's yet. So I feel like I stumble on the answers a lot.
We are running out of travel options for sleep. Ellie now reaches the entire the length of the pack n play from head to toe. We're going to have to work on mat sleeping in the near future.
Fortunately she's finally starting to recognize a dirty diaper. So I know it means I need to get my act together and come up with the parental discipline to start making potty time part of the day's routine/plan.
She loves playing with her cousins. She holds hands. Wants to join in their activities. When encouraged, she'll happily take turns with them. She's showing more empathy and awareness of other's needs as well. Just in the last couple of days she's starting to use "thank you" on her own. Like so many of these "Ah-ha" moments, it seems like we've prompted the use of these two magic words a million times before with no apparent connection from her. But low and behold, she had been listening and is now putting them to good use. I guess I find it so fascinating because it's like something or someone turned a switch on...something that wasn't there yesterday is all of a sudden here today.
We can't keep her out of the water at the beach. She loves walking up right up to her chin. (I do not love this.) If she could be outside all the time, she would be. I'm grateful that the "school/daycare" she goes to 2 days a week believes in lots of outdoor time. And when Braden is home, he spends a lot of time playing with our "lion cub" as I call her. (Watching the way she likes to play reminds me of how lion cubs roll and chase each other) With the little rain we've gotten this year, my allergies have been horrid. So I struggle of finding a balance when it's just her and I.
She sings and sings and sings. She sings songs. Hums melodies. Makes up her own songs. She changes her voice and sings in monster sounding tones. I guess the music classes we've been taking are something she enjoys :)
Next week we leave for a two week tour of the West Coast. First stop is Utah to visit Uncle Cortny and Aunt Amber. Then onto Portland for a visit with close family friends. Then we wind up in Seattle for the last few days catching us with various friends living all the way up there. I'll let you know how things go in the next post....the big 24 Months/2 years!
Here's a video of Ellie and Maddy playing Ring Around the Rosie:
To be completely honest, I wasn't ready for Ellie to leave toddlerhood so soon and progress towards preschooler as fast as she has. She used to toddle. Now she runs, practices jumping and can walk down a couple stairs without aid.
We used to communicate in one and two words. Now they can be surprisingly long sentences and grammatically interesting. (Although they are still heavily accented words that only Mom understands some times) She listens intently to new words and how they are used in context. And is starting to share her perspective on what she sees or experiences.
She asks "why" about things she doesn't understand. Arrggghhh...wasn't ready for the why's yet. So I feel like I stumble on the answers a lot.
We are running out of travel options for sleep. Ellie now reaches the entire the length of the pack n play from head to toe. We're going to have to work on mat sleeping in the near future.
Fortunately she's finally starting to recognize a dirty diaper. So I know it means I need to get my act together and come up with the parental discipline to start making potty time part of the day's routine/plan.
She loves playing with her cousins. She holds hands. Wants to join in their activities. When encouraged, she'll happily take turns with them. She's showing more empathy and awareness of other's needs as well. Just in the last couple of days she's starting to use "thank you" on her own. Like so many of these "Ah-ha" moments, it seems like we've prompted the use of these two magic words a million times before with no apparent connection from her. But low and behold, she had been listening and is now putting them to good use. I guess I find it so fascinating because it's like something or someone turned a switch on...something that wasn't there yesterday is all of a sudden here today.
We can't keep her out of the water at the beach. She loves walking up right up to her chin. (I do not love this.) If she could be outside all the time, she would be. I'm grateful that the "school/daycare" she goes to 2 days a week believes in lots of outdoor time. And when Braden is home, he spends a lot of time playing with our "lion cub" as I call her. (Watching the way she likes to play reminds me of how lion cubs roll and chase each other) With the little rain we've gotten this year, my allergies have been horrid. So I struggle of finding a balance when it's just her and I.
She sings and sings and sings. She sings songs. Hums melodies. Makes up her own songs. She changes her voice and sings in monster sounding tones. I guess the music classes we've been taking are something she enjoys :)
Next week we leave for a two week tour of the West Coast. First stop is Utah to visit Uncle Cortny and Aunt Amber. Then onto Portland for a visit with close family friends. Then we wind up in Seattle for the last few days catching us with various friends living all the way up there. I'll let you know how things go in the next post....the big 24 Months/2 years!
Here's a video of Ellie and Maddy playing Ring Around the Rosie:
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