Monday, September 15, 2008
IKE, the aftermath
Well, as many of you know, we have a lot of family in the vicinity of where IKE struck. Luckily, everyone made it through fine. Some chose to stay where they were (crazy as it may seem) and some went north to find safety. After numerous phone calls were received yesterday, we count ourselves among the lucky ones. The worst damage was loss of power to my sister's place so she had to empty out her deep freezer. The loss of a few hundred dollars in food, while economically challenging, is not nearly as bad as it could have been. That sister's neighbors weren't as fortunate. Those who chose to stay lost their vehicles as any vehicle in that parking lot sustained significant flood damage. Some also lost their roofs so their valuables were drenched and some were flooded out. We count our lucky stars that everyone made it through OK and keep our fingers crossed that our friends fared as well. Our thoughts remain with our friends and family in Texas.
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Miss C is 15 months old today!
Holy cow! 15 months, already?!!
Besides the standard statistics update that you already got (see last entry), Miss C is doing great.Let's see:
1. Gross motor skill development: Miss C is running and now trying to jump! She twirls when she dances (DH showed her how and boy does she love it!). It is also very cute to watch her walking backwards (she does this with an audience, of course!) and dancing while holding on to her Fisher Price Kitchen or the handle to the freezer drawer (and, no, I have no idea where she came up with that one!). She can also climb onto virtually any couch or chair she sees, something we really have to pay attention to since she forgets that she can also fall. We have avoided having her fall off but the chance is always there.
2. Fine motor skill development: Miss C brushes her teeth as well as those of her dolly, frog and us, given the opportunity. She is also very adept at getting her pants on (really surprised me on that one, but she figured that one out and showed us last night). She has almost mastered getting two of her pairs of shoes on (they are simple velcro shoes, the pair we put on her for school most days have a tongue that gets threaded through a holder so they are more of a challenge). She can also put on and take off her bib (another trick I would prefer she hold off on most days!:)).
3. Vocabulary: Talk about expansion! Miss C is putting together coherent thoughts and vocalizing them regularly. For example, when we take her into school, we usually try to carry her in from the car (avoiding the normal am rush of people and cars and all that). Sometimes she is fine with that but more often than not, she tells us "mama, down, walk" and signs it, just in case I missed it. Too cool. She does the same with DH. She can also tell you what practically any animal says (yep, she still uses her cute rbbbt for frogs!) and points out the birds on the lights in both words and signs on the way into school. DH and Miss C have been working on "who lives where?" For example, if you ask her "who lives in the trees?" she will reply "birds" and sign it too. I love that! I am eternally grateful for Alphagal's encouragement about baby sign. We were all for it from the beginning but never truly realized how much Miss C had absorbed until her teachers commented on it!
4. Fun. Miss C loves to go "out" and "play." She collects "flowers" and "walks" in the yard (the quotes represent the words and signs we see all the time!). When she wants to be cute, Miss C will try to trick you by bringing you something only to give it to the other person (when DH and I are sitting next to each other, for example). We went to a friends house for a get together recently and Miss C played that "trick" on countless folks.
Ok, so the only real concerns I have at this stage:
1. Miss C has not taken a bottle at school in about 4 months but still takes an am and pm bottle here. We are working on getting her to take all of her milk from a cup but she tends to drink about 1/2 of what we give her that way and will only drink more if we put it in a bottle. Thoughts? Suggestions?
2. Very recently (read: just the past few days), Miss C has gotten incredibly clingy with me. I mean, DH is home and if I go to the bathroom, Miss C follows me. If she looks up and I am not in her line of sight, she cries and absolutely has to find me. Is this normal? Thoughts? Suggestions?
Ok, so that's the most recent stuff. Sorry I haven't posted as many pictures as before. We are still taking them, I just have recently forgotten to charge my camera battery so I can't upload! Drr!
Hope you all enjoy these updates!
Besides the standard statistics update that you already got (see last entry), Miss C is doing great.Let's see:
1. Gross motor skill development: Miss C is running and now trying to jump! She twirls when she dances (DH showed her how and boy does she love it!). It is also very cute to watch her walking backwards (she does this with an audience, of course!) and dancing while holding on to her Fisher Price Kitchen or the handle to the freezer drawer (and, no, I have no idea where she came up with that one!). She can also climb onto virtually any couch or chair she sees, something we really have to pay attention to since she forgets that she can also fall. We have avoided having her fall off but the chance is always there.
2. Fine motor skill development: Miss C brushes her teeth as well as those of her dolly, frog and us, given the opportunity. She is also very adept at getting her pants on (really surprised me on that one, but she figured that one out and showed us last night). She has almost mastered getting two of her pairs of shoes on (they are simple velcro shoes, the pair we put on her for school most days have a tongue that gets threaded through a holder so they are more of a challenge). She can also put on and take off her bib (another trick I would prefer she hold off on most days!:)).
3. Vocabulary: Talk about expansion! Miss C is putting together coherent thoughts and vocalizing them regularly. For example, when we take her into school, we usually try to carry her in from the car (avoiding the normal am rush of people and cars and all that). Sometimes she is fine with that but more often than not, she tells us "mama, down, walk" and signs it, just in case I missed it. Too cool. She does the same with DH. She can also tell you what practically any animal says (yep, she still uses her cute rbbbt for frogs!) and points out the birds on the lights in both words and signs on the way into school. DH and Miss C have been working on "who lives where?" For example, if you ask her "who lives in the trees?" she will reply "birds" and sign it too. I love that! I am eternally grateful for Alphagal's encouragement about baby sign. We were all for it from the beginning but never truly realized how much Miss C had absorbed until her teachers commented on it!
4. Fun. Miss C loves to go "out" and "play." She collects "flowers" and "walks" in the yard (the quotes represent the words and signs we see all the time!). When she wants to be cute, Miss C will try to trick you by bringing you something only to give it to the other person (when DH and I are sitting next to each other, for example). We went to a friends house for a get together recently and Miss C played that "trick" on countless folks.
Ok, so the only real concerns I have at this stage:
1. Miss C has not taken a bottle at school in about 4 months but still takes an am and pm bottle here. We are working on getting her to take all of her milk from a cup but she tends to drink about 1/2 of what we give her that way and will only drink more if we put it in a bottle. Thoughts? Suggestions?
2. Very recently (read: just the past few days), Miss C has gotten incredibly clingy with me. I mean, DH is home and if I go to the bathroom, Miss C follows me. If she looks up and I am not in her line of sight, she cries and absolutely has to find me. Is this normal? Thoughts? Suggestions?
Ok, so that's the most recent stuff. Sorry I haven't posted as many pictures as before. We are still taking them, I just have recently forgotten to charge my camera battery so I can't upload! Drr!
Hope you all enjoy these updates!
Thursday, September 4, 2008
She is how tall????
So we had an early check up this month. You all know that there is a normal 15 month check up and that actual date doesn't happen for a few more days. Due to the schedule at the Dr's office, we got Miss C in to see the doctor today.
Whenever we have a Dr's visit, we try to make it a fun day. We usually go to breakfast (or lunch, time dependent of course) after the appointment so Miss C doesn't associate these trips with just getting poked an prodded.
Ok, so here's what you all have been waiting for:
Height: 33 inches (yep, still >97%)
Weight: 26 lb 4 oz (yep, still 90-95%)
I don't actually keep track of head circumference since she has consistently been around 50% and the only use that number has for me is buying hats she will refuse to wear (;))! Besides, I am not exactly sure how accurate this reading was today because she is apparently very anti-head measuring. She started to flip out when the nurse went to measure her and even disliked it when I gave it a shot. Not sure what that's about. Has anyone else had that happen? I mean, have your kid just take a severe dislike to something like that?
Other than this, Miss C is just a wonderful little girl. She is really enjoying her new class and while she is the youngest, she teaches as much as she learns. We have discovered a new"game" as a result of her new class. Apparently some of the kids get their backs patted when they go down for a nap (thankfully, Miss C puts herself to sleep so we haven't had to adjust to the change in school) so when she plays with her dolls and animals, she lays them on the floor, covers them with a blanket and pats their backs. What cracks me up is that Miss C can do this for an hour, I swear! She goes back and forth between "dolly" and whatever animal she has on hand at the time (lately that has been either her frog or her sheep) and pats their backs or readjusts them. I will have to try to catch all of this on video one of these days so you all can see what we are talking about.
Otherwise, we're doing just fine. I finished my last class and found out I made the promotion list (I won't actually put it on or see the $ until next August but those are the breaks of finding out early) so I am really trying to relax a bit. I have a stack of books I would like to read sometime but as you all know, that is only possible when Miss C is asleep. On the plus side, she is reading more of her books to me so I am getting an interesting education in the world of board and lift-a-flap books!
So, how have you all been doing? Anything new on your end?
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Thursday, August 21, 2008
We're still here, we swear :)
Ok, so I know its been a while since I posted. Been super busy with life and all that!
Miss C is doing great. We have been awed by her vocabulary changes of late. Today she told me "pooh bear!" Isn't that the cutest! he is her buddy and we say his name often enough but I think its so much fun to hear her work it out.
We went to the local county fair last weekend. Miss C got to see a steer up close and personal. 
A few of them, to be precise. She was telling us that a cow says "moo" when the steer closest to her stood up and mooed at her! She had this look of shock and amazement on her face! It was too cute! That night, during dinner, DH told her to be careful and chew good because she had a "big piece of chicken" in her mouth. Apparently she got the idea of "big" because she signed it then said "bak, bak, baaakkk" (her cute little chicken sound). Later when we asked her about the fair she signed "big" then mooed. I guess it stuck!
Ok, other than the gushy stuff, I finished my last class! Yea! The commencement doesn't take place until the Spring (stupid consolidated graduations!) but I hope to see the diploma soon so I can send it off for work. I am not sure what exactly to do now though. DH has been after me for years to "relax" but if you know me, you know that is easier said than done. Until I figure it out, I am spending every minute I can with DH and MIss C, playing, cooking, reading, all of that fun stuff.
Well, hope you all are having a great week! Let us know what you have been up to, ok?
Saturday, August 9, 2008
Miss C is Fourteen Months old today!
Super quick update!
Ok, no height and weight stuff, that will have to wait until next month. One thing, though, she is wearing size 4 shoes! I barely got her in size 3's when we realized they were too small. Ugh!
Here we go:
1. Miss C's walking is solid. She runs most of the time, actually. she really cemented her walking when her grandparents were here. She and her grandma walked around outside all the time, just walking here and there, uphill and downhill. All of that helped her figure out her balance etc, so she definitely good on her feet.
2. Miss C figured out how to walk down stairs. She still holds on to our hands but she kind of slides her bum and her feet on the way down. We have a lower banister that DH is going to install which will help her walk up and down but we still will have our gates at the top and bottom of the stairs.
3. Miss C is doing great in her new class. Although the teachers haven't quite figured her out (she talks and signs and they are still a little unsure of what she is saying even though she is signing correctly and I gave them a Miss C to English dictionary!). Oh well. She is also doing fine with the mid-day nap although she does prefer to take two naps, one in the morning and one in the afternoon, over the single nap mid day. I am sure she will continue to adjust and her teachers will learn to understand her words. She is also now able to associate words with more than one context. For example, she always uses "more, please" when she wants more to eat or drink (yea, the please tickles me to death!) but now she is using it when she wants you to do something again, like pick more flowers or walk around more. Very cool!
4. Speaking of words, Miss C's vocabulary is growing exponentially! I am sure you all mentioned this would happen but wow! She even picks up on signs that aren't intentional. For example, we have a stuffed penguin from Sea World and Miss C loves it! I started to bonk her nose with the penguin's beak so now when she "says" penguin, she bonks her nose with her index finger! What a funny kid!
5. Another word issue is colors. It seems that Miss C might actually know some of her colors. We ask her for a "blue ball" or a "green duck" and she will find the appropriate one. She even said "blue" when handing us the blue ball! Too cool!
6. Miss C continues her love of song and dance. She finds music wherever she is, even on her little riding toys, and stands up and says "dance, dance, dance" (she signs it with her index finger and her thumb instead of her index finger and her middle finger but, eh, close enough for now, right?) and "dance" kind of sounds like "that" but you definitely know what she is saying (especially when she sways from side to side and cocks her head!).
7. Miss C has developed an interesting sense of humor. She likes to act like she is going to walk to me or kiss me then go to DH or kiss him instead! It cracks her up every time!
Well, that's about it for this update. I am trying to get this posted before Miss C awakens from her afternoon nap. Hope you all are doing well. If you have any insight into what to expect next, let us know! :)
Ok, no height and weight stuff, that will have to wait until next month. One thing, though, she is wearing size 4 shoes! I barely got her in size 3's when we realized they were too small. Ugh!
Here we go:
1. Miss C's walking is solid. She runs most of the time, actually. she really cemented her walking when her grandparents were here. She and her grandma walked around outside all the time, just walking here and there, uphill and downhill. All of that helped her figure out her balance etc, so she definitely good on her feet.
2. Miss C figured out how to walk down stairs. She still holds on to our hands but she kind of slides her bum and her feet on the way down. We have a lower banister that DH is going to install which will help her walk up and down but we still will have our gates at the top and bottom of the stairs.
3. Miss C is doing great in her new class. Although the teachers haven't quite figured her out (she talks and signs and they are still a little unsure of what she is saying even though she is signing correctly and I gave them a Miss C to English dictionary!). Oh well. She is also doing fine with the mid-day nap although she does prefer to take two naps, one in the morning and one in the afternoon, over the single nap mid day. I am sure she will continue to adjust and her teachers will learn to understand her words. She is also now able to associate words with more than one context. For example, she always uses "more, please" when she wants more to eat or drink (yea, the please tickles me to death!) but now she is using it when she wants you to do something again, like pick more flowers or walk around more. Very cool!
4. Speaking of words, Miss C's vocabulary is growing exponentially! I am sure you all mentioned this would happen but wow! She even picks up on signs that aren't intentional. For example, we have a stuffed penguin from Sea World and Miss C loves it! I started to bonk her nose with the penguin's beak so now when she "says" penguin, she bonks her nose with her index finger! What a funny kid!
5. Another word issue is colors. It seems that Miss C might actually know some of her colors. We ask her for a "blue ball" or a "green duck" and she will find the appropriate one. She even said "blue" when handing us the blue ball! Too cool!
6. Miss C continues her love of song and dance. She finds music wherever she is, even on her little riding toys, and stands up and says "dance, dance, dance" (she signs it with her index finger and her thumb instead of her index finger and her middle finger but, eh, close enough for now, right?) and "dance" kind of sounds like "that" but you definitely know what she is saying (especially when she sways from side to side and cocks her head!).
7. Miss C has developed an interesting sense of humor. She likes to act like she is going to walk to me or kiss me then go to DH or kiss him instead! It cracks her up every time!
Well, that's about it for this update. I am trying to get this posted before Miss C awakens from her afternoon nap. Hope you all are doing well. If you have any insight into what to expect next, let us know! :)
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Family visit
Well, we had quite an eventful time since I last posted. I warned ya'll it would be a little while so.. Anyway, DH's folks and his sister, Auntie J, came to town for a short visit. Miss C had such a great time! She adores both her Grannie and Auntie J and warmed up enough to her Grandpa that she gave him hugs goodnight the last night they were here. This was a huge shift from our Christmas visit. I am sure the length of the visit helped as did being in her house with her stuff.
It was a terrific little visit and we can't wait to see them again. We're already trying to figure out our holiday schedule. We went after the holidays last year and it was actually quite a bit easier on everyone. Heck, we even got the good karma for working around the holidays!
Miss C is getting so big! She is transitioning to her big girl class this week. The first day was a quiet one. She was very introspective and basically watched everyone to figure out what to do. Today she was more involved, a little more talkative (signing and talking but not as much as normal) but she didn't nap as long as she probably could have. We have noticed that when she gets home she is hungry and tired. I think this is becasue of the increased stress in the classroom. I think that another factor is the slight change in meal times. She eats half an hours later for each meal in her new class so I am sure that is an issue for her since Miss C isn't shy around food. I have noticed that she is a little clingy this week so far but I think that might have a but to do with the transition, being away from the teachers she has grown accustomed to. I just know that we are consistent so that makes all of this easier to handle.
Well, hope you get a change to check out the newer pictures. I tried to take a few with Miss C and her grandparents but you know how it gets! Here are a couple of the ones I thought were pretty cute!
It was a terrific little visit and we can't wait to see them again. We're already trying to figure out our holiday schedule. We went after the holidays last year and it was actually quite a bit easier on everyone. Heck, we even got the good karma for working around the holidays!
Miss C is getting so big! She is transitioning to her big girl class this week. The first day was a quiet one. She was very introspective and basically watched everyone to figure out what to do. Today she was more involved, a little more talkative (signing and talking but not as much as normal) but she didn't nap as long as she probably could have. We have noticed that when she gets home she is hungry and tired. I think this is becasue of the increased stress in the classroom. I think that another factor is the slight change in meal times. She eats half an hours later for each meal in her new class so I am sure that is an issue for her since Miss C isn't shy around food. I have noticed that she is a little clingy this week so far but I think that might have a but to do with the transition, being away from the teachers she has grown accustomed to. I just know that we are consistent so that makes all of this easier to handle.
Well, hope you get a change to check out the newer pictures. I tried to take a few with Miss C and her grandparents but you know how it gets! Here are a couple of the ones I thought were pretty cute!
So, how is your week going?
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