So it has been an eventful month already. The fourth of July was great. We spent it with our good friends. The fireworks were fun and Grace liked the cherry bombs best. However, sparklers were met with a "fire, hot" statement and she did not like holding them. Well, at least she has fire safey concepts down. Also there was a water table and a sprinkler to run through. Grace wasn't that interested in the sprinkler either! But she loved the water table. All in all it was a good day filled with Popsicles and family.
On July7th, Grace did some amazing things! We went to a daycare to interview them and check it out. While there Grace got to color and asked me to "write Bob, mama." So I did, just like Grandpa does. I spelled as I wrote..b-o-b. Then of course I had to write it three ore times. The last time Grace did the spelling! She also knows what words are. She can point them out and say words, read. All very cute. Then the next day I brought out the paper we were writing on at the daycare and tried to get her to spell Bob for her dad. Instead she read the word! Go Grace. Preschool here we come. Thank goodness I am a teacher and can supplement her learning needs.
Friday, July 9, 2010
Friday, June 18, 2010
Fairy Tale Town & the Zoo
So this wasn't the first time Grace has been to Fairy Tale Town or the Zoo, but there some firsts yesterday. Grace rode the carousel yesterday and had a blast. Her animal of choice was the polar bear...over and over. We rode three times and she waved to all her relatives uncle Joe, Grandpa and everyone. In fact I had to let her kiss the polar bear goodbye she loved the carousel so much. Grace also rode the train that runs through the zoo. She rode with Grandma Donna, Uncle Joe, Cousin Victoria and Cousin Ariel. However, she loved the carousel best. Grace also got her leg painted at the zoo. She wanted the giraffe but I talked her into the turtle. I wasn't sure she could sit still long enough for the giraffe. I had them paint it on her leg so that she could see it. She walked around and showed everyone the turtle by standing on one leg and lifting the turtle leg. It was cute. She loved the zebras, and Grandpa took her to feed the giraffes. She wasn't quite ready to do it herself but she came within a foot of a giraffe tongue. All in all a great day.
Sorry it has been a while since the last blog. Grace is doing well. She is a very resilient child and we are lucky that she is so strong, social and intelligent. She is talking in sentences now...well baby sentences. And today I caught her saying her first cuss word. Thanks family!! Oh shit was what came out of her mouth when she dropped a toy while Grandpa was holding her. Why do I feel like I have failed her as a mother. Not just over cussing but other things as well. Wouldn't it be great if I had my own house to raise her in. Wouldn't it be great if the people who are supporting me in so many ways, thanks by the way, didn't have to live with their grand daughter. I mean grandma's house is suppose to be fun and undisciplined but not when you have to live there 24-7.
Sorry it has been a while since the last blog. Grace is doing well. She is a very resilient child and we are lucky that she is so strong, social and intelligent. She is talking in sentences now...well baby sentences. And today I caught her saying her first cuss word. Thanks family!! Oh shit was what came out of her mouth when she dropped a toy while Grandpa was holding her. Why do I feel like I have failed her as a mother. Not just over cussing but other things as well. Wouldn't it be great if I had my own house to raise her in. Wouldn't it be great if the people who are supporting me in so many ways, thanks by the way, didn't have to live with their grand daughter. I mean grandma's house is suppose to be fun and undisciplined but not when you have to live there 24-7.
Friday, April 30, 2010
BubbleObsession
So today I got a video of my daughter doing her favorite thing in the whole world. Well at least for the last month blowing bubbles has been an obsession. Nana, aka Grandma Donna, bought a bubble gun today thinking it was the kind that you put bubble soap in and pulled the trigger. The whole family has been bubble blowing slaves lately and we needed some relief. However, this gun ended up being the same old dip and blow kind of gun, but it made a lot of bubbles in one shot so that was good.
Grace had learned with another bubble gun long ago how to load and shoot a bubble gun. However, that bubble gun had a more difficult trigger. Today she dipped, made bubbles and chased them with no problem. In addition today was great to watch because of all the words and exuberance she used. She would run around with a like skip in her step and babble Bubbles, POP POP. then, just as I turned the video camera off, she said "I like bubbles." It was very mumbled but you could tell what she said. So I countered with " You like bubbles? They do make you happy." To which she let out a musical yeah! and raced off in chase of more bubble adventures. Considering the drama in my life right now, that was about as good as it gets. Watching the joy in a 19 month old's eyes as she plays with bubbles makes it all worth it in the end.
Grace had learned with another bubble gun long ago how to load and shoot a bubble gun. However, that bubble gun had a more difficult trigger. Today she dipped, made bubbles and chased them with no problem. In addition today was great to watch because of all the words and exuberance she used. She would run around with a like skip in her step and babble Bubbles, POP POP. then, just as I turned the video camera off, she said "I like bubbles." It was very mumbled but you could tell what she said. So I countered with " You like bubbles? They do make you happy." To which she let out a musical yeah! and raced off in chase of more bubble adventures. Considering the drama in my life right now, that was about as good as it gets. Watching the joy in a 19 month old's eyes as she plays with bubbles makes it all worth it in the end.
Friday, April 9, 2010
First Sentence
On Wednesday before swim we were having a snack. My parents were there too. As my dad was opening the refrigerator he was talking to Grace when she said said "Papa, I wana pickle." She and my mother eat pickles together occasionally. The first time I guess she ate a pickle she made a face and said yucky. But she came back over and over and eventually my mother said she ate her whole pickle. what a funny first sentence.
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Singing, Talking, Swiming
Grace is growing everyday by leaps and bounds. What is funny is that it is hard to tell really how much until you stop and think about this time last year. She was only 8 months old last Easter and just pulling up and crawling. This Easter Grace was walking and putting Easter eggs in her basket all by herself. She now says over a hundred words and loves to swim on her own. She sings about 8 songs. Well she sings parts of the songs at the right time. Her favorites include: Kookaburra, Old McDonald, ABC Song and Michael Buble's Cry Me a River. We actually got a video of her singing this last song with her Dad on Easter day.
The last Saturday in March Grace did her first sleep over at our friend Chloe, Colby and Katie's house. This was following a play date the Tuesday before. When I picked her up on Tuesday she cried bloody murder. I guess she is ready for a more social atmosphere. It is really too bad that she is the only child because she loves other kids of any age. Anyway, Saturday went off without a hitch, so Katie says.
Grace is starting to say more complex things now. For instance when we read Dora the Explorer she can say " Swiper, no Swiping" and it sounds like it should give or take a bit. She is also a great mimic now. She knows a hand full of Spanish words including: mira, adios, hola, papas, and gato.
All in all it has been a hectic, but exciting month in Graceland.
The last Saturday in March Grace did her first sleep over at our friend Chloe, Colby and Katie's house. This was following a play date the Tuesday before. When I picked her up on Tuesday she cried bloody murder. I guess she is ready for a more social atmosphere. It is really too bad that she is the only child because she loves other kids of any age. Anyway, Saturday went off without a hitch, so Katie says.
Grace is starting to say more complex things now. For instance when we read Dora the Explorer she can say " Swiper, no Swiping" and it sounds like it should give or take a bit. She is also a great mimic now. She knows a hand full of Spanish words including: mira, adios, hola, papas, and gato.
All in all it has been a hectic, but exciting month in Graceland.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Singing Diva
Grace has really gotten into singing this week. She started a little while ago with Old McDonald. She sings the "E I E I O," and the "Old McDonald" parts of the song. What is great about it is that she can sing the "O" on key and if she is off from the rest of us she will raise or lower the note accordingly. This week she also started to say "Happy and know" which is of course her request for the If You Are Happy and You Know It song. She can clap her hands, touch her nose, touch her ear, splash the water, stomp her feet, turn around, wave, and kick the water when prompted to during this song. She can even stop and start the activity when you actually say "touch your nose" she will and then do it again again for the next phrase. She was singing in the water during swim class too. She was saying "town," and "up and down" during the wheels on the bus and "hehe and haha" during Kookaburra.
Her ability to talk and mimic is great. Just the other day she said a whole sentence that I understood "oh no, bow-wow barking." She has said other sentences,but that is the one that stuck. She can currently say around 100+ words. She can also recognize letters. She calls them ABC's. And she understands that there are words, but thinks that they all say "dad."
Her ability to talk and mimic is great. Just the other day she said a whole sentence that I understood "oh no, bow-wow barking." She has said other sentences,but that is the one that stuck. She can currently say around 100+ words. She can also recognize letters. She calls them ABC's. And she understands that there are words, but thinks that they all say "dad."
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Swimming Mania
I still remember when Grace was not yet one when she climbed into a bounce house without me and walked and jumper around. It amazed me how brave and physically capable she was at such a young age. Well, swimming is no different. Before we were sick for the whole month of February, Grace had wondered out by herself a few times during the independent play time at the YMCA swim. So, I knew that she would take off soon, but I thought we had a few more sessions before she really went for it. Boy was I wrong. Monday the 8th started rocky with Grace letting go of the wall and falling in. I swept her out but not before she had water up her nose and was coughing. When I tried to put her swim belt on and she pushed it away, I thought it was going to be a clinging night. However, once I told her we were going to play with the rubber duck, already floating in the water she let me put on the swim belt. As I pulled her into the water I readied myself for the death grip around my neck and started to pull her in close. However, I got a big "no," followed by a shove with her hands and she started floating by herself. The next thing I know she's swimming along 3-4 yards away to see Colby and her dad. What a great night! Russ got it all on video with his phone.
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Hodge Podge
So, I've been very busy lately stressing over my solo art show in June. So this will be a highlight of all the things Grace has been doing these last weeks.
Slumber Wars
Accept for a few brief weeks before her teeth came in, Grace never slept through the night and has always been a fighter when it comes to sleep. My husband and I got into the habit of nursing her to sleep because she would cry bloody murder otherwise. Then when she woke up in the night we would wisk her into bed with us which was great for a while. Then she got big and wiggly. After we started to wean her night nursing became painful and so she and I were up a lot more. So I figured if she was already up so much at night I would start sleep training her. I bought her a new monkey to snuggle with and turned her bed into a toddler bed on a Thursday the last week in February. She loved the bed!! she got in and out and played on it. This was good since it had been her time out space and I liked that it changed to a more positive space for her to be in. We now use a "naughty step." The other great thing about changing her bed was we could talk about how this physical change meant a psycological change for her as well. I told her that we were going to learn to sleep like a big girl and in some way I think she got it. I thought sleep training was going to be horrible, filled with long sleepless nights and lots of screaming. No. The first night there was a little crying (less than 5 minutes), and she woke up 10 times. But the next day there was even less screaming and she woke only 4 times. We now have had nights were she sleeps all the way through the night. In fact some nights she wiggles in my lap until I put her in the crib. She actually likes it. We still snuggle at 6:30 when she wakes every morning though:)
Potty Success
So I have been off and on potty training Grace since her first birthday. I would let her off if she was sick or grumpy, but now I have decided to stick with it. We got a sticker chart about 5 weeks ago. She loved that and still does although I am not above bribing her with whatever she wants at the time which can be anything from toilet paper rolls to her favorite book. the potty sticker chart also gave me the feeling of progress since it charted her increase over time. We started at 9x in the potty the first two weeks and moved to 15x the third, 16x the fourth and now 25x in the fifth. Go Grace!! Not only that she is starting to wake up from her naps and sometimes in the mornings dry.
Talky talky
Grace is now saying crude sentences about her favorite objects. Like "dancing doll," "run bow-wow run," and "I said no." And no the last is not learned from me. Apparently she didn't want to do something Grandma said she had to do and she used it on her own. I swear it is not a staple of my vocabulary. She has even taken to bossing the dogs around by telling them no bow-wow and sit bow-wow.
Grace continues to be a surprising adventure. I feel that there is nothing that she can not accomplish if she really puts her mind to it. I am so happy she is turning into a feisty girl who loves to talk to everyone, shows empathy and manners and can't help giving kisses and hugs to every baby she meets.
Slumber Wars
Accept for a few brief weeks before her teeth came in, Grace never slept through the night and has always been a fighter when it comes to sleep. My husband and I got into the habit of nursing her to sleep because she would cry bloody murder otherwise. Then when she woke up in the night we would wisk her into bed with us which was great for a while. Then she got big and wiggly. After we started to wean her night nursing became painful and so she and I were up a lot more. So I figured if she was already up so much at night I would start sleep training her. I bought her a new monkey to snuggle with and turned her bed into a toddler bed on a Thursday the last week in February. She loved the bed!! she got in and out and played on it. This was good since it had been her time out space and I liked that it changed to a more positive space for her to be in. We now use a "naughty step." The other great thing about changing her bed was we could talk about how this physical change meant a psycological change for her as well. I told her that we were going to learn to sleep like a big girl and in some way I think she got it. I thought sleep training was going to be horrible, filled with long sleepless nights and lots of screaming. No. The first night there was a little crying (less than 5 minutes), and she woke up 10 times. But the next day there was even less screaming and she woke only 4 times. We now have had nights were she sleeps all the way through the night. In fact some nights she wiggles in my lap until I put her in the crib. She actually likes it. We still snuggle at 6:30 when she wakes every morning though:)
Potty Success
So I have been off and on potty training Grace since her first birthday. I would let her off if she was sick or grumpy, but now I have decided to stick with it. We got a sticker chart about 5 weeks ago. She loved that and still does although I am not above bribing her with whatever she wants at the time which can be anything from toilet paper rolls to her favorite book. the potty sticker chart also gave me the feeling of progress since it charted her increase over time. We started at 9x in the potty the first two weeks and moved to 15x the third, 16x the fourth and now 25x in the fifth. Go Grace!! Not only that she is starting to wake up from her naps and sometimes in the mornings dry.
Talky talky
Grace is now saying crude sentences about her favorite objects. Like "dancing doll," "run bow-wow run," and "I said no." And no the last is not learned from me. Apparently she didn't want to do something Grandma said she had to do and she used it on her own. I swear it is not a staple of my vocabulary. She has even taken to bossing the dogs around by telling them no bow-wow and sit bow-wow.
Grace continues to be a surprising adventure. I feel that there is nothing that she can not accomplish if she really puts her mind to it. I am so happy she is turning into a feisty girl who loves to talk to everyone, shows empathy and manners and can't help giving kisses and hugs to every baby she meets.
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Musical Episodes
So this last week we have had the plague of a cold. However, a few fun things happened. Most of them happened to be musical in nature.
Grace has always loved music. This week she learned to play the flute- well to blow into it and play one note. She use to put it in her mouth and suck or wail a high note to mimic playing. This week she got it and now she likes to walk around playing. She also understands the word "blow" now. She will blow on her food if we tell her it is hot.
In addition she had a dancing doll episode. A song came on the TV and she took her doll and shook it around saying "dan bebe, dan bebe." It was the cutest thing.
Lastly she has taken to pointing to the stroller and saying "ride." This week we did not brave the weather as chest colds can be tricky for a mom who gets asthma at the drop of a hat. So when she pointed to the stroller I drove her around the house. As "Life is a Highway" came on the radio, Grace had her feet on the steering wheel toy at the front of her stroller and the bottle in her mouth. It was so cute I had to videotape it. I not only got her "driving" with the radio blasting, but I also captured her stopping to kiss her baby and give her baby a bottle. Great video.
Grace has always loved music. This week she learned to play the flute- well to blow into it and play one note. She use to put it in her mouth and suck or wail a high note to mimic playing. This week she got it and now she likes to walk around playing. She also understands the word "blow" now. She will blow on her food if we tell her it is hot.
In addition she had a dancing doll episode. A song came on the TV and she took her doll and shook it around saying "dan bebe, dan bebe." It was the cutest thing.
Lastly she has taken to pointing to the stroller and saying "ride." This week we did not brave the weather as chest colds can be tricky for a mom who gets asthma at the drop of a hat. So when she pointed to the stroller I drove her around the house. As "Life is a Highway" came on the radio, Grace had her feet on the steering wheel toy at the front of her stroller and the bottle in her mouth. It was so cute I had to videotape it. I not only got her "driving" with the radio blasting, but I also captured her stopping to kiss her baby and give her baby a bottle. Great video.
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Words
My mother says I need to record the words that Grace is saying now. It amazes me how many words she tries. As far as I can count she knows at least 50 words now. The minimum amount of words that she learns per week is at least one per day. This week she learned: minty, mine, cheese, nose, Calvin, Moose and Lily. There are more, but those are the ones I recall at the moment. For a 17th month old I think this is pretty good.
She is also starting to talk to me about things in more than two words. Three words together seem to be the most in one sentence, however she can converse about bow-wow's for at least three babbling sentences. Today she told me " oh no bow-wow" and led me over to Lily (one of our dogs)who was sitting on one of her toys.
She also understands the concepts of mom, dad and baby in other creatures as well as other people. She talked in length about the bow-wow's in our Disney book ending by pointing at the Dalmatian pups and saying "baby bow-wow." The best conversation we had was yesterday after her bath when she walked over to the potty stickers and said "bow-wow Moose." This was exciting because she was pointing at the dogs on the sticker paper. So we talked about Lily and Moose and I gave her two bow-wow stickers that "looked" like them. Then she initiated a peek-a-boo game with the two stickers by saying"peek-boo Moose" and "peek-boo ily".
She is also starting to talk to me about things in more than two words. Three words together seem to be the most in one sentence, however she can converse about bow-wow's for at least three babbling sentences. Today she told me " oh no bow-wow" and led me over to Lily (one of our dogs)who was sitting on one of her toys.
She also understands the concepts of mom, dad and baby in other creatures as well as other people. She talked in length about the bow-wow's in our Disney book ending by pointing at the Dalmatian pups and saying "baby bow-wow." The best conversation we had was yesterday after her bath when she walked over to the potty stickers and said "bow-wow Moose." This was exciting because she was pointing at the dogs on the sticker paper. So we talked about Lily and Moose and I gave her two bow-wow stickers that "looked" like them. Then she initiated a peek-a-boo game with the two stickers by saying"peek-boo Moose" and "peek-boo ily".
Friday, February 12, 2010
Boom-Boom
Today was a day! Nobody but Grace and me from 2-6. Wow, it was only four hours? I need to get out. At six Grandpa and Grandma showed up. Grace immediately made a bee line for them. She must have felt cooped up as much as I did. She still has the rattling cough though.
After a Nana fix she ran over to Grandpa. Boom boom was what she wanted to play. This is where Grandpa pretends to be an elephant and she rides on his back while he walks around on all fours saying "boom-boom boom-boom." I happened to have the camera near so I will have to learn to upload videos soon.
Today, not sure if it was the first time, she combined her love of imaginative play using babies with the Boom-boom game. She has loved to feed, wash, hug, kiss and carry her babies since she was very young. Today, she put three babies on Gramps' back and then proceeded to try to climb on herself. Then Babies and Grace all went for a ride on the elephant! Well, a baby fell off, but thank goodness the elephant has a quick trunk.
After a Nana fix she ran over to Grandpa. Boom boom was what she wanted to play. This is where Grandpa pretends to be an elephant and she rides on his back while he walks around on all fours saying "boom-boom boom-boom." I happened to have the camera near so I will have to learn to upload videos soon.
Today, not sure if it was the first time, she combined her love of imaginative play using babies with the Boom-boom game. She has loved to feed, wash, hug, kiss and carry her babies since she was very young. Today, she put three babies on Gramps' back and then proceeded to try to climb on herself. Then Babies and Grace all went for a ride on the elephant! Well, a baby fell off, but thank goodness the elephant has a quick trunk.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Potty Sticker Adventures
When Grace turned one I of course had a birthday party. At that party someone told me about how the Japanese train their babies to go in the potty right away. Curious, and a little excited about saving some diaper money, I checked it out. Now I am always one to experiment, so I thought I would try it. The first day she went pee in the big toilet. Eventually I got her a mini-potty and we were going in the mini potty 2-3 times a day some of them poopies (yah!).
When Grace started getting her incisors we went through a series of illnesses. I gave up the potty because it started to be a source of stress for Grace and the last thing I wanted was a potty phobic toddler. These last two weeks though we started the Potty Stickers Game and we were back up to 1-2 times a day.
So tonight we took our bath as usual. (Yes, I got in the habit of bathing with her since that was the only way I could get in a bath since hubby works nights and I haven't stopped) While in the tub Grace asked for a Nah (Nah=Horse). Thinking she wanted a book, I put her outside the tub so she could grab it for us. Instead she walked over to her sticker chart. So I told her to sit on the potty and I would get the stickers out. She did, requested a Dora sticker, or rather said "nina" and I complied then pulled her in to the tub. As I did so I saw a large pee in her potty. Ecstatic, I praised her and we finished our bath.
After the bath she was interested in her sticker chart so I told her to sit on the potty and I would get the stickers out. Yes, I'm easy, she gets to play with the stickers if she sits on the potty, but only gets to place it on the chart is she goes in the potty. I am consistent about this too. Well we talked about the stickers and she played and the got up and started over to her chart. Of course I'm thinking there's no way she peed again, but she did! So I helped her place another sticker on her chart. It was a great potty adventure. Funny what tickles you when you are a stay at home mom.
When Grace started getting her incisors we went through a series of illnesses. I gave up the potty because it started to be a source of stress for Grace and the last thing I wanted was a potty phobic toddler. These last two weeks though we started the Potty Stickers Game and we were back up to 1-2 times a day.
So tonight we took our bath as usual. (Yes, I got in the habit of bathing with her since that was the only way I could get in a bath since hubby works nights and I haven't stopped) While in the tub Grace asked for a Nah (Nah=Horse). Thinking she wanted a book, I put her outside the tub so she could grab it for us. Instead she walked over to her sticker chart. So I told her to sit on the potty and I would get the stickers out. She did, requested a Dora sticker, or rather said "nina" and I complied then pulled her in to the tub. As I did so I saw a large pee in her potty. Ecstatic, I praised her and we finished our bath.
After the bath she was interested in her sticker chart so I told her to sit on the potty and I would get the stickers out. Yes, I'm easy, she gets to play with the stickers if she sits on the potty, but only gets to place it on the chart is she goes in the potty. I am consistent about this too. Well we talked about the stickers and she played and the got up and started over to her chart. Of course I'm thinking there's no way she peed again, but she did! So I helped her place another sticker on her chart. It was a great potty adventure. Funny what tickles you when you are a stay at home mom.
Manners
February 11, 2009
Today the thing I am impressed with, I'm so easily impressed with Grace, is her manners. She has been starting to say please and thank you. Today she said a bunch of pleases and thankyous. During lunch it was "cheese please" and "thank you mama." To be clear it was " eese peese" and "tank you mama," but I was still impressed.
Today the thing I am impressed with, I'm so easily impressed with Grace, is her manners. She has been starting to say please and thank you. Today she said a bunch of pleases and thankyous. During lunch it was "cheese please" and "thank you mama." To be clear it was " eese peese" and "tank you mama," but I was still impressed.
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