Well, it's only been 6 weeks this time! It's busy as usual here. I am officially off for the summer - from May 8 until the 3rd week in July - so we've been cramming in as much fun as possible in the recent weeks. Unfortunately, I haven't been great about taking pictures because most of what we've been doing has been spur-of-the-moment fun. But the batteries are charged and ready to go now!
Maria is such a whirlwind of fun right now - talking up a storm and singing non-stop. Anything she hears in musical form is filed away in her little brain and comes back (in parts) later in her own little musical rendition. Her favorite song of the moment is the ABC's. She fumbles through the L-M-N-O-P like any beginner, and the tune is priceless! We may be forking over some big bucks in the future for some music lessons, because she sure has the interest!!! Daddy has also trained her in the car to identify Bruce Springsteen... just what every 2 year old needs to know!
Her interest in counting everything under the sun is waning a bit. As a teacher with a little background in early childhood, I was a little worried when she seemed 'fixated' on the counting... but she has since lost interest in the constant repetitious counting we saw last month. But she attempts to count past 13, with everything adding a 'teen' to the end... 'eleventeen, twelveteen....'. It's priceless...
She is now into negotiating with us as well. "Just one more" is her current plea when we tell her it's time to stop something. Or, my personal favorite, "I do it YATER, mommy!" (she still can't say those 'L's' very well!) So just one more bite, has turned into "One more bite yater, OK?"
Our big accomplishment of late is getting rid of the daytime pacifier. Maria has been quite the 'Paci-Queen' for a few months now, and I was beginning to worry about her speech/articulation development. So.... after 1 full week of enjoying Maria after my school year was over, I decided to bite the bullet and take it away on Monday morning, reserving it for only the bed. I decided to keep it out of site/reach for her on the shelf in her room. I had been advised to let Maria do the 'putting away' of the paci, and I laughingly said, "Yeah! Sure, that'll work!" But 'lo and behold, after the initial shock of me telling her that yes, we love paci, and yes, we can have it 'yater', she said, "OK, Mia do shelf, mommy". (She calls herself 'Mia') Well.... OK!!! And that was it... seriously! I haven't been more shocked or pleasantly surprised about a parenting 'fear'!! I was convinced that we would have a week-long battle of wills, with both of us crying it out. But she proved me wrong yet again. I need to give her more credit!!
We have also been doing a lot of 'activities' locally to keep ourselves busy and occupied. We attend a weekly "Time for Two's" class at the library, where Maria is beginning to come out of her shell around other kids her age. She still wants to hold my hand when other kids get too close, but it isn't the clinging, grabbing, and panic of the past. So we're definitely making progress! Maria also took a Springtime Music Class at the Community Arts Center this past month. They gave each 'student' a CD of songs, which Maria asks for each time in the car. This week begins our "Mommy and Me" dance and movement class at the YMCA. Coordination hasn't been Maria's strength, so I'm excited for her to try new things, and meet some new kiddos too. And we're doing a few programs through the Conservation Department as well. We should have lots to report on soon! And I promise to bring my camera for more outings this summer!
Hope this update helps some of you who have been teasing me about my 'non-existant' blog!! I'll try harder...
Posts
