6/30/05 toothbrush

115_1556
Originally uploaded by rwheatfall.

When she wakes up, I ask her, "Do you want to brush your teeth?" and she begins her laughing and runs to the bathroom giggling. She loves the taste of the toothpaste. I give her enough for a "taste" but she just sucks on the toothbrush - we're still working on the brushing action.

050629 UP and Mr. Knickerbocker

050629 read
Originally uploaded by rwheatfall.

In music class yesterday, we were singing a song -
Hickory Dickory Dare,
the Pig flew UUUUUP in the air
the man in brown
soon brought him DOOOOOWN
Hickory Dickory Dare.

When we got to the UP part, we put our arms above our head, and Sophie did it too! Each time we sang the "up in the air" part, she marched around the circle, putting her hands over her head at that part.

She loves this song on Barney called "Mr. Knickerbocker". I do not know this song, except for hearing it on Barney.

Hey, Mr. Knickerbocker, boppity bop!
I like-a the way, that you boppity bop. . with your hands. .

and then the kids, Barney, Baby Bop and whoever else is on there hits their open palms against the sides of their faces, making a hollow "popping" sound. She thinks its HILARIOUS and runs around hitting herself in the face, cracking up. If I just sing the song to her, she starts busting up.

Videorama

050629 bluebry2.avi

050629 fart.avi

sayhi.avi

050629 cup.avi

Playing with Nathan

Today we went swimming with Nathan at his neighborhood pool. She is like a crazy little fish in that water. She started playing a swimming game where she stood on the step and jumped off to swim to me. Then she wriggled around to face the steps, and pushed off me to "swim" back to the steps. She just went back and forth, back and forth between me and the steps for a long time. I sat her on the side of the pool, and she kept jumping off into the water. The other parents at the pool were dumbfounded.

When we got out and dried off, she and Nathan started playing "chase". She screamed, and got behind Nathan, with her little arms out, sort of like a zombie. She was wiggling her hands, just barely brushing him, trying to get him to run from her so she could chase him. But she was very careful not to actually "catch" him. She just wanted to chase. Then, they began playing peekaboo behind and around a pool chair.

All the books say that children their age will engage in "parallel" play - that is, the kids play side by side, but do not engage with each other. It was clear Sophie and Nathan were engaged!

sure on her feet

Over the last few weeks, Sophie continues to improve her balance - she can now step over obstacles without holding on to a support. Daddy informed me last night that she can now run.

Squirters

While at the pool today, Sophie figured out how to squeeze the squirt toys and thought it was the most hilarious thing ever! Whenever she squeezed it and made the water shoot, I would make a sound, and she would just CRACK UP. There's no better sound than her hearty little laugh.

Fun, fun playdate!

We were busy all day long, which was superb. Sophie had a ball in music class, once again. After music, we went with Nathan and Marlene to the fountains outside the community center. There is a rubberized pad with a color pattern on it, and cracks for the water to soak in (so the surface doesn't get slipppery). The fountains are flush with the surface that you walk on, so there's nothing to trip over. Water shoots up into the air on and off, at random intervals from various places in the rubber "floor". As soon as one shoots up, Sophie would run over to it, but by the time she got there, the water would go down, and another would go off. It was a hoot watching her run back and forth! She finally began waiting at the holes in the ground, and loved it when the water got her. She was completely soaked in no time at all, and I stripped her clothes off to let her get a little warmer, since the cold, soaked clothes kept her from drying off.

She had a great nap, and later we met Marlene and Nathan at the pool for a playdate. There is a hot tub as well, so when they got too cold in the pool, we hopped in the hot tub. When she felt the water, she said "hah-hah-hah-hot" - it was pretty hot in there.

At the pool, Sophie was peeking at Marlene from each side of the metal pool rail. She started saying "boo" each time she peeked out from side to side of the railing!

After swimming, we went to Nathan's house where they enjoyed snacks and played outside for a while, putting rocks from the garden into the watering can and an empty gallon water bottle. So much for expensive toys!

We're going to have the pool playdate once a week. Sophie ate a good dinner tonight after all the excitement.

If You're Happy. .

At swim lessons today, we started a new session in a new class of students. Sophie is the most advanced, going under, swimming to the wall, jumping in, etc. None of the other kids even got their hair wet.

She has a book that features a little Elmo puppet and it is basically the song ""If You're Happy and you know it, clap your hands". At swim lessons, we sing that song with a little twist - instead of "clap your hands" we sing "splash your hands. . .kick your feet. . . blow some bubbles" etc. Whenever we get to the line, "If you're happy and ya know it, then your face will surely show it" we all point to our cheeks.

She brought the Elmo book to me today, so I put my hand in the Elmo puppet, and started singing. When I got to the line "then you're face will surely show it" she pointed her little fingers to her cheeks! Now, this is something else surprising she must have picked up at swimming, like the "Itsy Bitsy Spider". We only do it once/week, and I don't sing the song at home at all, yet she picked it up.

By the way, when we sang "Itsy Bitsy Spider", she put her little fingers together, and not her index fingers either. It was one index finger and one thumb! I have to admit, when I first tried to do the little movement, it was hard for me to figure it out, how to put your thumb to finger, thumb to finger, to act out a spider walking. The only thing that would have surprised me more is if she actually did that movement. Her fine motor skills are alarmingly sharp, since she has been able to snap her fingers since the age of 7 mos.

050618 wetsuit

050618 wetsuit
Originally uploaded by rwheatfall.

This is Sophie's wetsuit she got yesterday. It should keep her warmer in the neighbor's unheated pool.

While playing "lacrosse" with Daddy in the backyard, she scooped up the ball with the head of her stick by herself.

While we were reading her nursery rhyme book, we got to the Itsy Bitsy Spider, and she put the tips of her index fingers together above her head! This was very perplexing, b/c she has only ever really heard/seen me sing this song at her swim lessons, which are only once a week. In fact, we haven't sung that song in quite a long time, so how she remembered it, I couldn't tell you.

Father's Day was sort of ruined when Mommy twisted her ankle very badly twice going down Mt. Madonna. She had to stay off her foot all day and poor Daddy had to do everything for both her and Sophie.

More Words - Hot, Horse, Hungry

We drove to San Fran today to go to Sports Basement. On the way up there, she pointed to her mouth very intentionally to tell Daddy she wanted some food! She is really doing the pointing to the mouth move for "hungry".

There is an awesome play area for kids there, so she had a blast playing without running around the store getting into trouble.

There was a giant stuffed horse, as well as a wooden rocking horse, and I showed her how to flap her lips to make a horse sound. That was all it took. When we read her books later today, she did the horse sound without prompting. We also went out to lunch, and she ate some french fries. But they were hot, so I made the signal for hot (which involves some panting) and thereafter, she did it each time she got a hot fry.

She also seems to be weaning herself. She is down to nursing only twice/day - morning and maybe afternoon. It won't be long til she's done.

Video

I found a place that hosts free video so I can put a little video library out there.
Here is a video of her singing.

http://www.zippyvideos.com/79446116435335.html

Kindermusik & Weller

115_1504
Originally uploaded by rwheatfall.

We attended Kindermusik again after a long absence. Sophie just LOVED it. It's so funny that now she is one of the "older" kids in the class, where before, she was one of the youngest. She was dancing, gyrating, bending at her knees up and down, clapping and snapping. She loves music so much. She was also very gentle with the other kids in class, and was even kissing some of them. She was very taken with "Buddy", the instructor's doll. She even pulled "Buddy" down from the table and hugged him, patting him on the back.

She was very tired after music, and took a nice 2 hour nap. Then we were off to visit the students at Weller Elementary. She was a little shy at first, b/c she wasn't used to seeing so many kids that age, but it didn't take her long to warm up to them. They sang her their end of the year song, and she even danced a bit for them. Soon, she had disovered the books and was pulling them off the shelves.

She got very cranky tonight around 6:30. Wouldn't let me put her down, and even if Daddy held her, she cried for me. I am not sure what all this "mommy" attachment is about.

6-13-05 reading

6-13-05 reading
Originally uploaded by rwheatfall.

Sophie has always loved books, and as soon as she could walk, she walked right over to her bookshelf and began bringing us books to read to her.

She has been "reading" books to herself more and more, but most all her books are board books. We got her a couple Dr. Suess books but I wasn't sure if she'd destroy the paper pages. Today, she was sitting, paging through the book, "reading" it to herself - pointing at the pictures, babbling, turning pages, etc.

050610 sand

050610 sand
Originally uploaded by rwheatfall.

Today's playgroup was at the park. I decided to let Sophie play in the sand for the FIRST time. I was fairly confident she wouldn't try to eat the sand . . .very much. She was content to play in there, and for the first time, was not running helter skelter all around the park. Her shoes were full of sand by the time we left.

tooth #5

Saw it breaking the surface this evening!!! Her left top eye tooth. Perhaps this explains the bad sleep, fever?

Trickery?

Daddy says Sophie purposely tried to distract him today. While outside, she put part of an onion blossom in her mouth, then called out "Daddy!" and pointed the other way. . . . She knows she's not supposed to be putting things in her mouth. Deception? You decide.

She now knows the sign for frogs - she sticks her tongue out whenever she sees a picture of a frog.
She knows the word bananas although she doesn't say it.
She also knows the meaning of "Do you want to watch Barney?"
She knows where her eyes are as well.

We have a monkey beanie baby (purchased way before we ever thought about having children). She saw it on the shelf today, started hooting and beating her chest, and pulled it off the shelf. Then she began kissing it.

Yeah, psssssss,

Sometimes, when I ask Sophie a question, it sounds like she says "Yeah" to me, although I can't be sure. Daddy has noticed it as well. Also, sometimes, she looks like she is nodding her little head "yes" as well.

In trying to make her aware of the potty, I have taught her to make the "pssssss" sound for peeing. She is great at making the sound, but I don't know if she connects it with the bodily function.

She always motions for us to give her our mugs when we are drinking tea, so I finally gave in and bought her some blueberry herbal tea and her own little mug. I now make her tea to drink and she loves it.

She has begun kissing the animals on the pages of the books I read her and has suddenly become fascinated with the elephants.

TV ON

Sophie's fiddling with the buttons on the tv has finally paid off. She knows how to turn it on and off now.
I told her how to say "spoon" as she was holding it, and she says "poo".
Although she has known what her shoes are for quite some time, Daddy told her to say "shoe" and she said it today for the first time.

She cried for 20 min tonight when we put her down at 8:10pm.

Fever?

Yesterday, Sophie began acting lethargic in the afternoon. At 3pm, when I removed her from her carseat, where she was in a deep sleep, she felt limp in my arms.
Her temp was 101. We let her go swimming to bring the fever down, then she played in the warm bath. Since she was falling asleep in between bites of watermelon, Daddy put her to bed nice and early, around 7pm. (with daylight savings, her bedtime was creeping later toward 8-8:30)

This morning, she awoke in good spirits. We took an early morning walk, and when we got to Maryanne's house, she had a fine time showing off her signs for flower, bird and monkey and saying "cat". What can I say - she likes an audience.

However, this afternoon, after we returned from the Las Madres bbq at the park, she felt a little warm again, and her temp read 100.9. She's acting pretty normal, besides wanting to nurse a little more. I gave her some tylenol in hopes of bringing the fever down.

PS - I think I figured out the sound effect for the bird sign - the "gka gka" is quack quack for duck.

Birdies

Sophie now signs when she sees a birds. She demonstrated this a few days ago. Whenever we see a picture of a bird, she opens and closes both of her little hands, and makes a "gka, gka" sound. I'm not too sure where THAT came from. There is a picture of a closeup eagle face in the Motherhood book she loves, and I wasn't even sure she could tell what it was. Sure enough, when we got to that page, she started signing for "bird".

Things she can say so far:
kitty cat cow bird (sign) monkey/gorilla (sign)
hot (sign) goat doggie flower (sign)
baby pee pee daddy mama hi
yeah car