Scooter Girl

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

I have been wanting to get Piper a scooter for quite a while now, but couldn't justify the price yet. Even at Christmas it seemed silly to spend the money on something that she really wouldn't use until summer...and who knew if she'd be able to do it yet anyway. I found one on clearance for only $11.00, and was very excited to get it so cheaply. Apparently Erick was too, because although I intended to save it for Easter or this summer, he decided to put it together while I was at work one day and give it to her. Piper loves it, and was able to ride it a little over the weekend. Now it's cold and snowy again outside, but she still does it all over the apartment. Hopefully by the time it's nice outside again I can get her a helmet too.

General Update for January

This is the quick update for the month. I wrote it at the beginning of the month, but never got around to posting it.

Age (in months, or years and months): 27 months

Physical abilities: has been going up and down stairs forever, but is now handling them with ease. I'm occasionally seeing alternating feet on stairs as well. Superb upper body strength. She amazed me by pulling herself up on her ball pit bars (shoulder height) and climbing to a sitting position.

Speech/language: vocabulary, sentence length, etc: talks non-stop. Is interested in calling people by their real names now instead of just grandpa or daddy.

Reading/pre-reading: Erick thinks she can read a few sight words, especially names of cartoons on t.v. I've witnessed it once where she told me the name of what was coming up next in the guide. but it may be a fluke, who knows.

Number stuff: no change. Thinks she can count and is good 1:1 and for quantities, but still can't rote count to 10 on her own. Will read the numbers in order in her books 1-12.

Other cognitive stuff: puzzles, reasoning, etc:

Creativity: real drawings now. Likes to draw snakes and rainbows.

Imagination: pretend play is huge, dress up, using a towel to be a ghost, loves her baby dolls and pretend food. I know there's more I just can't think of the unusual things right now.

Social: better with other kids, no more hitting at least. She is very affectionate and wants to touch other kids a lot, but is extremely gregarious and overly physical so that it scares them sometimes. Needs to learn personal space and boundaries.

Character/personality: Extremely bossy this month with both adults and children. This was a hard month for all of us living with Erick's parents and moving twice. We are finally settled in our new place and routines are back in place. She did well with all the chaos and has adjusted well.

School Updates: n/a

2009 Year in Review

My baby grew up in 2009 and now she doesn't even seem to be so little any more. In fact she will tell you she's a person. Here is her year in review.

January
1. She learned to jump off the couch and how to scare me to death.
2. She enjoyed playing with her MegaBlocks
3. She could string one inch beads and buttons on a lacing string.
4. Nods her head correctly and consistently
5. Sorting by color and shape
6. Discovered t.v.

February
1. Identifies most pictures in books by name
2. Chips front tooth.
3. Develops dislike of all meat except chicken nuggets.
4. Can identify all body parts on self and many on a doll.

March
1. Begins drawing circles
2. Counts 1-2-3 on her fingers
3. Adept at using iPhone even better than some adults
4. Walks up stairs without holding on
5. Visits Monkey Joes for the first time
6. Stayed overnight for the first time at Grandma's house.

April
1. Opens doorknobs.
2. Climbs ladders
3. Doubled speaking vocabulary and says "please"
4. Requests books by title.
5. Rides her tricycle
6. Really into her artwork this month

May

1. jumps with both feet off ground

2. climbs the curved ladders at park

3. noticeable increase in vocabulary and sentence length

4. we went to Indy 500 Kid's Day on the Circle

June

1. estimated 500 words speaking vocabulary

2. really into creating art this month and choosing her own colors

3. fear of bees begins along with obsession with insects and rocks

4. weaned from nursing

July

1. learns to somersault

2. watched fireworks and is scared of the loud noise but fascinated by the display

3. visits my sister and family in PA. Goes to Dutch Wonderland, the Crayola Factory, and the

Philly Children's Museum

4. visits the Marion County Fair

5. eats/plays at Incredible Pizza for the first time

August
1. State Fair visit and holds a butterfly

2. another visit from my sister and Jaxin

3. Mommy went back to work

September

1. turns 2 and has her birthday party at Holiday Park

2. can slide down a fireman pole and pumps her legs on a regular swing

3. more abstract language, added colors, shapes, emotions, adjectives

4. starting to call herself by name

5. is a bully and aggressive to other kids, even bigger ones

October

1. goes to the pumpkin patch for the first time

2. goes trunk or treat & trick or treating as Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz

3. perfects her frisbee throw

4. huge reading spurt and interest in books. Wants to be read to constantly

November

1. begining to recognize humor in stories and on t.v.

2. more empathetic towards others

3. Thanksgiving at the grandparents' house

December

1. living with grandparents and mom/dad altogether

2. moved into a new apartment

3. beginning of bossy behavior

4. huge leaps in imagination and pretend play

5. discovers Santa and singing

Holiday Pics

Here are Piper's pictures from this December we had taken.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com