Saturday, April 24, 2010

Southwestway Park

We went to try out a new park the other day. Erick wanted to play disc golf, but we couldn't figure out where it was, so we just played on the playground and then took a hike. In my opinion, the playground was really intended for big kids. The actual slides were very challenging to get to, but Piper persevered and climbed up the chain ladder with a little help.
Photobucket

She did make a friend however, and had fun running around with her, and then blowing bubbles with her and her little brother. Erick and I were debating about how old the kids were. Piper was all about playing with the girl who appeared to me to be about 4-5. She was barely taller than Piper, but her speech was more sophisticated. The little boy I guessed to be barely 2, maybe younger based on his movements and speech. Piper wanted nothing to do with him, when normally she likes to play with the boys, and I attributed it to him being younger than her. Erick thought the girl was about 3 and the boy the same as I guessed. I finally asked their father how old they were, and he told me the girl had just turned 5 in January which confirmed my suspicions. The boy as it turned out, was exactly the same age as Piper, which really surprised me.


Afterwards we took a hike through the woods to "look for bears", but of course we didn't find any. Piper collected her usual stash of sticks, and pointed out all the flowers and bugs to us along the way.

Saturday, April 17, 2010

Thursday, April 15, 2010

Tea Party


Grandma bought Piper a tea set and she has been having fun pretending to make and serve tea.

Friday, April 9, 2010

More Easter Pics and Kite Video



Piper had lots of fun on Easter. She found all of her Easter eggs and her basket. I think she was more excited about about hunting for eggs than she was about the stuff in her basket. Afterwards, Grandma picked her up for church. She's only been twice before, but she has the routine down, and knows exactly where to go and what to do. Grandma says she was really good.

Erick, Stella, and I met them at his parent's house for lunch. The kids played in the backyard in the sandbox, and Piper and Colin flew their kites. I was glad it was such a beautiful day again.

Coloring Eggs







Saturday, April 3, 2010

Egg Hunt




We took the girls to grandma's church for an Easter Egg Hunt. I was disappointed that it was rainy and we had to do it indoors. Piper had a great time collecting her eggs and mangaged to fill her basket until it was overflowing. She received so much candy that I'll probably have to throw most of it away or else she'll have rotten teeth. She did not win the special prize, because Mommy stupidly gave the egg away to someone else that had the ticket in it. Oh well, she still had a great time. She was very cute during the lesson too and kept raising her hand like the other kids even though she had no clue how to answer the preacher's questions. Thankfully he didn't call on her. She loved playing with the other kids and running around on the stage. Most of the time there was this little boy who was chasing her trying to grab her wings. I'm happy that she is finally at the point where she enjoys playing with other children.

Friday, April 2, 2010

General Update April

Age (in months, or years and months): almost 31 months

Physical abilities: Is doing better at jumping over objects and is also trying to jump rope. Has been very interested in using scissors this month and is actually doing quite well with them. Mostly doing small cuts and not long ones yet. Discovered the corkscrew apparatus at the playground and enjoys twisting around it from top to bottom.

Speech/language: vocabulary, sentence length, etc: The girl talks non-stop and is driving us all crazy. She narrates to herself all the time, as well as demanding our attention and acknowledgment when she is speaking. Vocabulary use this month includes: terrible, exquisite, and interesting. She now declares certain things as her “favorite” now, and her new catch phrase is “Let me share that with you” as in I have something she wants and now I have to share with her. I’ve heard several Spanish and Chinese words this month also, and she obviously memorized certain vocab from t.v. and her Dora books such as “sigue” “vamonos” and “abre”

Reading/pre-reading: nothing new, still reads tons of books and enjoys “reading” to the baby. If I have to read Snow White and the Seven Dwarves one more time I might go insane though.

Number stuff: I am starting to hear more correct rote counting 1-5, although it is still hit and miss. She has a new sudden increased interest in money and knows all the coin names, although she does mix them up at times.

Other cognitive stuff: puzzles, reasoning, etc: Is making connections between everything, especially if it relates to something she has seen on Dora. Another catch phrase is “that’s just like…” She told me the other day that I must have taken a shower while she was at the playground because my hair was wet. We have begun attempting some very simple mazes and thinking skill type activities such as looking at a picture and trying to decide what’s wrong with it or what’s missing?

Creativity: Has started drawing tadpole people this month, and carries around this little notebook she loves to write and draw in. Still prefers pens to other mediums right now. Cuts out snowflakes using her scissors and attempts to fold paper into airplanes with limited success.

Imagination: Still very involved in pretend play

Social: I’m seeing more interactive play with other kids. Likes to play tag- her version of running around and screaming “you can‘t catch me!”. Declares other to be her “best friend” and this changes by the minute and often includes me

Character/personality: Has adapted well to the arrival of Stella at the beginning of the month. Was a little whiny at times, but is doing better. Still figuring out her new role and position in the family. She is working out how far she can push us and whether or not I will get up to discipline her while nursing. Definitely pushing her boundaries to see how far she can go. I’m seeing arguing from her lately rather than compliance and following directions. We are working on expressing our emotions, and she can be so funny at times. She told me at the store the other day with such expression in voice and body “I am NOT happy Mommy!” The lady behind us was cracking up. I feel like she has grown up sooo much this month, even more than I thought It doesn’t help that I get weekly comments from people who think she is at least 4 years old. On a positive note she is pretty much potty trained now and has not regressed yet.

School Updates: n/a

Thursday, April 1, 2010

Garfield Park


The weather here has been beautiful and we have been trying to go outside more. The last time we went to Garfield Park was to go sledding, but this time Piper enjoyed playing on the playground with her cousin. We also went to the conservatory. It was the last day for the tulip exhibition, and they smelled wonderful, although I never really thought of tulips smelling before. Piper loved the waterfalls and looking at all the pretty flowers and plants.