We took the girls downtown to Military Park for the PBS Kids Day. They had lots of free activities for children to do. It was very hot and muggy, and the lines to do anything were extremely long. We only stayed for about an hour and a half due to this. We did manage to meet Clifford, whom Piper was terrified of seeing. I think she just hates mascots in general. We skipped the other ones which included The Cat in the Hat, Super Why, Rosita, Elmo, and a few more. We did see Gordon from Sesame Street on stage though.She loved the bubble stations and had fun bouncing in the bounce castle. She started to do a couple other bounce stations but didn't get very far. She was so tired and hot.Sunday, June 13, 2010
PBS Kids Day
We took the girls downtown to Military Park for the PBS Kids Day. They had lots of free activities for children to do. It was very hot and muggy, and the lines to do anything were extremely long. We only stayed for about an hour and a half due to this. We did manage to meet Clifford, whom Piper was terrified of seeing. I think she just hates mascots in general. We skipped the other ones which included The Cat in the Hat, Super Why, Rosita, Elmo, and a few more. We did see Gordon from Sesame Street on stage though.She loved the bubble stations and had fun bouncing in the bounce castle. She started to do a couple other bounce stations but didn't get very far. She was so tired and hot.
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Swimming at Grandma's House
Piper had lots of fun swimming in her little pool at Grandma's house. She really liked the hose best though. It was pretty hot and the water felt good. Even the cold water in the pool got really warm quickly. She enjoyed playing with Peyton who lives down the street. They both took turns emptying out the pool, and watering the flowers and trees.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
General Update
Age (in months, or years and months): 33 months
Physical abilities: refuses to pedal her trike or bike even though she used to be able to do it. She will do it once in a while, or in strange places like the grass where it barely moves. Grandma says she has pedaled for her though. She’s just being stubborn for me I guess.
Speech/language: vocabulary, sentence length, etc: Even more songs this month. I’m trying to write them down as I hear them to keep track. Is making up words like too “birdsy“, “choo chooey“, “splashy“, etc. in addition to regular words like too chilly or too windy. Everything is “too” something.
Reading/pre-reading: Will not perform on command, but I know she knows all her letters still as I hear her talking to herself about them, or when she asks for a certain letter that she can’t reach. We haven’t been reading as many books a day lately…my fault. She can spell her name with magnets, and we are working on writing it.
Number stuff: remains not an interest, is rote counting 1-10 sometimes I hear an 11 or 12
Other cognitive stuff: puzzles, reasoning, etc
Creativity: same
Imagination: so much pretend play lately, has imaginary “friends” that come along with us when we leave. Does not need actual objects to pretend, and just pretends to pick things up and has lengthy conversations with “nothing”
Social: prefers to play with other kids and is sad when they won’t play with her because they are older or when there is no one around at all to play with on the playground.
Character/personality: I’ve decided she loves her sister in the morning and as the day goes on she likes her less and less. She is handful these days being very demanding, whiny, and has to have everything a certain way.
School Updates: n/a
Physical abilities: refuses to pedal her trike or bike even though she used to be able to do it. She will do it once in a while, or in strange places like the grass where it barely moves. Grandma says she has pedaled for her though. She’s just being stubborn for me I guess.
Speech/language: vocabulary, sentence length, etc: Even more songs this month. I’m trying to write them down as I hear them to keep track. Is making up words like too “birdsy“, “choo chooey“, “splashy“, etc. in addition to regular words like too chilly or too windy. Everything is “too” something.
Reading/pre-reading: Will not perform on command, but I know she knows all her letters still as I hear her talking to herself about them, or when she asks for a certain letter that she can’t reach. We haven’t been reading as many books a day lately…my fault. She can spell her name with magnets, and we are working on writing it.
Number stuff: remains not an interest, is rote counting 1-10 sometimes I hear an 11 or 12
Other cognitive stuff: puzzles, reasoning, etc
Creativity: same
Imagination: so much pretend play lately, has imaginary “friends” that come along with us when we leave. Does not need actual objects to pretend, and just pretends to pick things up and has lengthy conversations with “nothing”
Social: prefers to play with other kids and is sad when they won’t play with her because they are older or when there is no one around at all to play with on the playground.
Character/personality: I’ve decided she loves her sister in the morning and as the day goes on she likes her less and less. She is handful these days being very demanding, whiny, and has to have everything a certain way.
School Updates: n/a
Sunday, May 30, 2010
First Swim of the Season
We went swimming for the first time this summer. Piper had so much fun playing in both the baby pool and the big pool. She loved jumping into the water as long as one of us was there to catch her. Her friend Andre had a toy fishing pole that caught little fish, and she thought it was a lot of fun. I'll have to see if I can find one now for her too since she liked it so much.
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Thursday, May 13, 2010
New Room
Piper is also getting a new room just like Stella. She graduated from her crib to a twin bed and is enjoying the newfound space. Daddy is busy painting her room in a Dora theme. So far he just has the Grumpy Old Troll and Dora done on one wall. I'll be posting more as he completes them, as well as the final product. I can't wait to see it all come together.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
May: General Update
Age (in months, or years and months): 31.5 months
Physical abilities: Is trying to do the monkey bars/rings at the park. Does pretty well, but I still have to support her legs as she moves her arms independently. Has developed an increased love of dance again this month. Weird jumping moves where she stands in place with her feet spread wide apart and jumps straight in the air and turns 180 degrees then plants her feet again.
Speech/language: vocabulary, sentence length, etc: Singing finally! She started out with Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and has added several more songs to her repertoire in the last couple of weeks. She was always one to sing and make up her own songs, but singing known songs is new for her.
Reading/pre-reading: ABC song, Has picture read a story to Stella a couple of times, but nothing particularly new as of late.
Number stuff: We have more rote counting this month: 1-8. She is still much better at number recognition and 1:1 counting than she is at rote counting. I find this odd, but maybe it’s normal?
Other cognitive stuff: puzzles, reasoning, etc Very interested in weather this month and night vs. day. Seems to be trying to figure out how the sun and the moon relate to one another and the patterns that ensue.
Creativity: same
Imagination: More pretend play, imaginary friend play, is using her kitchen more since I moved it into the living room again.
Social: Is interacting m ore with other kids when she has the opportunity. She still gravitates towards older ones, but is starting to prefer girls more often…or maybe she’s just has more chances to play with girls lately.
Character/personality: sweet, loving, stubborn, argumentative, bossy, loud
School Updates: n/a
Link to blog/websites/photos: http://onefunkymunky.blogspot.com/
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
IMA
The girls and I went to the Indianapolis Museum of Art to visit. It was too beautiful outside, so we toured some of the gardens rather than going inside for the exhibits. Piper loved the water features, and was surprised when the first fountain erupted. We also toured the Lily House and got to ride in an old style elevator with an iron gate. Out of everything we looked at... the gorgeous flowers and blooms, the ponds, the statues, Piper was most interested and fascinated by the plethora of storm drains that we walked over. They were of every shape and size, and some of them had engravings of fish on them. Go figure!
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
Here is Piper's debut song, "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star". She is more likely to make up her own songs than to sing a regular song. I guess that's the creative part in her. She has many snippets of songs memorized, but this is the first one she really knows the words to the whole thing...although she usually forgets the one line unless prompted, as you will soon see.
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.
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.
Thursday, April 8, 2010
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
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.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Tadpole People
Piper has been obsessed with drawing lately. She has a little notebook she carries around and writes in all the time. I finally broke down and bought her a four pack tonight at the Dollar Store. The other day we were coloring and drawing together in her room, and she started drawing a face. She said she was making a smiley face, but it was much more detailed than other ones I had seen her draw. These had eyes, nose, ears, mouth, hair, and four legs. :) I asked about arms, but apparently she's not ready for that yet, so I'm happy with just the legs. I can't wait to see what she draws next.
Monday, March 29, 2010
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Masterpiece on the Floor
Look what happens when Daddy isn't watching me! Magic Eraser cleans up permanent marker fortunately.
Mommy made Daddy clean it up.
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Playdoh
Piper played with her playdoh for at least an hour tonight. She had tons of fun cutting and rolling her dough into shapes.
Friday, March 19, 2010
New Sandbox
Piper enjoyed the beautiful weather we have been having here these last few days. It's supposed to get colder this weekend though. Boo! Grandma bought a sandbox for her house and Piper had a great time digging and playing in it for several hours.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Happy St. Patrick's Day
We went downtown today to watch the St. Patty's day parade. Piper had a lot of fun collecting beads and candy. She was not impressed with the loud guns and cannon shots though. Everyone told her how cute she lo0oked today in her mismatched green outfit. Daddy dressed her, but it actually looked okay for the event.
Afterwards we went and ate at The Old Spaghetti Factory. It was naptime and I guess we should have waited. She didn't eat much and was whiny most of the time. She did like the Bread Man that Daddy made to entertain her.
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Build A Bear
We took Piper to Build a Bear the weekend before I had the baby. Of course she ended up choosing to make a stuffed dog. I think that brings the total to 5 dogs that she sleeps with at night, and one cow. At any rate, she had fun picking it out and stuffing it. It has not only the heart but also a shamrock sewn inside it. Not surprisingly, she chose ruby red shoes for it to wear, and then picked out a pair of jeans. I found a red shirt and hat to match the shoes and Daddy picked out some sunglasses. It is one stylish dog.
Monday, March 1, 2010
General Update March
Age (in months, or years and months): almost 30 months
Physical abilities: regularly climbs out of her crib every morning. She’s been able to do this for months, but fortunately it was containing her psychologically until recently. I guess I can try to take the side off again. The last time we took off the side rail she would not stay in her bed though at night. She also pulled herself up on the counter the other day so she could stand on top of it…crazy upper body strength.
Speech/language: vocabulary, sentence length, etc: It’s hard to believe she’s not older at times. Vocabulary is amazing and sentences get more complex every day. She talks non-stop and is intelligible to others most of the time. Vocab examples: delicious, disgusting, perfect, snow plow (that one threw me since I have no idea where she picked it up) beautiful, difficult. She will tell you her first and last name now. I’m not sure why I never thought to teach her the last name before now?
Reading/pre-reading: We still read lots of books every day, but not as many as we used to. She would love to do more, but Mommy is tired, and she gets mad at Daddy because he changes the story and mixes it up on purpose to be silly. She has a lot of books memorized and often reads them to herself.
Number stuff: I think she’ll be the last child on here to rote count past 1-2-3 correctly even though she can identify the numbers in print. Loves the number 18 for whatever reason.
Other cognitive stuff: puzzles, reasoning, etc I can’t remember any examples right now, although I had a really good one the other day. If I remember I’ll update.
Creativity: loves to draw with pens now in her journal. Tells me what she is drawing, but I have a hard time visualizing it. A lot of her writing is still scribbles, but it is more focused and not completely random. Still enjoys playing with stickers and painting. Will pretend to paint if I tell her we can’t right now.
Imagination: Plays dinosaurs with daddy a lot of the time, which I find ironic. She has a love/hare relationship with them just like she did with bugs last summer. She is scared of her little robotic dinosaur she got for Christmas, bvt talks about it and shows it to people all the time. She just won’t touch it. Loved watching Jurassic Park a while back when it was on t.v. Knows many dinosaur names and what they eat. She continues to pretend play with her dolls and stuffed animals a lot of the day.
Social: has been having play dates with a new little friend who is about a year older than Piper. Gets along fairly well with her and plays well together. Can be a little aggressive and demanding at times about what she wants them both to do though.
Character/personality: Wild child this month at times, loud, boisterous, and extremely full of energy. We also began potty training seriously this month. She has been doing extremely well except for the last couple of days she has had accidents during the day. She is very proud of herself, especially when she poops. We have also gone two nights dry so I am optimistic t
School Updates: n/a
Link to blog/websites/photos: http://onefunkymunky.blogspot.com/
Physical abilities: regularly climbs out of her crib every morning. She’s been able to do this for months, but fortunately it was containing her psychologically until recently. I guess I can try to take the side off again. The last time we took off the side rail she would not stay in her bed though at night. She also pulled herself up on the counter the other day so she could stand on top of it…crazy upper body strength.
Speech/language: vocabulary, sentence length, etc: It’s hard to believe she’s not older at times. Vocabulary is amazing and sentences get more complex every day. She talks non-stop and is intelligible to others most of the time. Vocab examples: delicious, disgusting, perfect, snow plow (that one threw me since I have no idea where she picked it up) beautiful, difficult. She will tell you her first and last name now. I’m not sure why I never thought to teach her the last name before now?
Reading/pre-reading: We still read lots of books every day, but not as many as we used to. She would love to do more, but Mommy is tired, and she gets mad at Daddy because he changes the story and mixes it up on purpose to be silly. She has a lot of books memorized and often reads them to herself.
Number stuff: I think she’ll be the last child on here to rote count past 1-2-3 correctly even though she can identify the numbers in print. Loves the number 18 for whatever reason.
Other cognitive stuff: puzzles, reasoning, etc I can’t remember any examples right now, although I had a really good one the other day. If I remember I’ll update.
Creativity: loves to draw with pens now in her journal. Tells me what she is drawing, but I have a hard time visualizing it. A lot of her writing is still scribbles, but it is more focused and not completely random. Still enjoys playing with stickers and painting. Will pretend to paint if I tell her we can’t right now.
Imagination: Plays dinosaurs with daddy a lot of the time, which I find ironic. She has a love/hare relationship with them just like she did with bugs last summer. She is scared of her little robotic dinosaur she got for Christmas, bvt talks about it and shows it to people all the time. She just won’t touch it. Loved watching Jurassic Park a while back when it was on t.v. Knows many dinosaur names and what they eat. She continues to pretend play with her dolls and stuffed animals a lot of the day.
Social: has been having play dates with a new little friend who is about a year older than Piper. Gets along fairly well with her and plays well together. Can be a little aggressive and demanding at times about what she wants them both to do though.
Character/personality: Wild child this month at times, loud, boisterous, and extremely full of energy. We also began potty training seriously this month. She has been doing extremely well except for the last couple of days she has had accidents during the day. She is very proud of herself, especially when she poops. We have also gone two nights dry so I am optimistic t
School Updates: n/a
Link to blog/websites/photos: http://onefunkymunky.blogspot.com/
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Princess Mirror Craft Project
Piper received this Melissa and Doug craft kit for Christmas from Uncle Greg and Aunt Rory. We finally got around to doing it today. She thought it was lots of fun and has a blast using the glitter glue. It was very messy though. I was impressed that she kept the glitter off the mirror part and put all the stickers on except for the first one that I did. The finished product is god-awful and garish, but she loves it. When you're two more is more, not less. :)Thursday, February 11, 2010
Puppy Chow
MMmmm!
This is her "Say Cheese!" face.Tonight we made puppy chow. I had made some last week for work, but I wanted to do it with Piper too. Last week I bought her a chef's outfit at Macy's that I needed her to try out. :) She was very willing to participate and help cook. We practiced our measuring and counting. She still can't rote count, even though she can identify all of her numbers up to 12. She's getting better though.
Here's a link to the puppy chow recipe.
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