Ana and baby update
Jan. 28th, 2007 12:05 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
conuly
Ana has been pooing on the toilet a lot lately. I forgot to tell Jenn, but she went on the toilet twice at Eliot's house on Friday - the second time of her own volition. (The first time, Rachel correctly recalled that Ana always has an accident while visiting, so we put her on there ourselves. Well, I mean, last week she didn't have an accident, but she chose, unbeknownst to us, to poo in the potty seat rather than the toilet. We were all pleased, but a little less enthused than we might have been.)
I think she's really turned a corner. She said, the day she went on the potty seat, that she knew she had to go because her tummy hurt - I mean, that's a big step, one I don't think she'd really made before! Of course, she's also made comments about "I could be a baby, and then you could change my diaper", so I think somebody's not that sold on the idea of "big girl" yet. Time will tell.
She's also discovered the power of computer games. Last time she came upstairs to see "her new room", I showed her starfall.com on the computer. She was going to want to be on the computer anyway, I thought I'd show her something that wouldn't interfere with anything else. And she glommed right onto it. She wanted to see some bits again, and again, and again, she sang along with songs, she repeated the sounds - and a few days later, as we zipped up her jacket, she went "Zip, zip, zzzip" and told me that Zipper starts with Z, just like zebra and zoo. I mean, how cool is that?
She's also been in a real reading upswing lately. All the time books, books, more books. I never thought I'd be tired of books in my life!
She can climb straight up and down a chain link fence, and sideways on it, as long as I'm spotting. (This is an important life skill, and is therefore to be encouraged.) She scared somebody at the SICM by being able to jump and slide down the fire pole by herself. Nearby five year olds weren't capable. She routinely jumps down the stairs at the SICM, taking the last three altogether (I've temporarily banned the stairs for just this reason, and navigate by elevator. I might as well use a stroller for all the good this does me...) She can pick up her sister. She's not supposed to.
She lies, and the lies are getting better. Not good - I can still see straight through them - but better. I'm not sure if this is good or bad. It's certainly not acceptable, and sends her to an immediate time-out, followed by a talk on why lying is wrong. She's rude when we tell her not to do things, or when she's frustrated. It's really kinda obnoxious. We're working on it.
She can hide in creative spots when playing hide-and-seek, however to her, the purpose of the game is to be found, not to hide very well. She plays make-believe games with her toys, or other objects. She makes messes of breakfast pretending that various foods are lost (I don't let her do this). She tells me stories.
She can count, and we're still working on basic addition and subtraction. She can circle things, can make circles, can draw things. She can recognize letters, and sign most of them. She can recognize sounds as well, which is far more important. She has a large number of songs memorized, and a couple of jokes I don't think she gets the point of yet.
She's very sweet to her friends - most of the time. She'll talk to her friend Faith, who is two, and if Faith doesn't answer (she's just two) she'll ask "Don't you talk? Can you talk? It's all right." (Faith talks more around her now!) When somebody was bullying Faith, she ran to me, and to Faith's mom, to defend her friend, because Faith didn't have the words yet. She hugs her friends when they fall down, or seem upset. When her sister gets sat down and redirected from doing something she shouldn't be, she'll say "Oh, babies don't get time-outs" and talk to her sister in order to prove it. But she also bosses her friends, especially the younger ones, and argues with them, and pulls her sister around. She will push and hit her sister quickly, even when it's somebody else she's mad at. And she takes Evangeline's toys. (She gets a lot of time-outs and talks for this, but it's not sticking yet. Ideas?)
There's so much going on with her, I don't think I can sum it up. She's Ana. And she's three.
(Incidentally, about the toilet training... A few months ago, I had asked my mom when she thought Ana would be done with the pooping issues, and she said "Oh, by the time she's four". When pressed rather sillily for an exact date, she told me February 17th. Well, way to go Mommy! We're coming up on that now, and if I don't jinx it....)
She's 15 months now.
Link 1
Link 2
Link 3
Link 4
Link 5
Link 6
(A note on that first link, for people who drive. Sure, they say you "probably" have moved to a "more advanced" forward facing seat - but trust me. Everybody is safer rear-facing. The longer you can contrive to fit your kid in a rear-facing seat, the safer they are. Consider getting a seat that's rated to go rear-facing as long as possible. Bet you don't know how many people die every year in car accidents, but it's a lot.)
The baby runs. Fast. Days go like this - I put her down. I blink. She's at the stairs. I grab her from the stairs and put her down. I eventually have to blink, or sneeze, or take a glance at Ana. She's at the stairs. I run and grab her. I hold her hand. I blink. She and I are at the stairs. I put her up. She cries. I put her down. I blink - well, you know the rest. She's sure fond of those stairs. I need a leash.
She's very shy with people she doesn't know that well. She doesn't scream and cry if, say, Pam-at-the-front-desk wants to hold her, but she doesn't say anything either.
She can pat her head (when nobody she doesn't know is around) and her nose (ditto) and her mouth (ditto). She can sign bear, and cup, and fish, and milk/mama, and go-up, and bird, and cat (this one's new), and change-diaper, and eat, and banana, and more, and all-done, and hi/bye, and blow-a-kiss, yes, no, and say-cheese (she made that one up, and she'll say deee as she does it), and hat, and book, so long as nobody's around whom I want to impress. She *will* sign "gimme gimme gimme" around anybody, though. Absolutely anybody. Most of those, she signs almost entirely when prompted - but she is very likely to spontaneously sign cup, change-diaper, say-cheese, hat, and gimme. And fish. She really likes fish. I just realized that this is a lot, but I swear - they're consistent signs! And she won't use them, even when prompted, unless they're appropriate. Like, she won't do bear unless she sees a bear, and she won't do go-up unless she wants to go up. Only exception here is "fish". She really likes fish. She's more enthusiastic with that sign if she sees something fish-like, but she'll say it if randomly prompted as well.
She can say Ana, mamama (gimme), Nanen, uh-uh, uh-huh, uh-oh, there-you-are, and down. Maybe a few more that I don't recognize.
She (mostly) sits still when I do her hair. In fact, when I pull out the scrunchies and change of clothes, she'll walk right over and sit in my lap! (Or else grab a toy, walk far away from me, and pretend she never saw me and has gone suddenly deaf to her own name.)
She tries to put hats and shoes and dollslings on herself. If she screams for water, and I go "What do you say?" she'll sign cup instead. (She signs it by turning one hand sideways, and hitting the back of that hand with her other hand.)
She kisses herself in the mirror, and scribbles on paper, and doesn't *always* eat crayons.
If I ask her to pick up one toy and put it away, and she sees another, similar toy, she'll pick up that one as well. She throws things in the garbage when asked, and occasionally when *not* asked. Once, I asked her to put a plate in the sink, and we almost lost that plate.
She knows how to wash her hands - stand up on sink, get soap, get hands wet, get paper, throw paper out. She knows roughly how to use a spoon or a fork, and she can drink water out of a regular cup without spilling (though she can't have it on the table near her).
She can go up and down stairs. I taught her very carefully how to go down stairs by scooting on her butt, but she keeps trying to hold the banister instead, so it's dangerous. (That, my friends, is irony.)
If I put her up for a few minutes when she's cranky, she emerges almost as refreshed as if she'd had an actual nap. She loves sitting on my lap, hugging me, crawling all over me. But
she gets into moods - she's hungry, but not if I give her food, or give her food with my fingers, or let her feed herself - she's not sure what she wants.
She loves books, and toys that involve keys (even though she can't manage them herself, she doesn't get frustrated by that - she gets frustrated with help, though). She loves toys she can drag behind her, too. She can't wait until she can help cook in Kidz Cook, maybe in a few months.
She likes to find small spots to hide in, if she can, like under the desk or behind a certain cabinet in the SICM.
She is a happy little kid. And she's Evangeline.
I think she's really turned a corner. She said, the day she went on the potty seat, that she knew she had to go because her tummy hurt - I mean, that's a big step, one I don't think she'd really made before! Of course, she's also made comments about "I could be a baby, and then you could change my diaper", so I think somebody's not that sold on the idea of "big girl" yet. Time will tell.
She's also discovered the power of computer games. Last time she came upstairs to see "her new room", I showed her starfall.com on the computer. She was going to want to be on the computer anyway, I thought I'd show her something that wouldn't interfere with anything else. And she glommed right onto it. She wanted to see some bits again, and again, and again, she sang along with songs, she repeated the sounds - and a few days later, as we zipped up her jacket, she went "Zip, zip, zzzip" and told me that Zipper starts with Z, just like zebra and zoo. I mean, how cool is that?
She's also been in a real reading upswing lately. All the time books, books, more books. I never thought I'd be tired of books in my life!
She can climb straight up and down a chain link fence, and sideways on it, as long as I'm spotting. (This is an important life skill, and is therefore to be encouraged.) She scared somebody at the SICM by being able to jump and slide down the fire pole by herself. Nearby five year olds weren't capable. She routinely jumps down the stairs at the SICM, taking the last three altogether (I've temporarily banned the stairs for just this reason, and navigate by elevator. I might as well use a stroller for all the good this does me...) She can pick up her sister. She's not supposed to.
She lies, and the lies are getting better. Not good - I can still see straight through them - but better. I'm not sure if this is good or bad. It's certainly not acceptable, and sends her to an immediate time-out, followed by a talk on why lying is wrong. She's rude when we tell her not to do things, or when she's frustrated. It's really kinda obnoxious. We're working on it.
She can hide in creative spots when playing hide-and-seek, however to her, the purpose of the game is to be found, not to hide very well. She plays make-believe games with her toys, or other objects. She makes messes of breakfast pretending that various foods are lost (I don't let her do this). She tells me stories.
She can count, and we're still working on basic addition and subtraction. She can circle things, can make circles, can draw things. She can recognize letters, and sign most of them. She can recognize sounds as well, which is far more important. She has a large number of songs memorized, and a couple of jokes I don't think she gets the point of yet.
She's very sweet to her friends - most of the time. She'll talk to her friend Faith, who is two, and if Faith doesn't answer (she's just two) she'll ask "Don't you talk? Can you talk? It's all right." (Faith talks more around her now!) When somebody was bullying Faith, she ran to me, and to Faith's mom, to defend her friend, because Faith didn't have the words yet. She hugs her friends when they fall down, or seem upset. When her sister gets sat down and redirected from doing something she shouldn't be, she'll say "Oh, babies don't get time-outs" and talk to her sister in order to prove it. But she also bosses her friends, especially the younger ones, and argues with them, and pulls her sister around. She will push and hit her sister quickly, even when it's somebody else she's mad at. And she takes Evangeline's toys. (She gets a lot of time-outs and talks for this, but it's not sticking yet. Ideas?)
There's so much going on with her, I don't think I can sum it up. She's Ana. And she's three.
(Incidentally, about the toilet training... A few months ago, I had asked my mom when she thought Ana would be done with the pooping issues, and she said "Oh, by the time she's four". When pressed rather sillily for an exact date, she told me February 17th. Well, way to go Mommy! We're coming up on that now, and if I don't jinx it....)
She's 15 months now.
Link 1
Link 2
Link 3
Link 4
Link 5
Link 6
(A note on that first link, for people who drive. Sure, they say you "probably" have moved to a "more advanced" forward facing seat - but trust me. Everybody is safer rear-facing. The longer you can contrive to fit your kid in a rear-facing seat, the safer they are. Consider getting a seat that's rated to go rear-facing as long as possible. Bet you don't know how many people die every year in car accidents, but it's a lot.)
The baby runs. Fast. Days go like this - I put her down. I blink. She's at the stairs. I grab her from the stairs and put her down. I eventually have to blink, or sneeze, or take a glance at Ana. She's at the stairs. I run and grab her. I hold her hand. I blink. She and I are at the stairs. I put her up. She cries. I put her down. I blink - well, you know the rest. She's sure fond of those stairs. I need a leash.
She's very shy with people she doesn't know that well. She doesn't scream and cry if, say, Pam-at-the-front-desk wants to hold her, but she doesn't say anything either.
She can pat her head (when nobody she doesn't know is around) and her nose (ditto) and her mouth (ditto). She can sign bear, and cup, and fish, and milk/mama, and go-up, and bird, and cat (this one's new), and change-diaper, and eat, and banana, and more, and all-done, and hi/bye, and blow-a-kiss, yes, no, and say-cheese (she made that one up, and she'll say deee as she does it), and hat, and book, so long as nobody's around whom I want to impress. She *will* sign "gimme gimme gimme" around anybody, though. Absolutely anybody. Most of those, she signs almost entirely when prompted - but she is very likely to spontaneously sign cup, change-diaper, say-cheese, hat, and gimme. And fish. She really likes fish. I just realized that this is a lot, but I swear - they're consistent signs! And she won't use them, even when prompted, unless they're appropriate. Like, she won't do bear unless she sees a bear, and she won't do go-up unless she wants to go up. Only exception here is "fish". She really likes fish. She's more enthusiastic with that sign if she sees something fish-like, but she'll say it if randomly prompted as well.
She can say Ana, mamama (gimme), Nanen, uh-uh, uh-huh, uh-oh, there-you-are, and down. Maybe a few more that I don't recognize.
She (mostly) sits still when I do her hair. In fact, when I pull out the scrunchies and change of clothes, she'll walk right over and sit in my lap! (Or else grab a toy, walk far away from me, and pretend she never saw me and has gone suddenly deaf to her own name.)
She tries to put hats and shoes and dollslings on herself. If she screams for water, and I go "What do you say?" she'll sign cup instead. (She signs it by turning one hand sideways, and hitting the back of that hand with her other hand.)
She kisses herself in the mirror, and scribbles on paper, and doesn't *always* eat crayons.
If I ask her to pick up one toy and put it away, and she sees another, similar toy, she'll pick up that one as well. She throws things in the garbage when asked, and occasionally when *not* asked. Once, I asked her to put a plate in the sink, and we almost lost that plate.
She knows how to wash her hands - stand up on sink, get soap, get hands wet, get paper, throw paper out. She knows roughly how to use a spoon or a fork, and she can drink water out of a regular cup without spilling (though she can't have it on the table near her).
She can go up and down stairs. I taught her very carefully how to go down stairs by scooting on her butt, but she keeps trying to hold the banister instead, so it's dangerous. (That, my friends, is irony.)
If I put her up for a few minutes when she's cranky, she emerges almost as refreshed as if she'd had an actual nap. She loves sitting on my lap, hugging me, crawling all over me. But
she gets into moods - she's hungry, but not if I give her food, or give her food with my fingers, or let her feed herself - she's not sure what she wants.
She loves books, and toys that involve keys (even though she can't manage them herself, she doesn't get frustrated by that - she gets frustrated with help, though). She loves toys she can drag behind her, too. She can't wait until she can help cook in Kidz Cook, maybe in a few months.
She likes to find small spots to hide in, if she can, like under the desk or behind a certain cabinet in the SICM.
She is a happy little kid. And she's Evangeline.
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no subject
Date: 2007-01-28 06:16 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-01-28 06:32 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-01-28 12:20 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-01-28 06:32 pm (UTC)There's somebody on a comm talking about how early her kids were trained - but she changed them on a schedule rather than when they were dirty, which, I told her, I find that reprehensible.
no subject
Date: 2007-01-30 10:09 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-01-30 11:34 pm (UTC)And yes, this is just a normal three-year-old stage. The vast majority of the time, she's the sweetest kid I know and see. She rarely hits her sister - more often, it's "Sister, come play here!" or hugging her because she fell down, that sort of thing.
But she's still just, y'know, thre.
Seth didn't just go through a biting stage - that kid also hit and threw the longest tantrum I ever saw because I wanted him to pick up food he'd thrown. But he was younger :)
no subject
Date: 2007-01-31 12:51 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-01-28 06:16 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-01-28 06:32 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-01-28 12:20 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-01-28 06:32 pm (UTC)There's somebody on a comm talking about how early her kids were trained - but she changed them on a schedule rather than when they were dirty, which, I told her, I find that reprehensible.
no subject
Date: 2007-01-30 10:09 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-01-30 11:34 pm (UTC)And yes, this is just a normal three-year-old stage. The vast majority of the time, she's the sweetest kid I know and see. She rarely hits her sister - more often, it's "Sister, come play here!" or hugging her because she fell down, that sort of thing.
But she's still just, y'know, thre.
Seth didn't just go through a biting stage - that kid also hit and threw the longest tantrum I ever saw because I wanted him to pick up food he'd thrown. But he was younger :)
no subject
Date: 2007-01-31 12:51 am (UTC)