Addison in the Morning
Addison and 'Mickey Mouse Clubhouse' are still going strong. As soon as I go in to get her in the morning, she asks to go "night, night here" (which, for her, means to go lay in our bed), and to bring her blankies (ickies) with her. She'll tell me whose pillow she wants to lay on (mommy's or daddy's) and once settled ask for milk. "Milk, please" with a prompt :) She does a pretty good job answering Mickey when he asks questions and gets a lot of the questions correct! I'm sure many are because of repetition, but some are new episodes! So, while I know TV is a big no-no in the world of perfect parenting, I think she's gaining a little education from it. And it sure makes my mornings of getting ready for work much easier. Of course I interact with her as well throughout the entire morning too.
Addie Eats
Most mornings it is a struggle for me to get Addison to eat much of anything. Sometimes it is due to her sleeping in. We leave at 8am to take her to Auntie Lorie's, and sometimes I have to go in to wake her up at 7:30, so there's just not enough time to really sit down and get her to eat. Other mornings, she's just hyper and wants to run around and play. Other mornings, I think she's just testing her power or "no." Although, she often times eats breakfast over at Auntie Lorie's - which is the same food - so who knows? I think if her cousins are eating there, she wants to join in. When she does eat, it's usually waffles or cereal or a nutri-grain bar.
Her lunches and dinners are typically lunch meat or Chef Boyardee, yogurt, crackers, fruit, etc. For dinner we do try and get her to eat whatever we are eating and that works like a charm when it's grilled chicken, pasta and veggies. She likes cookies and has been a huge fan of suckers this month, which has resulted in a few tantrums when we've had to say no.
The Great Outdoors
The fickle and wintry weather has been rough on Addison, and us! We went for a ton of evening walks in April, even when it was a little chilly outside. Addison has two playgrounds to choose from, both just a 5-minute walk away. One is bigger and typically has middle school-aged kids running around, while the other is smaller and equipment built for toddlers.
We have gotten some use out of our backyard, although can't wait for the weather to settle down and get more use out of it! Addison's love of bubbles has grown and she's pretty good at blowing her own bubbles now, although she usually wants Mommy or Daddy to join in on the fun.
Addison enjoys looking out the windows, especially when Mommy or Daddy go for a run, and wave to her from the sidewalk! She still likes to watch the cars drive by, counting them and saying what color they are.
Chatty Addie
Addison is quite the talker! Wonder where she gets that from :) She learns new words everyday and can repeat almost anything. She has a tendency to repeat some phrases over and over, especially when she expects your response or acknowledgement. We are certainly attentive to her when she speaks, but at times we are having our own conversation or in the middle of something and don't respond to her right away and she can get irritated.
The other struggle in communication is cause and effect or rewarded behavior. For example, she wants to play bubbles when it's time for breakfast. I tell her that we'll play bubbles after breakfast. She does not understand this and just says "No breakfast...bubbles!" Clearly not understanding that I mean we can do both. That can be very frustrating for me because it delays the entire process because I have to spend so long arguing with her to try and get her to eat, if she would just take a few bites - it would all be over in a few minutes and we'd be out playing bubbles!
I expect, like anything with her these days, that this too shall pass and will become a distant memory. She is really growing and becoming such a sociable and intelligent little girl. We are so proud!
Posts
5 comments:
IIIIIIloveit!!!!! I can totally understand frustrations because she's now smart enough to understand SO MUCH! But just not old enough to understand everything. After seeing her over the weekend I just love her to pieces even MORE so I'm trying to times that by a billion to feel where you're at ;) She IS growing up to be quite the little lady!!
aw, she is such a 2 year old now (almost!) She is doing so great! That's wonderful that she loves the grilled chicken and veggies, especially now that you guys bought a grill, fun! Breakfast is always a battle with us too and for the same reasons. The kids usually want to lay around and "wake-up" first but we usually try to get them to eat something right away, especially ethan. Yogurt is a popular option around here for breakfast. My kids also love bagels and cream cheese, toast with butter and a little cinnamon and sugar sprinkled on top, and hashbrowns. Sometimes we'll run through McD's if we have time to grab them, but there's a brand call Mr. Dee's (i think) at pick n save that you can just pop in the toaster and they are good too. Not very healthy, i know, but we do that when we really want them to eat in the morning!!
How is the potty training going? Zach is FINALLY doing it, we are so happy!! :) Did she try the tricycle yet? When she figures that out, she will love riding it everywhere.
Yea, the frustrations go both ways because sometimes she's saying something and we just don't know what she's saying. She repeats it exactly the same way a few times persistently, so it means something to her - but sometimes if it's the first time she's saying the word or phrase we haven't figured out what I means and she gets so frustrated! Poor girl! Usually we're pretty good at figuring out what she's trying to say, and then repeat it so she hears the correct pronunciation and all that. Sometimes it can be a lot of work! Other times, she just busts out a new phrase out of nowhere in perfect English!
And yes, I'm sooo happy she was really on her best behavior for the weekend. I think she's actually better out in public or in crowds. I know usually toddlers can get overstimulated and have meltdowns out in public, but I think Addison is really the opposite. It's like when she's UNDERstimulated at home that she gets all annoying/naughty/meltdown. Guess you could say she's an extrovert ;)
Oh, good Tina! Glad I'm not the only one with breakfast issues. Sometimes I feel SO bad dropping her off at Lorie's and saying "um, all she's eaten is 4 raisins." But I've read many articles about how a kid is not going to starve themselves on purpose, they'll eat when they're hungry. And yea, sometimes she'll eat like a big fat pig! Ebbs & flows. We also just switched her from Vit D/Whole milk to 2% to see if that will improve her appetite, especially in the morning, since the first thing she does when she wakes up is ask for a cup of milk and drinks almost the whole thing!!
Potty training is moving along. Now she's more resistant when we ask if she wants to go. But when she DOES go on the potty, then she's all excited and happy! So I don't really know what's going on in that little mind of hers. At bedtime when she brushes her teeth (and likes to play with the water & cup) I'll strip her down and watch if she starts to pee. Last night it happened twice while playing, and I quick sat her on the potty, and the second time she actually went. So that's good. We need to do that "naked time" method more, but it's hard cuz I don't want her to pee all over our carpets or something!! HAHA!
When Andrea was about 3 I complained to the school that her behavior at home was getting worse and they said that was great. It meant that she understood it was safe to act out at home but had to be on her best behavior somewhere else. I think that is what you are seeing--Addison knows she has to be good in public but you can't be good all the time. It is a big developmental step and she feels safe at home.
Post a Comment