She does this funny little dance every time I put her in a dress and usually when she gets undressed for a bath. I think she likes to see her dress and her belly flop around. It cracks me up! I was so happy to catch her doing it when I had my camera.

Speech Evaluation Update

A few Saturdays ago two assessors came to our house to do a free, in-depth evaluation of Almi's developmental progress --a speech pathologist and an occupational therapist. It turned out to be much more than just a simple speech evaluation. They stayed for about 3 hours doing different activities with her and asking her questions. It was very comprehensive. I can't believe it was free! I finally got the results this week.

When she was tested she was 2 years, 7 months. Here are the results:

ADAPTIVE
Self Care - 2 yrs. 6 mo.
Personal Responsibility - 2 yrs.

PERSONAL-SOCIAL
Adult Interaction - 5 yrs. 7 mo.
Peer Interaction - 4 yrs. 1 mo.
Self Concept & Social Role - 3 yrs.

COMMUNICATION
Receptive Communication - 2 yrs. 10 mo.
Expressive Communication - 2 yrs. 10 mo.

MOTOR
Gross Motor - 2 yrs. 7 mo.
Fine Motor - 2 yrs. 10 mo.
Perceptual Motor - 3 yrs. 7 mo.

COGNITIVE
Attention & Memory - 2 yrs. 4 mo.
Reasoning & Academics - 2 yrs. 6 mo.
Perception & Concepts - 2 yrs. 7 mo.

Though some scores are below her chronological age, they still were considered to fall within the average range. And some, as you can see, are quite above average. Interestingly enough, she scored quite well on expressive language. I suggested to them that it could still be possible that her teacher, pediatrician and I have valid concerns but she seems typical to them because most of the children they see are so far below the average range. They checked me immediately by responding that her teacher, pediatrician and I can have our own opinions about the situation but they are the experts in these areas. OK, put me in my place. I wasn't trying to be rude or arrogant; I just was a bit disappointed that she didn't qualify for additional services. I guess I am just so eager for her to be on par with her classmates, but the reality is for a child only in country for 11 months (at time of testing) she did amazingly well.

The only suggestions they left me with were to allow her to go down the stairs forwards and unassisted and to get a comprehensive audiological evaluation because of her history or recurrent ear infections. I can do that.

Other than that, I can continue doing what I am doing. She has learned so much and I am so incredibly proud of her.

How Do You Break This Habit?

Bubbly Sudsy Fun

One of her favorite times of day.. bathtime!!

Snow!

After the holiday program we walked out into a winter wonderland. It had started snowing around noon so by the time we left the building at 4:30 about 4" had accumulated and it was a beautiful snowy sight. This was the first time Almi has seen snow falling, and I'm sorry I couldn't capture it with my camera, but she was so excited. She had on her thin tights and party shoes (must buy her some boots) but she still wanted to jump in the piles of snow. Since I live less than ten minutes from work I figured we'd be in the tub before she got too cold.


When we got home she insisted on playing in it some more. Even though she had no mittens on I figured another minute or two wouldn't hurt.

Wrong. She went from laughing and playing to screaming and crying. I threw open the door, stripped her clothes off as I sprinted up the steps and dumped her in a warm bath. Must buy mittens, too.

It was all good, though. Yeah, the snow was cold and made her cry, but it was nothing a warm bath, hot cocoa and Elm0 couldn't fix. :)

Taking Care of Neigh

It's important to make sure your loved ones are dressed warmly and fed.

Happy Halloween!

Someone was an adorable doggie for Halloween.

Her daycare had a parade and Halloween party.

There was a little parade around the playground at 3:15. My kids aren't dismissed until 3:45 but two teachers were kind enough to let me split my class (one took bus riders, one took walkers) and I scooted out early just in time to watch my little Doggie in the parade. She wasn't really sure what to make of it.She spotted me.

Mommy!


As usual, someone walks to the beat of her own drum. She wasn't really feeling the parade and wanted to walk off on her own.

Her teacher had to take her hand and guide her.

Then we went back to her classroom for her party. It was fun.. except when her teachers made me feel guilty for not letting her eat everything. No cheese curls? No cookies? Yeah, everything pretty much had dairy in it. I did break down and let her eat some of it after she finished the vegan cookies I brought for her and I have learned for next time to bring her a nice selection of treats.


They gave the kids tattoos. Cute!


After the party, we were both so wiped out. All I could do was take her by the house she is obsessed with, make dinner and crash.

I love this house, too, because they go all out for the holidays but in such a tasteful way. No ghosts and tombstones but still Halloween-y. And every holiday has amazing decorations. I dream of being this type of mom (though I am pretty sure a gay couple lives here)-- the one who decorates the house inside and out for each holiday. How cool would that be? At this point, I just hope I can at least get around to carving our pumpkin!


Maybe next year we will go trick or treating! Now what to do with that costume? Does it really only get one wear?

Ah Duh

When she's tired of something or wants me to take something she will say, "Ah duh" (all done).
For example, when she's done eating or done playing with a toy. Here she was tired of her hair being in these little pigtails. It was so cute. I didn't oblige her.

Her hair is finally starting to get long enough to do something fun with it. I am going to attempt to do a cute style this weekend. Any tips on how to get a tender-headed, active 2 year old to sit still?? Wish me luck!!! lol

Absolutely Adorable Alright

Dairy Woes

Would you look at that snotty nose? It had gotten better and the diarrhea was lessening. But then it seemed to come back with a vengeance. What the heck?! They were commenting on it at daycare--that her nose is always running. And then the truth came out. Conversation as follows:

Teacher: "Naomi's nose is running all the time. Always must be wiped. Always."
Me: "I know. It's strange, isn't it? Cause she doesn't have a cold. I thought it was the dairy, but maybe it's something else." (I was about to give up and try removing wheat/gluten next).
T: "Well, you know, she loves to drink milk. At lunch I always see her grabbing other children's milk and drinking it."
M: " ... " (stunned).
T: "You say it's not an allergy. Good. Cause she tries to take milk every day. She finishes lunch first and then she goes to play while the other kids are eating. Then she comes back and tries to drink the milk. She will grab it and run across the room and then wait for me to look at her before taking a drink. She knows she's not supposed to be doing it."
M: "So (still stunned as there are true nut allergies in her classroom)... so?.."
T: "I can't be watching her all the time. She is very fast and I have to watch the other children as well."

Just wow. I was so shocked at what I was hearing that I couldn't respond appropriately but the next day I went back to discuss this with her teacher. She told me the children all grab each other's food before when we were discussing Naomi's appetite. I told her to please watch her, that I don't want her eating other children's food or drinks (aside from her dietary restrictions, I don't want the germs). I even wrote a note asking them to be please be more vigilant--and then this. This is the third time it has come up so this time I went in and discussed it more seriously to her teacher. I told her if she finds it too challenging to watch my daughter during lunch that I will pick her up every day and she will eat with me in my classroom and I will bring her back when we are done. She seemed alarmed that I would do something so drastic but I was trying to drive home the point that this is not a light matter. I told her she is contributing to my daughter's comprised health and if she can't manage her, I will remove her from the situation. "What if she had a life threatening allergy? What would you do then? If you couldn't watch her, she could end up dead." A bit dramatic, but not really. She is not the only one with an intolerance or an allergy in the room. They need to be more careful. This is a serious matter. She said she would have one of the teaches sit at the table with them at lunchtime from here on out. I hope so cause this is totally unacceptable.

Kitty!!!

I was proud of myself for being so productive today. I washed the kitchen floor, cleaned out two cabinets, cleaned my closet, organized two large bags for Goodwill, cooked two meals from scratch, packed our lunches for tomorrow, hung my new calendar, did a blog post, caught up on email and did some laundry.

Almi loves to watch me do laundry. With my new front-loading stackables, she can look right into the washing machine and watch the clothes twirling around. If I try to sneak into the laundry room and do some while she is playing, she will jump up and run over to me and ask me to lift her over the baby gate so she can be in on the action.

This afternoon I put her down for her nap in her underwear by accident. She is basically potty trained (go Almi!) and sometimes can stay dry at naptime, but I should've known better based on the amount of water she had for lunch. Well, she had an accident so while I was preparing dinner I was multitasking and doing laundry simulaneously. I grabbed the sheets off her bed and threw them into the washing machine with a few of her stuffed animals that were in the crib with her and an assortment of clothes from the hamper. Just as I put the detergent in and shut the door, Almi was right there at the baby gate asking to be hoisted over to get in on the action.

I pushed the start button and Almi peered in to watch the clothes start twirling around. Then she spotted him. Kitty. "Kitty!!!!!", she screamed. "Yes," I responded. "Kitty is going to get a bath." "Kiiiiiiiiittttttyyy!!!!" she screamed again, but this time she also burst into tears. Big, huge tears as she pointed to the washer. "Kitty has peepee on him, Pumpkin. Mommy is going to wash him for you."

"Kiiiiiiiiitttyyyy!!!!" she screamed, now in near hysterics. At that moment I realized that she didn't just want Kitty but maybe she was afraid for Kitty or maybe she just wasn't sure what having him in the machine meant. It was more than she just wanted Kitty in her arms but rather she seeemed really scared and as quickly as I could I stopped the machine and grabbed Kitty out and handed him to her.

"Kitty," she sniffed as he tightly wrapped her arms around him.

Aw, she rescued him. It was sweet yet surprising at the same time. I really internalized for the first time how important it is to relinquish control whenever possible with Almi. I have been working hard at letting her just be a two year old and let her do two year old things and not stress myself out about the messes she causes or the things she breaks. I am trying hard at allowing her to explore and be curious and also listen to more acutely to her desires. Her needs I got down. She gets warm baths, a comfy bed, toys, clothes, healthy food, loads of attention and hugs and kisses, etc. but when it comes to things she just wants I admit to being a bit of a control freak at times.

I wanted to wash kitty in that load and get it over with, but she needed him more. So I gave in. And then I quickly ushered her out of the laundry room before she realized Doggie and Bunny were in the wash as well.

I Love Them All

I love Bunny.

And Doggy.
But I still love Neigh the most.

No Wonder

..my house is so cluttered.

I can't donate the toys she's outgrown cause she still really loves them!! Big, silly girl.


(And, truthfully, it makes me kind of sad to donate this. She was afraid of the Exersaucer when she first came home and would cry when I put her in it. Giving it away means letting go of a tangible memory of when she first became my daughter. Sniff.)

Breakfast Time

Naughty, Naughty

Twice this week I picked Almi up from daycare and they told me she had been naughty. They said she used to love to do circle time and all the activities but this week she has been refusing to join in and crying when it is time to clean up. I told her she needs to listen to Ms. Essy and Ms. Dora and be a good girl and each morning she promises me she will be a good girl. Ha! I wonder if she understands what I am saying.

Today, thankfully, she was good in daycare. When I picked her up they also told me she stayed dry all day! They forgot to put a diaper on her at naptime and she was even dry when she woke up! This weekend I am going to buy a potty seat for the toilet and a step stool. I think she is ready to graduate from the little potty chair and use the big potty like she does in school. It'll also be nice to not have to clean that out after each use. Yuck! They also told me she can identify A, B, C, 1, 2, 3, circle and triangle. I got that on video and will post it.

Tonight, she was back to her naughty self. We had tacos and carrots for dinner. She ate her two tacos and asked for a third. "Mo. Mo. Pee." I told her she couldn't have any more until she ate her carrots. She whined and tried to hand me her bowl of carrots to take off her tray. When I wouldn't reach for them she pushed the bowl off her tray onto the floor.

Dinner all done.

She got reprimanded.She felt bad and tried to climb into my lap. I told her I was not happy. She started to cry. I pulled her up onto my lap and hugged her and told her I loved her but throwing her food on the floor was not ok.

She got off my lap and, without my prompting, tried to clean it up.
Carrots got stuck on her toes.
And got all over her hands.

I cleaned up the rest and she was back to her old happy self. Sweet, naughty girl.

You can't stay mad at me for long!