...A bunch of books by Margaret Wise Brown (1910-1952). These are due back to the library today, so before I returned them I just thought I would share:
Sheep Don't Count Sheep - the version I read was newly illustrated in 2003 by Benrei Huang, and I LOVE the illustrations - they are so soft and have real life and breath to them even though they are stylized. A mommy sheep is singing her baby sheep to sleep. But the baby sheep can't fall asleep because "every time his soft head nodded and his eyes blinked closed, he saw something else happening around him." His mommy wisely tells him to close his eyes and count butterflies. This one was so good I may just have to buy a copy :)
The Good Little Bad Little Pig - A little boy named Peter asks his mother for a pig. Not just any pig, but a "good little bad little pig." Peter's mother helps him find the perfect pig - "Not too good and not too bad - the very best pig any boy ever had."
My World of Color - As you might guess, a book about colors and where we can find them in the world. Each page devoted to a different color, with brief, rhyming verses to engage the child and lots of pictures of things that toddlers/preschoolers would be interested in, like pigs, oranges, and bees.
Bumble Bugs and Elephants - A book about contrasts - "great big" things and "little tiny" things.
Monday, October 27, 2008
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
On the Farm
We are blessed to live near Larriland Farm, a local farm which offers pick-your-own produce and herbs throughout the late spring, summer, and early fall. A few weeks ago, Dorothy and I went there for some last-chance tomato picking. Our friends Debbie and James met us there. Dorothy is really interested in farm life (I guess because of where we live now!) She gets SO excited about tractors, fruits and veggies, livestock, etc. And James is a 2-year-old boy, so it goes without saying that HE likes tractors, too.
So of course when we spotted this giant John Deere tractor, it was a golden opportunity.
James immediately hopped into the driver's seat, while Dorothy watched with great interest from a few feet away.
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So of course when we spotted this giant John Deere tractor, it was a golden opportunity.
James immediately hopped into the driver's seat, while Dorothy watched with great interest from a few feet away.
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Then Dorothy climbed in and James pretended to know how to drive the tractor..JPG)
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Here are James and Dorothy riding in the wagon we used to collect our picks. These two kiddos just LOVE spending time together. .JPG)
I bought 16 pounds of tomatoes (from which I made several large batches of tomato sauce to freeze) and approximately 16 pounds of apples (from which I made copious amounts of applesauce for Dorothy). We had SUCH a fun time.
Clearing Out the Cobwebs
Hello everyone! I know it's been a while since I last posted, and I wanted to add some updates about Dorothy that I've been meaning to chronicle.
(1) On August 29th, she started putting two words together. She pointed at my purse and said "purse", and then when I acknowledged it, she said "Mommy's purse". Then she pointed at one of her own zipper bags and said "Dorothy's purse". Shortly afterwards, I was folding laundry and each time I pulled an item out of the basket, she told me what it was: "Mommy's shirt" or "Daddy's shorts" or "Mommy's sock". Ever since then, her verbal expression has continued to grow. She now constantly says things like "close the door", "Baby's sleeping", or "Dorothy sit potty".
(2) Which brings me to my next update. Yesterday I sat Dorothy on the potty for the first time. Nothing happened, but she asked to sit there so I obliged. I was cleaning her up after a messy diaper and I started telling her "One day you will go poopy on the potty like a big girl, and then it won't be so messy anymore". Well after I said that, she started saying "Potty! Sit potty! Sit potty poopy!" until I took her there. Then I encouraged her to push the poopy out and she repeated me clearly: "push it out" and I could tell from the way she was flexing her torso that she was actually trying to do that. Like I said, nothing happened, but she enjoyed the experience. I sat there holding onto her so that she didn't fall in - she's still so petite! And I have to say, it was SO cute to see her sitting there doing this big-girl activity while still so small. Her friend James (who just turned 2 on Monday) is already potty trained, and several of her other 2-year-old friends are practicing their potty usage, so she's definitely interested.
(3) Dorothy is REALLY interested in her "baby" - one of the soft dolls she got last year on her birthday. She plays with her baby and imitates real-life baby care. For example, she says "baby's crying" and makes a fake crying sound, and then hugs the baby tightly and says "shh". She feeds the baby with a little baby bottle and says "feed her, feed her". She lays the baby down and covers her with a blanket and says "baby's sleeping". Or she puts the baby on her changing table and says "change baby dee-pah" (diaper) and tries to wrap one of her diapers around the baby. I would like to get her a baby with some accessories for Christmas - like a bed, some pretend diapers, etc.
(4) Dorothy started "preschool" on September 9th. This is one morning per week for 2 1/2 hours at my friend Debbie's house with 4 other 2-year-olds (or almost-2-year-olds). Debbie leads them in structured playtime and teaches them lessons (for example, they've been learning about colors and shapes so far). They've also gotten to play with "goop" (homemade putty-type-stuff), paint with finger paints, color with crayons and magic markers, and have lots of books read to them. They even bring home a craft project every week! The idea of structured playtime is new for all of them, so they are a little unfocused most of the time, but it will be interesting to observe them as they start to get used to it. I pray that they will all grow to enjoy "school" and that it will give them more excitement for school in the years ahead!
(5) Grandma and PaPa O'Brien visited from Aug 29th to Sept 7th, and got to inaugurate the guest room at our new house. Dorothy learned to say "Mama" for Grandma, and "PaPa" for PaPa, and is still talking about them both. Also, Grandma and PaPa McMillen visited from September 29th to October 1st, and Dorothy REALLY enjoyed playing with them during their brief visit! We all wished they could have stayed longer, but thankfully we'll be seeing them again in just a couple of weeks when we travel to New York for a wedding (Rob's cousin Samantha is getting married.)
(1) On August 29th, she started putting two words together. She pointed at my purse and said "purse", and then when I acknowledged it, she said "Mommy's purse". Then she pointed at one of her own zipper bags and said "Dorothy's purse". Shortly afterwards, I was folding laundry and each time I pulled an item out of the basket, she told me what it was: "Mommy's shirt" or "Daddy's shorts" or "Mommy's sock". Ever since then, her verbal expression has continued to grow. She now constantly says things like "close the door", "Baby's sleeping", or "Dorothy sit potty".
(2) Which brings me to my next update. Yesterday I sat Dorothy on the potty for the first time. Nothing happened, but she asked to sit there so I obliged. I was cleaning her up after a messy diaper and I started telling her "One day you will go poopy on the potty like a big girl, and then it won't be so messy anymore". Well after I said that, she started saying "Potty! Sit potty! Sit potty poopy!" until I took her there. Then I encouraged her to push the poopy out and she repeated me clearly: "push it out" and I could tell from the way she was flexing her torso that she was actually trying to do that. Like I said, nothing happened, but she enjoyed the experience. I sat there holding onto her so that she didn't fall in - she's still so petite! And I have to say, it was SO cute to see her sitting there doing this big-girl activity while still so small. Her friend James (who just turned 2 on Monday) is already potty trained, and several of her other 2-year-old friends are practicing their potty usage, so she's definitely interested.
(3) Dorothy is REALLY interested in her "baby" - one of the soft dolls she got last year on her birthday. She plays with her baby and imitates real-life baby care. For example, she says "baby's crying" and makes a fake crying sound, and then hugs the baby tightly and says "shh". She feeds the baby with a little baby bottle and says "feed her, feed her". She lays the baby down and covers her with a blanket and says "baby's sleeping". Or she puts the baby on her changing table and says "change baby dee-pah" (diaper) and tries to wrap one of her diapers around the baby. I would like to get her a baby with some accessories for Christmas - like a bed, some pretend diapers, etc.
(4) Dorothy started "preschool" on September 9th. This is one morning per week for 2 1/2 hours at my friend Debbie's house with 4 other 2-year-olds (or almost-2-year-olds). Debbie leads them in structured playtime and teaches them lessons (for example, they've been learning about colors and shapes so far). They've also gotten to play with "goop" (homemade putty-type-stuff), paint with finger paints, color with crayons and magic markers, and have lots of books read to them. They even bring home a craft project every week! The idea of structured playtime is new for all of them, so they are a little unfocused most of the time, but it will be interesting to observe them as they start to get used to it. I pray that they will all grow to enjoy "school" and that it will give them more excitement for school in the years ahead!
(5) Grandma and PaPa O'Brien visited from Aug 29th to Sept 7th, and got to inaugurate the guest room at our new house. Dorothy learned to say "Mama" for Grandma, and "PaPa" for PaPa, and is still talking about them both. Also, Grandma and PaPa McMillen visited from September 29th to October 1st, and Dorothy REALLY enjoyed playing with them during their brief visit! We all wished they could have stayed longer, but thankfully we'll be seeing them again in just a couple of weeks when we travel to New York for a wedding (Rob's cousin Samantha is getting married.)
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