Sunday, December 26, 2010
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Merry Christmas, Jordan!
Jordan must have been a good little girl this year. Very good. Santa arrived last night along with a bounty of gifts for our baby girl. Although this was her 2nd Christmas, Jordan was still pretty unsure about all of the festivities. Jordan slept in until 8:30-ish, but when she awoke Josh and I were anxious for her to begin unwrapping some of her gifts. However, Jordan was unaware that this Saturday morning was unlike any other Saturday morning in the last year, and immediately got upset when she was not whisked away to her high chair for breakfast, as she usually is. After some milk and a banana we were all ready to begin unwrapping gifts.
At 10 am we were joined by Josh's parents and Eric and Kenzie. At this point, more gifts were exchanged for the remainder of the morning. For the most part Jordan was more interested in ripping the paper on her gifts than actually playing with her new stuff. This should come as no surprise, really, since ripping (and subsequently eating) paper is one of her favorite pasttimes. It was fun to watch her finally go hog wild with the paper though, after several weeks of trying to keep her away from the gifts under the tree. She really did well.
By the time dinner was ready we had a house full of relatives and friends to share the feast with. Space was tight, but the food was plenty. With bellies full, all that remained was to spend some time in front of the boob tube. Instead of watching 24 hours of "A Christmas Story" we watched WSU play in the Diamond Head Classic.
Christmas 2010 is just about at a wrap, but the holiday festivities continue through Sunday evening when we will travel to Spokane (weather permitting) and visit more family. By next year I hope to be a good mother and have a nice stocking made for my daughter, since she doesn't have one yet. I'm sure by then I won't be able to get away with such atrocities. I also won't get away with filling her stocking in the morning while she is eating breakfast. Moms and dads like us have a lot to learn about how to let Santa Claus do his good work.
At 10 am we were joined by Josh's parents and Eric and Kenzie. At this point, more gifts were exchanged for the remainder of the morning. For the most part Jordan was more interested in ripping the paper on her gifts than actually playing with her new stuff. This should come as no surprise, really, since ripping (and subsequently eating) paper is one of her favorite pasttimes. It was fun to watch her finally go hog wild with the paper though, after several weeks of trying to keep her away from the gifts under the tree. She really did well.
By the time dinner was ready we had a house full of relatives and friends to share the feast with. Space was tight, but the food was plenty. With bellies full, all that remained was to spend some time in front of the boob tube. Instead of watching 24 hours of "A Christmas Story" we watched WSU play in the Diamond Head Classic.
Christmas 2010 is just about at a wrap, but the holiday festivities continue through Sunday evening when we will travel to Spokane (weather permitting) and visit more family. By next year I hope to be a good mother and have a nice stocking made for my daughter, since she doesn't have one yet. I'm sure by then I won't be able to get away with such atrocities. I also won't get away with filling her stocking in the morning while she is eating breakfast. Moms and dads like us have a lot to learn about how to let Santa Claus do his good work.
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Jordan's Progress Report
Yesterday I had an opportunity to chat with Jordan's daycare teachers about her development. Josh would have come too, but he had to be in Boise for work, bummer. The WSU Children's Center uses two different assessment tools to help track the childrens' progress as they develop. Both are essentially check sheets of specific skills that can be observed in children of a certain age range. Picking up two different objects and dropping them into a bucket, for example, was one of the skills. Based on the amount of these skills observed a child's progress is deemed as behind, on track, or ahead of her peers.
Jordan's large motor skills are lagging behind, but this is not surprising simply because she is not walking yet and many of the associated skills stem from the ability to walk. However, she is beginning to take more and more steps and build more confidence in walking every day. Josh and I think she is holding out on us, just like when she should have been rolling over or crawling but never had any interest until long after she had the ability to do so.
In addition, Jordan needs to work on her verbal communication skills. She is doing a lot of pointing and signing to let us know what she needs, but isn't really forming words yet, just sounds. Maybe she has her mother's quiet demeanor.
We also talked about the upcoming transition to the toddler room and different aspects of the transition that can be difficult for children. We will be working on a "good-bye" routine to reduce the anxiety that can happen when there are big changes in a baby's surroundings. We will also be working on determining boundaries for which behaviors are acceptable and which are not, and also work on being consistent with these boundaries as parents, since toddlers are beginning to test boundaries. Finally, we will be working on "gentle touches" instead of the hitting and smacking that Jordan (and most of her peers) enjoy.
For the most part Jordan is right on track. She is very aware of who is around her, and sensitive to new faces. She is very interested in what others are doing, even adults, and often laughs when she hears others laughing. Her favorite activities at school are stacking things and exploring books. Her teachers say she seems very happy every day and that's all we can really ask for!
Jordan's large motor skills are lagging behind, but this is not surprising simply because she is not walking yet and many of the associated skills stem from the ability to walk. However, she is beginning to take more and more steps and build more confidence in walking every day. Josh and I think she is holding out on us, just like when she should have been rolling over or crawling but never had any interest until long after she had the ability to do so.
In addition, Jordan needs to work on her verbal communication skills. She is doing a lot of pointing and signing to let us know what she needs, but isn't really forming words yet, just sounds. Maybe she has her mother's quiet demeanor.
We also talked about the upcoming transition to the toddler room and different aspects of the transition that can be difficult for children. We will be working on a "good-bye" routine to reduce the anxiety that can happen when there are big changes in a baby's surroundings. We will also be working on determining boundaries for which behaviors are acceptable and which are not, and also work on being consistent with these boundaries as parents, since toddlers are beginning to test boundaries. Finally, we will be working on "gentle touches" instead of the hitting and smacking that Jordan (and most of her peers) enjoy.
For the most part Jordan is right on track. She is very aware of who is around her, and sensitive to new faces. She is very interested in what others are doing, even adults, and often laughs when she hears others laughing. Her favorite activities at school are stacking things and exploring books. Her teachers say she seems very happy every day and that's all we can really ask for!
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