Good girl!

Our wonderful Parents As Teachers educator loaned us a book by Karen Katz to help us with the vampire issues.  In the book, it says we don't bite our friends.....what can we bite?  Apples!  Isla's been "reading" it to us.  There's also a page on hitting (which we also need), kicking, spitting.... 

Today my brother acted like he was going to bite Isla.  I told him we can't  play bite.  Isla and I told him that we don't bite our friends, we bite apples.  This afternoon, I wasn't thinking and as I put Isla's sweater on her, I ated like I was going to pull her hand through the sleeve with my teeth.

"NO!  No bite!  We bite APPLES!" 

Good girl! 

What happened?

Where did December go?  I can't believe it is Christmas Eve already.  Isla's biting has gotten some better--no reports in the past week of her trying to chomp people.  She did hit a kid at school this week though.  In her defense though, after spending an hour at daycare for their Christmas party this week, I was ready to hit the kid too.  I think part of her problem is that she's getting frustrated and bored.  The kids in her class are all younger than she is by several months. Those months are really important in terms of what they can do at this age.  Luckily they're letting her spend more time in the other toddler room right now and there's a little boy in there a couple days older than she is, and until Friday, her friend A who is a couple days younger. 

A starts Isla's new daycare the week before she does so Isla will have a friend there already!  I'm excited about her starting.  There are a couple people at the old daycare that we'll miss, but one of our favorite teachers who left our current daycare a few months ago is now working at the new one so she'll know one of the teachers already too.  The day before we start we'll go by and let her play awhile.  Her friend A did that one day this week and her mom said all the kids just came up and started playing with her. 

Christmas plans suddenly seem up in the air.  Mom was sick this morning so TNT may be staying with us tomorrow night and having the family Christmas here.  Hopefully it was just something mom ate (although Pop was sick earlier this week so it's probably the flu).  Not that I mind having Christmas or TNT here, I just don't want Mom to miss things! 

Birthday plans are also underway.  I'll send out the invitations next week and look for more decorations, what to do about cupcakes, etc.  My cousin already has our cookie order for Elmo and Abby Cadabby cookies.

Overall, sleeping is going better than it was.  She'll still wake up early (4ish) some days, but will typically go back to sleep pretty easily if I lay down with her.  She knows she can't get out of bed until her clock turns yellow so we're staying in her room until 6. 

Words and language continue to amaze me.  Sentences are whole and 4-6 words long.  At the same time, she's having episodes where she just wants to fuss so we're working on "using our words."  Yesterday she was fusses about something, I told her to use her words and she started saying "please."  Great word, but please what???

Her attention span is amazing too.  Miss S came one day this week and brought a plastic tub of dried beans and she played with those the whole PAT session.  I bought more beans later in the day and she played another 40 minutes with them.

Last week we decorated cookies with our play date friends.  I have pictures I need to post from that.  I have other pictures I need to post to and I'm sure I'll have more after Christmas. 

After naptime today, I think we'll take a walk, have a bath, then get ready for the 4:00 service at church.

More later.

The Vampire....

Was thwarted by her teachers at daycare the past two days.  I'm not sure yesterday's teacher even KNEW she'd tried to bite a kid Monday also, but I still felt like she was chastitizing ME, even though she said it's a normal part of development.  So we're talking a lot about playing nice with friends, you only bite food, etc. 

On a positive note, this morning I realized that not only is Isla putting words together, she's putting sentences together!  I asked if she wanted me to take her bowl this morning and she said "No.  Not Yet.  I'm not done!"

Sleeping, sauce, and other stuff.....

A few weeks ago, Sleeping Beauty tried to climb out of her crib. We converted her crib to a toddler bed and that seemed okay for about a week.  Then she decided that she didn't like the toddler bed.  Did. not. like. at. all.  She slept in the floor most of last week.  Well, when she did sleep.  She was up even earlier than usual, fought going to sleep, and was generally cranky.  Momma decided something had to change.  Friday I bought a full-size mattress, Minnie Mouse sheets and comforter, and rearranged her room.  Her Tot Clock was also delivered Friday.  So far, so good.  We heard a "thud" around 4 Saturday morning and I laid down with her when I put her back to bed.  She woke up a couple minutes before 6 and we talked about waiting for the clock to change.  She seems to be getting the hang of the Tot Clock--yesterday we had to lay in bed for quiet time for a long time after her nap because the clock hadn't turned yellow yet and when I asked her the color we were waiting for, she said "yellow, yellow please" like she was asking the clock to be yellow.  This morning it was after 6 when she woke up so the clock was already yellow.  Nap time went well today but she was up about 15 minutes before the clock changed AND Grandma and PopPop came in right when she got up.  I told her she had to go check the clock and she started crying but when PopPop went in her room with her to lay down for the remainder of rest time, she was fine.  After a few minutes I went in and overrode the clock and let her get up.  Hopefully her new sleep isn't just a fluke and things will continue on this course.

For some reason, Isla started calling her diaper rash cream "sauce."  When I'm changing her, she'll grab the butt paste and say "sauce."  I'll put some on her and ask her if it feels better.  I didn't ask her one day last week and she looked at me and asked me "feel better?"  She also calls lotion sauce and likes having sauce put on her hands--of course, a little on each hand.  She likes to put it on her knees, regardless of whether or not she's wearing clothes and to put it on her dolls. 

Another one of those things I always ask is if she's ready to go when I pick her up at daycare.  One day last week I hadn't asked and she looked at me "ready go?"  Such a sweetheart.  I can't believe how much her language has exploded in the last few weeks and how well she's putting sentences together.  She told P this morning "night-night.  Daddy, you can go back to sleep." 

There have been a few times my sweetheart has bitten me.  I haven't been too concerned because it has been limited to me and it has been times when we've been playing and close and she just seems to get too excited.  Until today.  When we picked her up at the Reign Forest after church, S told me she'd bitten a little boy.  Twice.  One time leaving marks.  Ugh.  I don't know the little boy--not sure if that's better or worse.  Not sure what to do--think I'll email our PAT person for advice.  Tonight she got excited while we were playing and bit my shoulder.  When I said "ouch" she realized what she'd done and laid her head on my shoulder and patted.  So empathy is developing.