Most of the people who care the most about Sophie saw her on our round trip for the holidays, so I will skip the summary of that and just update on what's new with her since we've gotten back.
It's a lot! We took the front off of Sophie's crib the day we got back, since she hadn't slept in a crib at all during the three weeks of our trip. She's been loving her ability to get in and out of bed by herself, although it's wearing off slightly now. We haven't had any trouble with her getting up at night, but she doesn't stay down at nap time. I still "put her down," tucking her in with her blankies and singing to her. She accepts it, but as soon as I leave, she gets up and plays on her own... for one or two hours. For now, it's working for both of us. I get some time for things that are tough to do when there are kids around, and she gets some time for some unstructured, creative play. She's just starting to do some unprompted pretending, and I think that the down time is helping that. We're going to play it by ear, though.
A week or two after we got back, we decided to go for it with potty-training. The first two days were rough, but she made great progress on the third day, and from the fourth day on she pretty much has always peed in her little potty chair. She's had a lot more trouble with "the other end," though. She really wants to be successful there, so I feel bad for her. This afternoon she sat and sat and sat and sat for probably more than a half hour trying to go, but it just didn't happen. (I had nothing to do with it, by the way... other than suggesting that she should stand up and try again later after sitting for so long.) She was very frustrated, so I'm trying to be supportive. Not surprisingly, she pooped in her underpants only a few minutes after finally getting up, but I did my best to just encourage her for next time. I told her that soon it would seem easy.
Today Sophie wanted to practice some reading. We're trying to walk the line between neglecting her strength at reading and pushing her too hard. It's tricky because she gets so upset when you ask her something and she doesn't know; she cries the way she would if she were in physical pain. But today I typed out these sentences on the computer and she read them:
I wonder what would happen if we typed some letters…
Sophie can read very well!
In February, Grammy Sue and Grampy Mike will come visit us.
(Here she didn't know "February.")
Sophie loves strawberries. They are her favorite fruit. She also loves bananas.
(She had a little trouble with "strawberries," but got it after I helped her sound out the beginning.)
This morning, it was raining outside! We wore our raincoats and splashed in the puddles.
(She didn't recognize "morning" but got "raincoat"? I don't get it.)
Maybe later, we will go outside again.
Tomorrow, we will go to the library and sing some songs! And maybe we will even get some new books.
Right now, it is winter. In the winter, it is cold outside. We play inside a lot.
(She didn't seem to know "inside.")
Sophie is being a great big sister these days! She talks to Ben, trying to get him to say the words or sounds he knows. Or she'll say "Mr. Ben, are you ok?" when he coughs or falls. Just recently, she has started telling him, "Mr. Ben, don't throw food on the floor!" They love to run around in circles together. I don't think anybody is sure who's chasing whom, but it's pretty hilarious regardless!
She's pretty good about staying with me when we're out grocery shopping or doing some similar errand. I've kept her in the cart for a long time, but lately she's been asking to get out, and that's worked out ok.
I think she has the most fun when there is music or dancing going on. She picks up on songs very quickly, and loves when there are motions that go with it. Oddly, though, she won't just dance... you have to suggest it. We do A LOT of dancing around to kids music or pop music during the day.
Sophie also really likes animals. Not real animals, but drawings of them, or pretending to be them. The real ones are a little too scary.
We still have a problem with screaming. It's almost always about frustration or fear, so there just doesn't seem to be much I can do for now. Even adults have trouble controlling those emotions. Unfortunately, there are many times when we're not exactly sure why she's crying, so we can't fix it (and maybe we don't want to reward the screaming anyway). We always remind her of what to say when there's something wrong, but it is not sinking in at all. She doesn't seem to be even close to "using her words." Oh well. It's a long road ahead no matter what, and we love going down it with her.
Sophie is being a great big sister these days! She talks to Ben, trying to get him to say the words or sounds he knows. Or she'll say "Mr. Ben, are you ok?" when he coughs or falls. Just recently, she has started telling him, "Mr. Ben, don't throw food on the floor!" They love to run around in circles together. I don't think anybody is sure who's chasing whom, but it's pretty hilarious regardless!
She's pretty good about staying with me when we're out grocery shopping or doing some similar errand. I've kept her in the cart for a long time, but lately she's been asking to get out, and that's worked out ok.
I think she has the most fun when there is music or dancing going on. She picks up on songs very quickly, and loves when there are motions that go with it. Oddly, though, she won't just dance... you have to suggest it. We do A LOT of dancing around to kids music or pop music during the day.
Sophie also really likes animals. Not real animals, but drawings of them, or pretending to be them. The real ones are a little too scary.
We still have a problem with screaming. It's almost always about frustration or fear, so there just doesn't seem to be much I can do for now. Even adults have trouble controlling those emotions. Unfortunately, there are many times when we're not exactly sure why she's crying, so we can't fix it (and maybe we don't want to reward the screaming anyway). We always remind her of what to say when there's something wrong, but it is not sinking in at all. She doesn't seem to be even close to "using her words." Oh well. It's a long road ahead no matter what, and we love going down it with her.
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