Guess who's not a baby any more?
Rye likes to jump, centering himself on an object or shape (like a water lid in the sidewalk) then jumping to two feet. He now steps down the step into the den on two feet, holding the doorframe, rather than crawling backwards. Grandma saw him skipping as he followed his cousins, who were skipping.
He likes going on walks, playing with "puffs," scribbling with markers (especially Sharpies (!)), pencils or crayons, playdough, playing with his wooden trains and fire trucks and cars. And his Lego Duplos. We have found the books Young at Art and First Art (all of Kohl's books are great) helpful and informative in dreaming up activities for Rye. The books would be great gifts for toddler birthdays, if you have any coming up.
Some new words: "Doh-BAH" (Goldbug, the bug who hides on the pages of the Richard Scarry books), "peanuh buddrrr," "TANbeh-eez" (cranberries), "snoob-thee" (smoothie), "Try?" "Deeee-dux" (deluxe), jeans. He also has started saying "thanks," and "bess-su" (Bless you, after you sneeze). He's still working on those digraphs and blends. Annoyingly, somewhere he has picked up "all done," which is a pet peeve of mine (meat on the grill is "done," the activity you are working on is "finished"), so we don't acknowledge that and keep steering him toward "finished" ("shi-ished"), which he has been saying all along.
He seems to know some opposites: Up/down, in/out and open/closed (or should I say: "toes"). He knows that to go to the market you have to get in the car, that if someone coughs he will want to drink water, and that if you can't get it open, it is "hard." When I mentioned that he was getting so big that soon he would be ready for school, he looked at me hopefully and asked, "Alana?" He wants to be like his older cousins.
He had a great night with his cousins last week when Daddy and Mommy went out for a friend's birthday and Alana honed her "mother's helper" skills, which she hopes to upgrade soon to "babysitter." Reports were that all went well and he even went to sleep for Uncle Jason. Curiously, after the gathering, he now knows what mini chocolate chips are. We were not privy to details on this—what happens on the mountain stays on the mountain.
Today Rye pooped in his potty just a little bit! He's starting to understand what that's all about, and is beginning to understand "trying" to use the potty. His favorite part seemed to be "Bye, Bye, Poop!" after he flushed, and learning that this activity makes him a Big Boy. We will work on this more as the weather improves—getting all of his regular clothes off In the Moment is a bit difficult at this point.
Montessori work with sponges, a bowl, and a big set of tongs.
Alana's class at school held a family night to launch a campaign for Greg Mortenson's Pennies for Peace initiative, which raises money to educate and build schools for children—especially girls—in Pakistan. We enjoyed an authentic Pakistani meal and a memorized presentation by the students, who told us that if their class lived in Korphe, only four of the whole class would be in school. If you'd like to make a donation, let us know and we'll put you in touch with Alana, who will make sure it gets to the Central Asia Institute to help Afhgani kids.
Figuring out how the baby locks work, just like his dad did as a kid....taking it apart with no directions, and putting it back together with no directions.
