Rebecca Wolf

This blog is a chronicle of my daughters' growth - born July 2003 and May 2007. Be sure to check out the Thriving Babies homepage, for videos and instructions on how to use every type of baby carrier. For literacy and homeschooling tips, visit my Rochester-based Learning Center blog at www.SibleyCenter.com.

Friday, April 29, 2005

The Mad Poet Strikes Again

Arianna woke from her nap the other day saying, "Mommy dommy? Mommy dommy," her new nickname for me. She has to rhyme everything and it's great fun to listen to her concoctions. She likes to eat chicky-dicky and milkie-dilks and her monkey's name is now Tony Macaroni instead of Tony Chestnut. (Strange, about the food obsession thing. Wonder where she gets THAT from?)

Anyways, the only thing I could think of as I went to retrieve her from the bedroom was, "Thank goodness I don't live in England. Then I would be 'Mummy Dummy!'"

Rebecca,
who will be moving back to NY on MONDAY!!

Tuesday, April 19, 2005

Playground etiquette

We have a small playground near our apartment, that we visit a lot. I was sitting on a swing while Arianna played on the bottom of the slide. She would try to climb up, slide down a little and happily proclaim, "Anna sliding down by herself." Then she'd play in the dirt at the bottom.

A group of young girls were walking by when Arianna perked her head up. She was kneeling backward on the slide and shouted, "Anna pooping on the slide!"

Sometimes it's a good thing when people don't understand every word she says.

Rebecca,
who can't knock Arianna's poop-awareness
because that means we are one-step closer
to being diaper free!

Thursday, April 07, 2005

Budding Picasso

We bought Arianna crayons several months ago, but we ended up taking them away because she tried to eat them. We were at Michael's buying gifts for our twin nephews (just turned 13 on Saturday). They were very intrigued by my calligraphy set, so I decided to get them some supplies. I think their handwriting is neater than mine!

Andrew found some nice fat crayons that wouldn't break easily and bought them. On our way out, we saw some great clearance items: a mini-stationery set with a tiny pencil, 2 erasers, a notepad and 8 crayons for 33 cents. I found a little tin in which to put everything.

Arianna adores her new toys! I am impressed with her ability to draw rudimentary shapes, like the two slants of a triangle, and circles. She also begs us to draw different animals for her, which she then colors. We have caught her trying to draw in books and have to remind her that you can't draw in books, only on special paper. Given the awesome powers of creativity at her disposal, it's no surprise she is tempted to run amuck.

A week ago, Arianna also made and identified her first Duplo creation. She stacked blocks together and enthusiastically announced that it was a seahorse! Today she made a "mommy" with a window at the top of it. Andrew HAD to ask her where the milkies were and she replied, "Inside." She is definitely an abstract artist!

To the budding artists everwhere!
Rebecca
http://ThrivingBabies.com

Friday, April 01, 2005

March Milestones

March has come and gone and my e-book, Thriving Babies, was supposed to be finished already. Well, it's mostly done, if that counts for anything. I still need a few more pictures and I need to finish my website. Maybe April will be more promising.

Just a few quick notes about Arianna's language. I love the little mistakes she makes due to overgeneralizing the rules. Like saying, "Anna throwed it," because "threw" just isn't there yet. She sometimes says "him" instead of "her," but I am very surprised that she is learning how pronouns are related to gender. Maybe it's just mimicking, but she's giving it a try. My speech-delayed brother still called everyone a "him" until he was at least 5 or 6 years old.

The other thing I love observing is Arianna's memory development. We have read her SO many nursery rhymes and listened over and over again to the CD that cleverly puts them to music, that she often recites them during pauses in our conversation.

Tonight we went shopping for her cousins' birthday presents (twin boys who are going to be 13!). I was holding her in the sling and she blurts out, "1,2,3,4, Mary at cottage door." I finished the rest of it for her (5, 6, 7,8, eating cherries off a plate), but she doesn't seem to enjoy chiming in with me. She's FAR too independent for that, apparently. She often recites parts of 1,2, buckle my shoe and the Tony Chestnut song.

Last week I caught her "reading" the 3 little kittens book to herself and doing an excellent job (okay, proud reading teacher mom coming out here).

If she's not singing, she is usually making a specific request for one of us to sing to her. "Daddy, sing 'Kitty Song," (a.k.a. The 3 little kittens) or, 'Daddy Song' (Bye Baby Bunting). Once in awhile she throws us a curve ball, like, "Sing bunny song." Well, we don't know any, or at least, none that we have sung to her before. Thank goodness for "Peter Cottontail." Is she purposefully trying to stump us, or just trying to squeeze some new songs out?

Before we go to bed, we usually recap the day's events for her. She loves listening to HER story. Tonight, for the first time, she started filling in pieces that we forgot (come on, how could you forget going to the library to see Tony Chestnut?). All that fatty breastmilk is helping those little brain cells grow and make connections.

A quick side note while we are on the subject of milk and libraries. The last time we were at the library, Arianna saw another baby crying. She looked up at me and said, rather loudly, "Mommy hug her," implying that this is what the girl's mother should be doing. The mom took the hint and carried her daughter over to a quiet corner of the room. Arianna thought she knew just what was going on and shouted, "Mommy milkies."

Things are quite simple in her little world. If you cry, you get a hug and milkies and, presto -- Problem solved!

Man, I've gotta' drink some more milk...

Maybe it would help me write faster.

Rebecca
http://ThrivingBabies.com