3/31 Maia has started saying her own name! For weeks whenever she saw us she would say, "Hi Mama, Hi Mama, Hi Mama" or "Hi Daddy, Hi Daddy." At least until we responded to her. Now she sometimes just says "Hi Maia" since that's what she wants us to say =) She is so sweet and enthusiastic!
We have begun potty training. It is probably time even though I dread it. She doesn't like wearing diapers and tells me when she needs them changed most of the time. We have had three days with a LOT of accidents but a few heartening successes too and we will keep at it. I did get these great panties called Kickee pants. They have just a bit of a microfiber pad in it so it absorbs quite a bit. There are still drips and small puddles but nothing like plain panties. Right now Maia usually gets on the potty right after an accident.
Donovan asked for do-a-dot pages today, so I printed him a set with short words he can read in them. Maia finished covering her big blank paper with color so I printed her a sheet with an O and an owl on it. It nearly blew her mind when she realized I could make letters for her with the computer and printer. She asked for every single letter in the alphabet and clapped her hands and giggled as they came out of the printer. She was so thrilled! When she started trying to get me to print a second sheet for each letter I had to call a stop because of a paper and ink shortage, which was less thrilling. ;)
4/24
I jotted down some quick notes in April as I have been falling more and more behind on journaling. So now to go back and fill in the blanks on these stories =)
Maia reading left to right, spelling words. Reciting whole books as she leafs through the pages, or just in the tub. : This was an exciting day! Maia and I have been reading Haiku Baby a lot lately. Usually she points out random letters in the book, and goes through her routine of sounding out the letter. She has also recently started telling me a word that starts with that letter. Like "A, aaaaa, Apple. O, ahh, opatus (octopus)" Well, today she read each letter in the words from left to right, actually spelling them out! And then after she spelled out "SNOW" I would respond, that spells snow! Then she'd quickly say "Lickety Letters, that spells snow, let's give ourselves a big thumbs up! or PRESTO, we spelled the word snow, that makes snow!" Straight from the Super Why script. If I hadn't watched so many super why episodes I probably wouldn't have known what she said, she said it lightning fast. Adorable!
Then, later in the bathtub, she was saying her usual long string of incomprehensible babble, and then suddenly I caught a single word and finally understood she was reciting an entire book! In this case, it was Pete the Cat and his White Shoes. It was amazing. Now I can just imagine what she's been saying all this time that I've just missed!
"Pete pa cat" Maia adores Pete the Cat. All cats are called "Pete pa Cat" right now, including Papa's cat, Friendly. We read the books on a daily basis, she can recite them from memory. It's adorable =) I love hearing her say "groovy!"
Play-doh for hours: She adores play-doh. That was our go-to activity for electronics free month. She literally played for hours at a time. She liked it when I would roll it flat for her, and then she'd use the cutters to cut out letters. She'd say "Oh, beautiful A. Beautiful S" It sounded more like "Bew'ful" Too cute.
Potty training coming along. She actually uses the potty now! And she always says "good girl you peed on the potty!" Whenever she does. She likes jelly beans afterwards =) Peeing is going well, poop not so much.
"I comin' Serenity! I comin' Donovan! I comin' DZ!" Whenever we go get the big kids from school, this is the refrain I hear from the backseat. It is absolutely adorable. And on the plus side, she once again loves riding in the car, no wrestling required. On occasion she even cries when she's left behind. Much better!
