I cannot believe that Loralai is going to be 3 in just 4 months! Yes, I am already starting to plan the theme of the party!
(I know that I used this photo in a previous post, but is it not beautiful?)
Loralai has started to notice peoples emotions. If she notices your upset, she will come up to you and be goofy so that you will laugh. She can spot if someone is mad, happy, or sad. I had oral surgery just over a week ago and unfortunately I had a little less patience then I normally do because of the constant pain, well she was not listening and instead of changing my tactic first, I just yelled at her and put her for timeout. Well 2 days after this incident, she was at her Grandma's and Loralai told her in a very straight sad face that "Mom is mad at me...she put me for a timeout", I traumatized the poor little thing! lol, its not like this is the first time I have placed her for a timeout, or even the first time I have raised my voice. So I sat down with her when she got home since she is obviously starting to internalize emotions, and explained that Mommy was no longer mad, but that I do get upset when she does not listen.
Loralai can count to 16, but I was reading about development and they say that this is more reciting from memory, which is great, but she can actually count to 3, for example we will be in the car and she will say "Mom there are 3 dogs" and there will be 3 dogs, and she does this all the time with numbers up to 3. I read that this is just slightly above track, the fact that she is able to identify the quantity that she is naming.
She is asserting her Independence with vengeance now, and is very resourceful in coming up with ideas about how to do things on her own. She carries around her stool everywhere with her, sometimes this drives Mommy crazy, but how can I knock her for traits that are so important to have as an adult? Obviously just because I embrace it does not mean she gets to do everything her self either, but I try and explain why she is unable to when she can't...mostly this is because of safety. She also wants to help with everything, which is apart of gaining independence, so I also let her help me with tasks that I feel she is able to follow.
She has very recently shortened Mommy and Daddy to just Mom and Dad, and I am pretty sad about it. I thought that this day would not come until she was around 5 or 6, but I am still hoping that it is just a phase! lol...I do not want my baby to grow up too quickly now!
So she does not like to draw or colour, and would prefer to watch you do it. I think it is because she can't colour within the lines or draw like an adult. I am unsure how I should attack this insecurity, but I will be asking my cousin Carrie (Loralai's daycare provider) if she is also doing this at her place. I have ALWAYS complement her drawings, and ALWAYS try and encourage her to be creative or practice her circles etc. because it is so important for development. I also know that everyone else in her circle of caregivers (Daddy, Grandma, Papa, Carrie) always complement her as well, so I am not sure where this insecurity came from.
Update: I talked with Carrie and Loralai draws a lot at her house! Tries to make people, draws circles, and is even trying to draw triangles. So apparently it is just a Mommy and Loralai struggle...phew...but now what do I do?
Loralai knows the following shapes without any hesitation: heart, circle, square, diamond, and triangle. One's that she does not get consistently and sometimes need a little assistance with are: rectangle, octagon, and oval. I made up this simple game out of construction paper, I just cut out each shape X2 in different colours, and for now I am asking her to pick out just the shapes, or asking her to pick out a shape in a specific colour (this also helps with her colours), or asking her to find the ones that match. Eventually I will ask her to put the matching colours together, she is still learning her colours so this game will come when she is more confident with her colours.
She can sing her ABC's up until the letter K, then she needs a little help making it to the end. But that L,M,N,O,P is a little tricky! She can only identify the letter A so far.
Loralai still does not have very much interest in using the potty, but I figure that she will be soon since she is starting to show the beginning signs, like letting me know that she has gone pee right after she has gone, but when I ask her if she has to use the potty, she is always very stern about her no, so I do not push it, but I am thinking that soon I am going to have to encourage a little more consistently.
She is able to take off all of her outerwear clothing, like boots, snow pants, jacket, hat, etc. She can easily take off zipper sweaters, and her pants. She still needs a little help taking off shirts that need to be pulled over her head. She can put on her own pants, jacket, hat, sweaters, and boots without a problem. Like needing help to take off her shirt she needs assistance to put it on, and also obviously to do up zippers or buttons. But Loralai does try to put on and take off her shirts herself and I am sure she will get it soon enough.
She can balance standing on one foot, on either foot. She can pat her head and rub her belly at the same time, it does take her a few tries to get it but she does! She has excellent coordination, she can be on a pull out run, and jump over an object without losing her balance.
Update: Carrie also mentioned, which I actually forgot was a developmental milestone, is actual interactive playing. Loralai has always been very social, and she will play a lot interactively with the other daycare kids, as opposed to playing side by side, and she has been doing this for a long while now.
I know that there are probably some developmental skills that I did not cover, but if I think of anything else I will update! So overall she is right on track, and I am super proud of my big girl! :)
