Big Girls Use Direct Objects

Lucy displays some new skill nearly every day. It's a lot of fun to watch. One of today's developments was her first non-pronoun direct object. It's the kind of milestone two English teachers would get excited about. Today she said, "I got ball." She has previously said things like "I got it" or "I do it," but this is the first time she has named the "it" that she got. Her list of words that she says is still pretty short: mama, daddy, bubbles, ball, book, baby, bite, up. She also says "good job" because she hears it from me so often. The other day I did something for her, and she told me "good job." It cracked me up. I think she's probably got more words that she is capable of saying, but she only says things when she wants to. And she isn't interested in repeating  what we want her to repeat.

However, the number of words she understands is amazing. Most of the time we learn that she knows words because we ask her questions or tell her to do things, and she responds correctly. Tonight I asked her if she wanted to brush her teeth, and she ran to the sink and pointed at her toothbrush. Last week I told her to pick up an apple and bring it to me, and she did it. She wasn't near the apple when I asked, and I asked her to do two things in the same question, so I was very impressed when she brought me the apple. Sometimes the results are funny. When she dances, I sometimes say, "Shake it, baby!" A few days ago, she was holding a rattle, and I told her to shake it. She started dancing. Not what I meant, but really funny.

I have much more to say about Lucy--her physical skills, her personality, her pretend play--but I need to get to bed. Keeping up with Lucy takes a lot of energy. I'm hoping that we can spend some time in the garden tomorrow afternoon after swimming in the morning and nap after lunch. The weather is supposed to be pretty good, and Lucy likes playing outside. I need to clean up my garden a bit, and Lucy can help me dig in the dirt. I'm sure she'll want to go swinging, too. And there may be bubbles. Lucy and I agree that everyday is a good day for bubbles.

Thinking Ahead to Christmas

I've gotten a few questions from people about Christmas gifts for Lucy, so I thought I'd share my thoughts. First, Lucy's Amazon list from her birthday is still available. And my previous post about what Lucy likes still applies. She is now willing to wear shoes, so we've bought a couple pairs of soft, flexible shoes for her. I have a few more ideas based on how Lucy has developed in the last few weeks.

Active Indoor Toys
I have an energetic baby, months of winter ahead, and no indoor play spaces in town. I may not need as much as I think I will, but I like to be prepared. I don't know what Lucy will like, but I've thought about rocking horses, ride-on toys, swings, slides, ramps, or even just a bunch of big cushions and pillows that she can pile up and climb or jump on. I've got a trampoline and a video rocker that I plan to get out for her. Most active indoor toys can be moved outside when the weather improves next spring, so I expect that she'd get a lot of use out of them.

Dress Up Clothes & Props
Lucy hasn't shown a lot of interest in dressing up yet, but I'd like for her to have some things to practice putting on and fastening. I have thought that elastic-waist skirts and vests with different kinds of closures (buttons, snaps, velcro, etc.) might be a good start. Quite honestly, they could be very simple and made with scrap material. I'm also a big fan of fun hats. And I think she's getting into pretend play enough that play dishes and food would be fun for her.

Dolls and Accessories
Lucy is paying a little more attention to her doll. I think she hugged and kissed it today, but she may have been squishing against her face as a telephone and then biting it. It's hard to tell sometimes. I'd like for her to have a doll that can get into the bath tub. She threw her doll into the tub yesterday, and it's still drying. Bottles, a stroller, and clothes she can change might be good, too. This does not have to be an expensive doll that does tricks. Now that she's got some little girls as friends and has met some babies, I expect her to start showing more interest in dolls.

Art Supplies
Lucy wants to play with paper and pens, but we won't let her do that yet. I've gotten her a set of Crayola Color Wonder paint brushes and a partially used coloring book at Goodwill. She tried it just a little, but I think she'll like it. And I like that it won't get messy. Anything like MagnaDoodle and AquaDoodle that will let her scribble without making a mess would be good. There may be other things toddlers can do that I haven't thought of. I'm open to suggestions.

Stroller and Weather Cover
We have two strollers, both of which are used and have tires that are losing their treads. I'd like to get a sturdy but light-weight and fairly compact stroller. Because we live just off campus, we've been using our strollers a lot. Walking to school won't be possible at times over the winter, but as weather allows, I'd like to walk whenever we can. Good tires will be especially important on wintry roads, and we don't have sidewalks for part of our route.

These are some of the latest things I've thought of. I'll try to make sure that these get on Lucy's Amazon list.

As for me and Matt, I'm still thinking and updating my Amazon list, and Matt keeps his list pretty up-to-date. I haven't asked him, but I'm sure he wouldn't mind my recommending that you give money so that he can buy what he wants. He goes shopping at used book stores and places where he can buy used music, movies, and games, so he can get more when he finds a good deal that if you had bought him something new from Amazon.

A Very Belated Birthday Post

Lucy had a very happy birthday fortnight. We celebrated for a couple of weeks. Thank you to everyone--grandparents, great-grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends--who celebrated with us by partying with us or sending gifts and cards. Here are some highlights from Lucy's birthday party on Saturday, September 20, 2014.

Our friends, Susie and Shawn, helped us so much. They made the games that the kids played. They helped with setting up and cleaning up. And Susie took many of the pictures I'm posting, including this great family picture.

You know it was a great party when there was table dancing before the party even started.

The theme of the party was monsters. So we had a monster sub sandwich.  The sub, which was really good, was from Wal-Mart. The monster bits were jack-o'-lantern parts from Dollar Tree.

The birthday cake was a Texas sheet brownie with candy and marshmallow eyes. 

I called it a mud monster. Lucy needed some help with the candle. We tried practicing blowing out candles the week before her party, but the fire freaked her out.

Lucy didn't actually play any of the games, but she had fun trying to knock down the tower Shawn set up for monster bowling. We had to keep catching her to keep her from ruining other people's turns.

This was the best way to keep her from knocking down the tower or getting in the way.

She also enjoyed peeking at daddy, who was pretending to be a monster.

This is Lucy with her friend, Elin. Elin's dad is a professor in the English department with Matt. Lucy and Elin had ever met before the party, but they became fast friends. We're used to kids crying and running from Lucy, so we were thrilled that Lucy made a friend.

Lucy really got into the present opening. We let her stand on a table to open gifts.

We really had to be on our toes with Lucy on the table.

Ooo! A book!

She had lots of help with her gifts.

Dr. Lindsay Anderson couldn't wait to play with Lucy's toys. Everybody had fun at this party.