Winter is actually flying by pretty fast. I've been working full time, as a contractor through Feb 11, and then converted to permanent. However, I was able to get a few days off here and there to spend with Ben and Becca, which we tried to make the most of with trips to the Children's Museum.
Becca seems to be enjoying school. We have settled into a morning routine where Daddy takes her to school, and I think that has brought them closer together. She used to fuss a little, but now goes right along with him, usually while Ben and I are still at home. She is talking so much more now! At her 2 year appt, the pediatrician suggested I consider speech therapy. I took her to an evaluation in on Feb 21, and she charmed the pants off of everyone. At first, true to form, she was very shy and wouldn't look, much less talk, to any of the 3 therapists in the room. She just clung to me and hid her face smiling sheepishly. But then once one of them gave her a book, she started naming animals and objects by sight or by repeating what I said. She said more words than I've ever heard from her, including horse, goat, and even butterfly! She has been saying some 2-word phrases for a while, with her favorites being "I do" and "I lay", and then an occasional "Mommy help". Just last night she used a 3-word phrase, but now I can't remember what it was.
Becca is still extremely independent, and wants to take her own coat off, and recently has started wanting to put her shirt and pants on herself. She's done it successfully a few times, but it's not an easy task for her yet. Lately, she's fascinated by pockets, and sometimes asks if her clothes have them before putting them on. Unfortunately, it comes out "poppa", so it took me a while to figure out what she was asking. If she has a shirt or pants with pockets, she gets excited and tries to put her hands inside them! She really gets excited about her polka dot jacket with the pockets in front. She also likes wearing tights, at least some days, and came downstairs on a morning Daddy was in charge of her outfit in only and a pair of tights on her bottom half and a short sleeved Disney princess shirt over a long sleeve t-shirt. She seemed to think that was a perfectly appropriate outfit, saying "tights" out loud to announce that's what she had on. Luckily, she was agreeable to putting a skirt I found in her closet over top of them!
Becca is still eating very well, always better than Ben in terms of variety. This weekend though was the first time in a year that she's been under the weather, and along with some very mild throwing up a couple of times Saturday morning, she hasn't had much of an appetite the last couple of days...with it seeming to come back mostly by Monday. She slept alot this weekend, having periods with high energy in between but I think wearing herself out each time.
Ben and all of the younger cousins (everyone except Chase) went to see Mary Poppins on Saturday, while Becca stayed home with Daddy, sleeping mostly. Lacie brought the kids in during the morning, so Becca was using everything she had to play and keep up with Kelly and Ben, so Becca was zonked once we left for the play. But earlier in the morning, the kids had a great time playing together, putting stickers and coloring with markers all over the big toy kitchen box that previously served as a space ship but that morning had transformed into Jordan's house. Jordan lay fairly still horizontally inside the box while the kids moved all around and over him finding spots to place stickers or scribble with markers.
At the play, Ben sat in my lap the whole time to get a better view, and seemed to really enjoy it, especially the singing and dancing, but he faded and fell asleep during the middle 45 minutes or so, which included the intermission. While awake though, he watched intently...and also ate a huge bucket of popcorn and sipped on his Spite pretty intently. When he awoke just as the play was beginning the 2nd Act, he asked for his popcorn back and began snacking on it again! I thought that his enthusiastic clapping right along with the rest of the audience was particularly cute! After the play, Ben and Kelly rode with me back home and watched a Pooh movie with Becca while waiting for a pizza to be delivered. Ben still gets so excited to see the pizza delivery man!
Ben is still enjoying his new school. He gets a lot of really good reports from his teachers, either commenting to me or putting in an official "Happy Gram". He participates really well in the activities and I'm told he's the best napper in the class, getting his chicky and going right to sleep at nap time. I wish he was that agreeable on the weekends at home! Ben is playing "Redskins" with Myles on the playground, at least that's what they did throughout football season. I'm not sure what the game entails, but apparently something at least mildly resembling a pretend football game where they pretend to throw the ball and to run after it. Ben loves the Redskins zip up sweatshirt that Lara and Eddie got him for Christmas, wearing it almost every day and making a desperate plea to leave his heavy coat at home each morning. I finally wised up and started leaving his heavy coat at school to avoid his mild fits about me bringing it along for when he's on the playground. Apparently he would give the teacher no trouble though about wearing it (over his Redskins jacket of course) out on the playground, he saves all of that for Mommy! Yesterday, I picked Ben up a little early to take him for a haircut, finding him and his class on the playground. Ms Jones told me that he and a little group of boys are saying poddy words on the playground...which I'm not surprised since "poopy" is Ben's favorite word at home too! She wasn't upset, acknowledging her son did the same thing at that age.
Ben is involved in gymnastics and just started a soccer skills activity at his school. When I talked about gymnastics with him at home before his weekly class started, he was very upset and scared about having to do it, saying "I'm going to fall". Apparently he was a little timid the first day of class when being asked to line up to leave his normal classroom, but by the 2nd or 3rd class he bolts away from whatever he is doing when gymnastics is announced! I hope to go observe him this Friday; the teachers have said it is an amazing class. He had his first soccer class yesterday. Two nights ago when I told him a soccer player was coming to visit at his school he got very excited saying "you signed me up!", which I thought him knowing the concept of "signing up" was cute.
Ben is still playing alot with his matchbox cars, enjoying using his "road" rugs he got for Christmas to line them up. He and Becca both like their new kitchen and like setting out a blanket for a "picnic" on the floor. Becca enjoys playing with her shape sorter, and especially likes her writing board and likes using a real pen to write in her note pads. She really is amazing at how well she holds a pen.
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