Bursts of English

The doctor wants Reagan in speech therapy, the speech therapist wants Reagan in speech therapy, and mom and dad... despite my profession as a pediatric therapist.....want to hold off.  I know.  I know.  We're terrible parents.  I keep thinking that she'll catch up on her own, in our "language rich" environment :).  We're such talkers over here, you know.    Why, just last night at dinner, Reagan finished her food, looked at me, and said "dow".  As in, "Mom, please get me down off this stool".  I helped her down off the stool, and she said, perfectly clear, with perfect diction, witnessed by all other members of the family...

"Thank You, Mommy".  Rob and I about fell of our own stools.

Every once in awhile, she'll pop off with a perfectly clear phrase.  And it makes us do a double take, because usually, she speaks gobbledy-gook with a few words mixed in.  Lately she's been saying (I SWEAR this is what she's saying)  "Sit DOWN, Mommy".    Or, if I sneeze, she'll say "Bless You". 

She's got several signs now... please, milk, dog, turtle, more (inconsistent), fish.  And she appears to be learning new words every day.  It's coming.  She understands EVERYTHING, and will listen to me, then jabber back, as if we're having a perfectly understandable conversation.  It's just not in English.

Sometimes I think that little girl is toying with us, and one day in the not too distant future, she'll just start speaking full, clear sentences, as if she was perfectly capable this whole time, and was just choosing NOT to speak English. 

Reagan's first Snow

It snowed, and it stuck.  We've got a good few inches on the ground now, so I took Reagan outside to enjoy the white stuff.  It occurred to me, as she was walking around completely amazed, that it's the first snow in her memory, as she was just a baby last winter.  HUH!  I took tons of adorable pictures of her tromping around out there, but my camera card is on the blitz and I can't get them off the card and onto the computer.  You'll just have to trust me on how cute they were.  PHHHHT.  So disappointing.  ANYWAYS.  I thought Reagan would see the snow as one giant sand box, as that's one of her favorite thing in the world.  NOPE.  She instead went around to all her favorite outdoor playthings (the swing set, the Tonka trucks, the sand box), and began cleaning them.  Kept saying "Uh Oh", then brushing the snow off.  I could just hear her little brain thinking "Oh My Goodness.  Who made this terrible mess!!"  Too funny.  

Hat Season 2010-11

Yes, it's that time of year again, when all cute girls need to stock up on equally cute hats.  My husband asked me the other day "How many hats does one girl need?"  He OBVIOUSLY doesn't understand.  It's not a matter of quantity, or functionality either, really.  I make these hats for Reagan because, darn it, she looks cute in them.  There's a matching scarf for the cream hat, but apparently Reagan doesn't see the need to have something wrapped around her neck when sitting on her mother's bed in a laundry basket.   There WILL be several more hats before snow-season is done.  I really have no doubt about that.

Yuck

Reagan came out of my bathroom with the cheese slice container/tupperware dripping, a big ol' smile on her face.

Mom: "Rob, Reagan just brought out a container full of toilet water.  I sure hope you flushed when you used it last."

Dad: "Dang.  The ONE time I forget."

24 Month Well Baby Visit

So, at 24 months of age, Reagan just barely cracks 22 pounds (22.1 to be exact), but that was fully dressed with an extremely full diaper (the doctor commented "Wow!  That's a full one!  Time to change!").  So I'm guessing she's hovering between 21 and 22 pounds there somewhere.  The goodnews about that is.... it puts her on the growth chart!!!  5th percentile for weight, if we add the full diaper!  Wahoo!!!  Height is 34", which puts her in the 50th percentile, and I didn't catch the head circumference number, but it was also 50th percentile.  The doctor showed me Reagan's growth progression.... off the chart, touched the 5th percentile as an infant, fell off the chart again, and now... back on!  Way to grow, girl!  Although, you may have been cheating a little with that diaper thing.  We'll take it anyways.

Only one shot today, which Reagan screamed about, but NO TEARS!  Such a tough chick.  Luckily, the flu vaccine was a mist, so lucked out on that one.  Possible Strep Infection in a place no one should have to experience, which was caught when changing the above-mentioned diaper.  I assumed it was from teething... we'll hear the results of the culture later.  Apparently, it's going around.  No wonder she's cranky.  Other than that, all is well.  Reagan stacked a MONSTER tower out of 8 blocks.  Impressive ;).  Speech still considered an area of concern, and the doctor recommended speech therapy yet again.  I'll consult with my coworker, but am hoping to avoid direct treatment.  She really is making progress.  Just today, she learned a new word when we were looking at all her new hand-me-down clothes from a friend of mine.... "CUTE!"  So it's coming along, just in it's own, slow, Reagan way.  And she didn't score as well as she probably should have... wouldn't even identify the picture of a dog the doctor showed her, even though I know she knows what a dog is, because she points them out constantly.  Not good working under pressure, apparently.

Bottom line, all is well in Reagan-World.  She's a growing, happy little girl!

Oh NO!

Rob asked me, when I got home from work tonight "How do we handle it when baby bites someone?"

Wha-huh??

Apparently, Reagan BIT another child at daycare today, and the day care provider called to ask how we handle it at home.  At home?  Well, she bit her brother once about 7 months ago, after which I told her NO and put her in her crib. It's documented here, and as you can see, it was clearly self-defense.   I can't say it's really happened since then.  Certainly not REGULARLY.  Certainly not so regularly that we have a disciplinary plan in place to deal with the situation.  Oh GOODNESS.  Apparently she didn't want to share a toy today.  Apparently, we have one tough little girl who is not about to be pushed over by ANYONE.  Apparently, she is teething, and wants to put those new canines to use. And it makes her cranky, which seems to be the common thread with all such "incidents". 

So, when does parenting get easy?  Anyone?  Anyone?

Portrait of a 2 Year Old