We are two weeks into Harper's transition to the toddler room at daycare and it could not be going any better. They are on such a fantastic schedule and they do so many activities. arts and crafts and have twice daily outdoor play.
They still have the cameras in her class and I was watching one morning while the teachers put on a full-on puppet show and I thought to myself "these people know what they're doing." I've had so much guilt about being a working mom, but seeing how much fun she has, how engaging the teachers are and how well she's doing is helping quell some of these feelings. The other day, she even cried when we left, which admittedly broke my heart, but then she cried pretty much the entire rest of the night, including with red-faced feet stomping, so it was just a bad night for her. She was lovely the next day�ahhh toddlers.
Speaking of tantrums, we've definitely noticed that she's testing her boundaries and being quite dramatic. It's hit or miss on what her mood will be any given day and throw teething into the mix and some days are just a disaster from the very start.
Epic tantrums aside, she has a very sweet side to her personality. She will rub your arm or leg or gently pat our heads, she hugs her baby doll and cares for her like a real baby (
except for when she throws her headfirst onto the floor), still loves being silly, playing peek-a-boo and being chased. She loves being "surprised" when I pop out from behind the kitchen island when we play "hide and seek."
As you can see in the photos from this month's session, little miss was not in the mood. It was nearly impossible to get photos this time around, she was running all over the place like the busy little toddler she is. Oh well!
I'm changing the format of these updates to simply include favorite moments, memories and milestones. I really write these for myself to have as a reference and the more detailed updates were fun when she was an infant, but she does so many cute things each month I want to share some of my favorites.
Height + Weight:
Our next pediatrician appointment isn't until next month, so I think she's probably about 25 lbs now and a little taller too! She is still in size 4 diapers.
Favorite Moments, Memories & Milestones:
Harper has "tea parties" with her animal friends. She puts them into a group on the floor and pours them a cup of tea.
Harper can draw with markers and scribble on our chalkboard.
She wants to read constantly and brings us book after book. She can identify a book when asked, which surprised me. I can ask her to get "Brown Bear, Brown Bear" out of a pile of 10 books and she will find it and bring it to me.
She understands so much. Her receptive language grows by the day and she always surprises us with all she understands.
She dances like no body's business. Her jam right now is "chandelier" by Sia. It comes on and she smiles immediately and breaks into a dance that's all her own.
When I say "ring, ring, who's calling?" she picks up whatever is around and brings it to her ear, haha!
When she FaceTimes with her grandma Zuzi, she actually kisses the screen when my mom asks for a kiss
She tries to put on her own shoes, and tries to put them on our feet too
She babbles a lot and babbles "sentences." Still not a lot of words, but she's been working on so many other skills. We talk and read to her a ton and she understands so much so I know she will get it on her own time.
She can brush her own hair (and ours too!) and tries to put her own hair bows on
She likes to drink out of mama's big Starbucks cup (with supervision of course, that massive straw could seriously impale a toddler running around with it)
She likes all of the food. Seriously, this child is still absolutely frantic about food and loves to eat�and it better be on her plate tout de suite�or else!
She loves to twirl in circles and can walk backwards (I think she realized this when it was the "skill of the week" at Little Gym)
She currently hates bath time. She just cries as soon as she's in the tub. Sometimes she can be distracted if she plays with the running water. Most of the time, it's just crying.
She can kiss and most recently can blow kisses.
She can touch/point to body parts when asked "where is your nose/eyes/belly" etc.
She still takes awhile to warm up to new people and situations--- but sometimes she will surprise us and totally ham it up when we go out to eat---waving and smiling at everyone around us. Other times. she's stone cold until she's adjusted.
She still loves her paci. She's using it only at night for sleep and sometimes we will give it to her if she's inconsolable from teething. They've weaned her off of it at daycare for her naps there�but we haven't had any luck at home. She just screams in her crib and cries for it�and if I try to hold her and comfort her in other ways she just pushes off of me and gets even more worked up. Any tips mamas who've been there? I've read some online already about saying "bye bye" to paci and having a ceremony of sorts, but I don't think she's cognitively at the point of really understanding that.
Her smiles still melt my heart�her laughs even more so.
