Name that Object!

Every day I try and get Claire to name different things rather than point and grunt like she usually does. Her verbal skills come a distant second to bungee jumping and I can understand why. I mean, why talk when you can so easily do! Or aggressively point or scream/cry. Personally, English and I usually butt heads so I can see where Claire gets it from. I think if Casey ever heard her call the airport the 'plane station', he might literally curl into himself and cry.

It's not as if Claire is far behind. She's catching up, but she likes to put a little twist into the whole concept of talking. With the exception of Mamma, Dadda, Bye, Hi and Ollie, she refuses to put the first letter onto a word. So 'back' is 'ack', 'milk' is 'ilk', 'stuck' is 'uck', and 'sit' is 'it' (the latter 2 words can lead us into trouble if she doesn't start putting that consonant where it belongs). So this afternoon we're sitting in her room reading books and I'm asking her to name various things in the book and in the room.

Me: "What's this?" *pointing to a duck*
Her: "uck"
Me: "Great. Oooo.. what's in the bowl?" *pointing to a fish*
Her: "ish"
Me: "Who's this red monster?" *pointing to elmo*
Her: "ehl-oo"
Me: "Yay! Hey, what's this animal?" *pointing to a dog*
Her: "Ollie!"

Yes, that's right. Ollie. It didn't dawn on me until that moment that for the past week or so she's been calling dogs Ollie. Ollie is our dog, but he's more than just a dog to us, so Claire has only known Ollie as Ollie. I do use the word "doggie" or "puppy" when they pass us on the street or appear in her books, but Ollie is a dog that is an Ollie. Ergo, dogs are Ollies.

Good grief. If all dogs were Ollie, I'd fear for mankind. Ollie is too smart for his own good and having hundred of thousands of Ollies just might lead to an "ollie" revolution.

The Lil' Monkey

Before dinner we headed out for a family walk. Ollie was all giddy with excitement because this meant 2 walks in 1 day! Very rare and special indeed (a doggy door comes in so handy, but to meet Ollie's exercise needs, not so much). Anyway, we took our usual route and ended up at the elementary school playground.

I was so impressed with Claire's climbing abilities. I knew that she was a good climber, balancer, scaler of walls, but it's usually noted at home when she's cleverly devised a make-shift ladder that will get her up and onto our hutch. Today's observation was on the 'big-kid' playground. (Quick note: the elementary school goes from K-5 [which is weird since ours went from K-3]. Because of the wide age range, the school has a 'big-kid' and 'little-kid' playground, the latter being fenced in and containing larger and shorter play sets for the younger ones.) Claire wasn't going to have anything to do with the little-kid playground and started climbing onto, into and up the big-kid play set. This meant the distance from one level to the next was about a foot higher, with a mini-step built into the wall to give the kids a little leverage. She took on the challenge and wiggled her way up to each new level without our assistance. When she wanted to come down, she would hold onto the door-frame and kind of slide her way down until her tip-toes were touching the lower level, then just let go. It was such an awesome sight to see! I'm so proud of my little monkey.

Class Clown

As Claire approaches the big -2- we, ok ... me ... has started making inquiries into and visiting different day cares in the area. The process is overwhelming and I'm grateful to have other mommies give me feedback about the day cares they send their children too. It helps to narrow down the options. Oh yeah, that and the fact that 1/2 of the day cares around require the children to be 3 years old.

This morning, we visited the first one from our list. As part of the visit, our guide brought us into every classroom, from infants up to the 4-year old program. When we stopped into the 2-year old classroom Claire was allowed to go and interact with the students. At first she ran to a board with huge beads on it, but then her eye spied something that was even more intriguing. A box. A box full of stuff.

Never underestimate the speed of a 19 month old. I remember seeing her at the board of beads when I was asking our guide some questions. Then I remember hearing a *CRASH*. The kids that were at the table in front of us just turned to stare at the mess and child next to us. The students were looking at Claire with a "Woah! Who are you?" look, and Claire stared back with the biggest grin of satisfaction. I can tell her face was saying "Hi! I'm funny. I know." and the first words that popped into my head were 'class clown'.

*deep breath*

After that little ice breaker, Claire had a blast going into the other classrooms and exploring what what happening. And that's when it hit me: I honestly don't think Claire will have a hard time with the transition to day care. Maybe the first day, or two, will be a little daunting, but if her inner actress shines through she'll probably be sadder to have to go home after class has ended.

Tea Here, Tea There, Tea Splattered EVERYWHERE

I was not using my brain, even when I saw what the immediate future held in store for me and Claire.

This morning I had a cup of tea, well, only half a cup because a feisty 19 month old refused to let me finish it up. During the blur of time that followed, I remember us leaving for our morning play adventure. Fast forward 1.5 hours later.

I went into the kitchen to make Claire's snack. Looking back I see Claire standing next to the table that housed a mug 1/2 full of tea just out of arms reach, but snuggling my laptop. In my minds' eye I saw that tea no longer sitting cooly in the mug, but flowing from the table. The direction of the flow was hazy: either it can go onto and into my laptop or towards the child. Well, that image faded as quickly as it appeared and back to snack-making I went. Seconds later I hear a *CRASH*. Whipping around I see my daughter soaked and smelling oh so aromatic. The mug was lying on the floor and tea... I'd like to take a moment to thank the tea spirits for making snack time much more pleasurable. That's right, the tea splattered all over the high chair, mat and floor. My laptop was safe and I was made just a wee bit smarter. No matter how far out of arms reach a cup full of liquid may appear to be, remember that objects outside of said image are closer... much, much closer.