Two Years Old

I can't believe my little girl is TWO!!!  We had a fun party with our closest family there, and Everly had a great time.  We got her a balance bike - that is too big even when DH made extra holes to lower the seat.   I got her some Frog and Toad books as well - she LOVES them so much.  My mom and I got her a green Tripp Trapp chair, which I am in love with and Everly is really enjoying.  

She is so different now.  She is talking so much.   Today we got home from the park and she said "I chase boys".  OMG it was the cutest thing ever.  She was chasing some boys there.  When we go to the park she immediately tries to make friends and wants to play.  She is talking pretty well so 2-4 year olds seem more interested in her now.  She can pretty much climb anything at the park - including the things intended for older kids.  I just spot her and she goes nuts.  

Her tantrums are now few and far between.  I think her language skills have helped with that and her eye teeth have come through now (only 6 more teeth to go!).  She is just so much fun to be around.  It is incredible how much she understands.

I finished "The Hurried Child" I mentioned before and I love the new perspective it has given me.  I feel like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders and I can just do what feels natural and not worry about "teaching".  Since taking on this new philosophy Everly has really become interested in counting.  She loves her counting books and if I don't actually count the items she will take my hand and make me help her point and count.  I now have faith that she will learn to do all the things she needs when the time is right.

Long Time - job loss & car accident

It has been a while...

I lost my day job.  I worked for my aunt, and her husband (my mom's brother) was killed this fall in a biking accident.  She decided to put her business on hold, which means I am out of a job.  I wish that I didn't have to find something else, because more than anything I want to be home with Everly.  I just don't think we can get by without that income.  I had thought about taking on more teaching hours at my current schools, but the schedule was already set by the time I got let go.  Honestly I felt like my whole world was crashing... and I guess I still do.  It seems like a lot of bad things are happening right now.  I am trying to stay positive.

A week after I got let go, I was waiting for someone to make a right hand turn.  I looked in my rear view mirror and saw the guy behind me coming to a stop.  I just chilled out for a second and BANG.  I got rear ended.  Some girl smashed into the guy behind me and he hit me.  What a pain!!  I got whiplash, which seems to be fine except my nose sometimes gets tingly.  I missed a day of work because of it, and now I have to deal with all the insurance stuff.  Not fun.  At first I felt really bad for the girl that hit us... but now I am more angry than anything.  Thank goodness Everly wasn't in the car.

Busy Busy

Pookie is keeping me SO busy these days. When she is feeling good she wants me to dance with her, take her outside, or play with her. Sometimes she will get quite involved in her kitchen and do that on her own, but other than that she needs me. When she isn't happy she is either having tantrums or is increadibly whiny. I am finding it really hard to find the time to even think straight let alone blog these days.

Her tantrums are getting to me. I feel so useless when she throws a one. Sometimes it will happen when I am trying to get ready so that I can take her outside, or to the park etc. It is so frustrating to be unable to do anything. She hasn't been eating much lately, and I am wondering if being hungry is making her more on edge. Yesterday she just had yogurt, avocado, a small piece of cheese, a bit of potato and some of Daddy's frozen yogurt. Normally she would eat much more. It has been this way for a few weeks. She will often only have a few bites of her dinner. Her nursing does seem to be up a bit, but not a lot. Has anyone else dealt with this?

My parents are increadibly supportive and they love Pookie so much. However I do feel... judged (not sure if that is the right word), when Pookie loses it. It feels like they think I am to blame. Like perhaps I am too permissive or something. Bleh. For the most part I don't let it get to me, but sometimes it is hard not to.

Depsite this being a challenging time it sure is a lot of fun. Pookie is talking more and more everyday. She is constantly trying to tell us things. More and more her little personality is being revealed and I just love getting to know her.

Slowing Down

So I am over half way through David Elkinds "Hurried Child" and I just love it. I love when I read a book and have new found clarity or have that enlightened feeling. I feel like I finally really get why I don't need to be drilling ABC's or pushing that kind of learning. That isn't to say we will stop singing the ABC's or counting things etc. but I feel like I now understand better why it makes sense to just slow down and let Pookie learn things in her own time. There really is no rush. I think one of the parts that really gave me clarity was when the author talked about a class of 4-5 year olds who had a teacher who really wanted to make a difference and get them reading. They did surprisingly well, but a few years later they read with no enjoyment. He went on to talk about how children who are pushed to read early often don't enjoy it the way children who read in their own time do.

Before starting this book I was planning on signing Pookie up for a creative movement class with an excellent teacher I teach with. Her class is wonderful and creative... but it is still a structured class. After reading and watching Pookie dance on her own I have started to think I should wait. I can foster her love of dancing at home, and not risk her getting put off by a structured class.

I am really looking forward to finishing this one and starting the other book I got on hurrying children - Under Pressure: Rescuing Childhood from the Culture of Hyper-Parenting- Carl Honore

Strong Emotions

Lately Pookie and I seem out of sync. I think this is because I have taken on a private lesson on Wednesday mornings which means one of our mornings is gone. Also DH is working away on our upstairs which means every weekend Pookie and I have to leave the house (usually to the Zoo). I am feeling increadibly stressed, Pooks is grouchy, taxes are due, student exams are coming up and Pookie's b-day is soon. I am so looking forward to May when things calm down and Pookie and I can try to get back in sync again.

Now that Pooks is getting older, her personality seems to becoming more and more clear. She seems to be a lot more active than other kids her age. Not hyperactive at all, just full of energy. She also seems to understand how to get a reaction out of people and how to ham it up. She has an arsenal of faces she makes and sometimes she will make one and you think she really is feeling sad or grouchy, and then she will look you in the eye and start laughing. When she is happy she glows, but when she is upset... watch out! She has been having more temper tantrums lately. Ones that I can't control at all. In the past I let them run their course, but usually I sense when she is almost done and an offer or a hug or to nurse will usually snap her out of it. Now the length of time she spends upset has increased. It is so hard to watch her so upset and I always feel increadibly guilty. I also access to see if it is something I could of prevented, and even if I can't come up with a way I still feel responsible.

Yesterday I took her to the Play Centre. We got there much later than usual so Pookie still really wanted to play when it was time to go. They do a circle time and I thought she would like it. In hindsight I should of just left immediately. I took her over and she saw the train set and wanted to pull it all out. All the toys had been put away and you are not supposed to take them out. Well I told her she could have one train and I thought that would be cool. Boy was I wrong. She LOST IT! She ran and threw herself down and started sobbing... while they were all singing songs. I stayed calm and tried to get all our stuff together as fast as possible. It felt like it took FOREVER! I picked her up screaming and kicking and took her to the car. Once in the car I decided to let her calm down until she was ready to either go home or go to the store. After 40 minutes of sitting in the car she just wanted to play in there and I had to put her in her seat forcibly. I felt so aweful & defeated I just wanted to cry.

We got home and had a nap together and she was much more pleasant when she woke up.

I am hoping that teething is playing apart in this. She is still cutting her eye teeth and last night she tossed and turned, and this morning she saw a teething ring in the freezer, grabbed it and chewed on it until it was room temperature.

Vent

I guess this will be a vent more than anything.  Sometimes I get so frustrated when I try to explain myself and why I take the approach to parenting that I do.  Over at MDC you get so much support and are surrounded by mom's that have a similar philosophy when it comes to raising a child.  Sometimes I forget that some mom's are just on a different planet than me... or it feels that way anyways.  I feel this need to explain myself... but when I do I just know there is no way to get my point across without sounding standoffish or better than you.   I know this probably sounds silly but sometimes I feel like I have been enlightened from going to MDC and reading books that support those philosophies.  It is hard to not want to enlighten other people... but then again I am sure they just think I am nutso and want me to keep my theories to myself.

Value of True Play

I just found a great article on the value of true play. I really enjoyed it so I thought I would share.

http://www.naturalfamilyonline.com/5-ap/45-children-development.htm

edited

Here is great another article suggested by Becca- Artistmama from Chocolate Eyes.

http://theparentingpassageway.com/2008/10/05/fostering-creative-play/