Preschool Pictures and Update

So far we've had three classes of preschool. We do it for about 40 minutes (or longer depending on her) twice a week. Last week we focused on boats and babies. (Babies will be a recurring theme until probably August.) 

Anyway, so last Thursday we made a paper boat together--and she actually did help. I would fold it over and she would crease the edge of the fold. Then we pulled on the ends together to pop the boat out. 

When I suggested we take it into the tubby she said, "No. The boat broken." (Mike made her a boat one time and, of course, it got wet so by the time she was done it was a little soggy.) So she tried flying it instead. I explained that only the paper airplanes fly so she asked me to make one. So, the purple airplane is mine, the red boat is ours, and the yellow "airplane" is Madie's.

THEN she wanted to get in the tubby--with the airplane.

So here's Madie in her swim suit with her "ski plane" and Kaleb has the less-desirable (but much longer-lasting) boat.

This week we're working on flowers. We talked about the parts of a flower while we made this one. This was really good practice with the glue stick, and more importantly, she loved it. 

I kept asking her to hold up the flower and look at the camera. I meant hold it up by her face, but she raised it way up like this and would only glance at the camera for a second. She really, really likes this flower.

 Of course then we planted some real seeds. I let Madie pick what she wanted of the packets I had. She liked putting them in the dirt, but wouldn't touch the dirt to cover them. This shocks me because she and Kaleb love to go out on the balcony dig up the dirt in one of my pots, even after I have repeatedly asked them not to. Ai ai ai!

Anyway, I suggested we put her flower in the pot with the seeds so everyone can see it. That made her really happy. 

We also colored in a flower, and this is the first time I've asked her to color only a specific part of a picture before. (Well, actually no, but it is the first time she actually has only colored in what I've asked.) I'll have to get a shot of it next to another work of art so you can see the difference.

Ultrasound at 28 weeks

Preschooling

Madie is 2 1/2 now, and it's starting to show that she needs a little more than I've been giving her. I think it's great for her to have Kaleb around every day, but he's much younger and, at this point, it kind of like another family member rather than someone she has to learn to work with in semi-unfamiliar setting. So, I've decided to start preschooling her. At home. I am not the type of mother to spend a lot of money on my kid unless I feel it's the only way to reap the most benefits. In this instance, I definitely feel I can provide what she needs here at home, if not more because she won't be crammed in with 15 other kids. I also don't feel like formal preschool is an essential to starting kindergarten.

What I do feel is that there are two major benefits to be gained from preschooling: the first is socialization and the second is an introduction to structure. I can definitely provide the structure, the socialization is what I'm most concerned about.

Recently Madie has shown what I would call mild social anxiety--which, for her, is completely new. When she's in a familiar place with familiar people (i.e. home with friends or at church in nursery) she does great. Her nursery leaders love her and say she's wonderful. She does well at home most of the time, although sharing her things is sometimes an issue--but she's 2 so it's not like this shocks me.

But the past few times we've gone to story time at the library, Madie has had a meltdown that is triggered essentially by nothing. I can usually get her to calm down within a few minutes and we go back in, but she doesn't interact with the other kids, even though it's a relatively small group (we've started attending the preschooler story time, which only has maybe 15 kids in there. The baby/toddler story time has upwards of 30, I'd say, and is INSAAAAAAANE!) and she although she wants to participate in the songs and activities, she refuses to. She won't even sit on the floor with the other kids, but rather spends the whole time standing in front of me or trying to climb on my lap. Eventually, about half-way through, she starts to bawl. I take her out, calm her down, ask her if she wants to go back in (which is always a "yes"), and we continue as we were before.

I am determined to get her some playmates. I've even offered to preschool a couple of friends' kids here at my home (since I'll be doing it with or without them anyway) just so she can see other kids her age more regularly. We've also been working on responding to adults when they speak to her. She will usually respond to me or Mike (unless she's angry at us, or thinks we're angry at her) but anyone else, even friends, she will look away from and decline to answer. This has improved marginally over just the last couple of weeks, so there is hope.

So, mothers, what do you think? Any preschooling tips? Any socialization tips? Blogs you use? Methods? Suggestions? I'm open for it all.

Dubby Tee!

Lately, Madie has been singing a song she made up. She gallops around the apartment, holding her dress in her hands (because she always wears a dress), and sings to the tune of jingle bells. Dubby is her old name for Grammy. But now that she can say Gammy, Dubby was tossed aside. It goes something like this:
Dubby Tee, Dubby Tee
Da-oh all the way
Dubby Tee, Dubby Tee
Da-oh all the way

(Repeated infinite times)

I'm sure our neighbors just love us!

Speaking of dresses, have we mentioned her obsession? She literally wears dresses every day. Her go-to dresses have been 'black Emma's dress',  'pink Emma's dress', and 'yellow dress'. If we let her, she would wears these everywhere. Oh, and can't forget about the boots that accompany the dress. Those are almost as necessary as the dress itself.

On another note, Madies favorite foods are Cheerios, apples, yogurt, chocolate milk, peanut butter, nutella, jam, and any kind of bread. She doesn't eat meat, but she'll surprise you sometimes. Like last night, when she ate three meat balls! Where did that come from?! No meat for 2 months solid, and all of the sudden some meat balls??

She recently returned to sleeping in her bed. She has insisted on sleeping on the floor since last September when we went camping and Nana and Papa gave her a sleeping bag. Just this last week was the first time she actually wanted to sleep on the bed. Just when we thought we weren't going to need to buy a new bed for her with Finnegan in the works.