Clara's baby brother approaches! Now that I have returned to work,
Jason gives me a ride to work and back (just in case I go into labor
at work so he'd be able to drive himself to the hospital). Jason has
become an expert at entertaining her during these brief car rides.
We've made a copy of her music CD "the best of the Laurie Berkner
band" which she listens to in the car and have a full set of snacks
ready in case she gets hungry (goldfish, teddy grahams and craisins)
in addition to milk and water.
A typical day begins with a bottle of milk followed by some morning play time.
She eventually finds her way to the kitchen for breakfast
(she now sits in a booster seat instead of a
high chair) for an assortment of oatmeal, cereal, and fruit
(especially berries). She then heads off to draw in her notebooks
with dad or sometimes read to herself. By mid morning she and dad are
off for their daily activity, whether it is a stroller ride to the
park, story time at the library, gym, soccer, or even Target! She
returns in time for lunch (turkey, a colby jack cheese stick, wheat
bread and a fruit) and settling in for her only nap (ideally at least
2 hours long). Upon awakening it's music time and she spins and
bounces on a ball to her music CDs. The afternoon quickly passes by
with dress up time (trying on all of her clothes and socks, then
moving on to trying on my mother's shirts and shoes) and more reading
time then of course dinner, final bottle of milk then bath time/story
time/bed.
We'll be adding one new activity to her schedule, speech therapy. She
is doing well meeting her other milestones (kicks ball forward, walks
down stairs, draws straight lines, can point to body parts, follows
two step commands, etc) however, after being evaluated by the
infant/toddler program, they agreed her expressive language is behind
so we're hoping this will help us better understand what she wants to
communicate to us (besides the great mime/charades she has perfected,
it would be great if she used a few more words besides, "What's
that?") What is certain is that she is ahead in her receptive
communication so we are careful to say things in her presence that are
appropriate for her to hear.
She still enjoys time on the computer, but it has been better reigned
in with more activities during the day. Her favorite songs on Youtube
are a variety of Glee songs including, the "Umbrella" song, "Lucky,"
and "Put a ring on it." She now has her own cat-themed umbrella we
hold while watching the umbrella song (used only for this purpose!)
With baby brother on the way any day now, we also watch videos of
babies and talk about the baby on the way. Not sure how to handle all
the upcoming balancing of two kids, but we're already having to deal
with it. I purchased a stuffed monkey for the baby (Clara has plenty
of stuffed animals of her own but no monkeys) and had it sitting in
his crib. She found it and wanted it so I purchased another monkey
(different brand) but she still wants the baby's monkey. Not sure if
it'll be easier once he's here and she understands that it is his, but
I have a feeling this is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to
balancing the two of them and their needs/wants!
