simone spring/summer part 1

My attempt to catch up on the life of Simone...

-She likes to use her fingers and describe, "Can I watch dvd "this" much?" She believes a tiny space between the fingers will convince mom. Or "Can I eat "this" much?" Her thinking has matured. She understands delay of gratification, she knows how to bargain, she reasons why things aren't fair and can conjecture potential reasons behind why something is so.

- Still loves pretend play - even swordplay once in a while. Her favorite game is family. She's good at taking turns being the mommy, daddy, or big sister. I've noticed though that with bossier girls if she likes them she'll let them be the mommy.

- Has now added twisting to her swinging repertoire - though pictured here is the stand-bye belly swinging.  She likes to be pushed to swing "really, really" high. I thought she was making progress with learning how to swing herself but she seems to have regressed a bit.

- Enjoys playing games, here a fishing game from the Chos. She's now able to play games by herself on the computer and Granddad's iPad. Her favorites are the ones that don't require speed, like dressing up games. But she of course loves playing board games against mommy and daddy at least as much.

- Still loves drawing, getting very good at people and rainbows. She also has a couple of sticker completion books she enjoys. We threw out all the markers at home because Noemi kept getting into then and putting them in her mouth. She's also very good at "reading" to herself and will often ask to read a book by herself before going to sleep (after our regular story and prayer time).

- Is now an expert scooter rider and is a lot more confidence on the bicycle (still with training wheels) as well. At other times she really wants to sit in the stroller so I always have to remember to bring the Ergo baby carrier with me. I'm still debating on whether we'd use a double stroller often enough to merit getting one.

- Still has a sweet tooth like mom. Her love for chocolate grows deeper. She also only wears shirts when mom is picking though skirts/shirts have become a second choice to dresses now (they were on the black list before). It's also funny, when she has to wear shorts she wants them to be really short (so only her drapey dress-like shirt is seen and not her bottoms).

- Birthday party for baby bear. She doesn't cook for us as often as she used to, but here at Grandma's house the kitchen tempts her to cook more often.

- With her godmother, Ginny, and Ginny's daughter, Grace.

- Yogurt mustache. Still not eating her veggies and very little protein as well. We've been giving her fruit/veggie squeezie pouches to try to pump more into her. The ones with green things pictured on the front don't make it past her radar though.

- A card cover she designed and was turned into a set of real notecards. She loves to work with art materials. We just went to a clay bird feeder class last week put on the by Oak Park Parks District - we're looking forward to taking advantage of their offerings.

- An Easter card she drew for Grandma and Granddad. I love how her understanding of the gospel is growing deeper.