we love school!

We went to our first "parent-teacher conferences" this past week. I had no idea that toddlers get conferences, but why not!?! Adelaide is thriving in school, making friends, keeping up with her tasks, learning the patterns of the day. But no surprise to us; she brings her lessons home and applies them to life at our house. Yesterday I gave her a new ("new-new" as Ada would say) puzzle game with multiple puzzle boards and colored shapes to fill them in. She took it off the shelf, set out the pieces and delicately figured out how to set them in the correct places, and when she was done packed it all away, color coding the pieces into their respective sections, and put the box back on the shelf where she got it. Not to say that I never have to clean up after her (far from it!), but I'm amazed that a 19-month old can understand that every project has it's place, and it has to be put away when completed. I take no credit for her precociousness; Montessori is amazing. Turns out that when you teach kids to respect their items, they do!! Who knew?!? (Now how do I teach this lesson to my husband?)

language explosion!

This has been the month of language development. Adelaide's vocabulary has more than quadrupled in the past few weeks. As you'd expect, her favorite topic is food; she names most of her favorite snacks, and frequently asks to go to Costco! We're not sure if she finally decided she was ready to talk, or if she's been inspired by her classmates. (She's fully settled into the school routine now and loves to get going on school mornings.) When we pick her up from school, she introduces us to her new friends. She likes to clarify who gets to "go" along whenever we get ready to leave (and who has to stay home). And cutest of all, she sings along with her favorite songs. All those months of intense listening are finally paying off!

little school girl

Joe's first week of the new school year involved one very demanding little student. Adelaide started at Cedar Montessori school, and it's been a tough transition for her. Although her former nanny is in charge of Adelaide's classroom, there are several other teachers to get acquainted with. The first week was a bit rocky, both at school and at home, but the teachers were really patient with her, and she's adjusting quickly. Montessori is more regulated than most places, but we've incorporated some Montessori practices at home to get her ready. She loves her pink lunch box, and she's made friends with one little boy, so we are confident that week 2 will be much more fun (for all 3 of us!).

end of summer

How appropriate that it is cold and rainy for Labor Day weekend: the summer is over!! If Adelaide understood that "Dad time" was ends today, I'm sure she'd be sad. From weekly trips to the zoo and OMSI, swimming lessons, and building a 48-ft retaining wall, they had an busy summer. We managed to get in quite a few picnics, trips to the coast, hikes, bike trips, and her first train ride. Never as much adventure as her parents would like, but she should have plenty of material for her "what I did this summer" essay! Though we're sad that summer is over, we're ready to settle in to the back-to-school routine.

summer freedom!

After several weeks of being diaper-free at home, we finally took the plunge: All three of us wore "undies" all weekend: up a Gorge hike to a picnic at the overlook, to the zoo, through a 17-mile run, and on a shopping trip. No diapers, and no mess!! We've officially become "those people" pulling out the little pink potty by the side of the road (and even more often on the trail), in parking lots, at the drinking fountain ... you name it. The potty-on-the-go may be questionably sanitary, but it makes all three of us (and our washing machine) happy to have potty-independence!!

June mega-blog

This spring Adelaide and I had the privilege of attending her first music class. A program called Music Together, this collection of toddlers and parents sat on the floor and sang/danced/drummed to the tunes of a huge variety of fun songs. Adelaide really took to it. The songs quickly became her favorites, and she constantly asks for us to sing them by clapping her hands and making the motions of the song. So much fun - we can't wait to go back in the fall, but in the meantime, we'll be practicing!


A few weeks ago we had the privilege of visiting friends in Seattle. Adelaide trooped around to many of the city highlights and had a fabulous trip. Although she wasn't too impressed by Pike Place Market, Olympic Park, or the Solstice Parade (bicyclists wearing only body paint!!), she was thrilled by the two black cats. She chased them around, laughing and meowing, and kissed them whenever she could catch one. Baby/cat kisses are substantially cuter than anything else Seattle has to offer!


Joe's second Father's Day. We went to the Museum of Flight (with every other father between Seattle and Portland). Adelaide had tons of fun running around among gigantic flying machines and chasing origami airplanes.




Adelaide has been learning all about gardening this summer. Starting with berry picking a few weeks ago, she didn't miss a beat - we got to the fields, and she looked around "mmmmmm!" and got right to work - picking (and eating) with both hands. She's also been learning to water the garden and chase chickens!




Oh yeah, and I'm a doctor now.

moving!

We moved into our new (purple!) house on May 1st. All 3 of us are loving it, though we're still getting settled, and working hard on lots of remodeling. Adelaide has made the adjustment remarkably well -- she's sleeping better than ever and seems pretty excited about all the new space to explore.

Moving has opened up opportunities to learn lots of new things. For instance, Adelaide learned about packing - the day after we moved she found an empty laundry basket at her grandma's house. She promptly took it over to the cupboards and loaded up all the pasta and cereal! Back at home, it didn't take her long to learn the new game: carry boxes around and take things out. Though the boxes are bigger than she is, Adelaide thought it was pretty funny to cart the empty ones from room to room. Today, she's been hard at work building a new table. I only wish she was as good with a paintbrush as she is with the screwdriver!!