Shhhh!!! It's nap time...and story time?

The other day I went into the family room to find Demarie's dolls having a sleepover. Luckily, Demarie is so creative, that they all had a nice cozy bed. Does this count as an activity that promotes literacy?

Our little Ballerina

Demarie's dance class performed a dance to "A Spoon Full of Sugar" from Mary Poppins for all the parents. Demarie did such a good job following her teacher. She loves to dance and do anything girlie!

Wow! Preslyn is....moving!!!!!

After 16 months of sitting, rolling, lounging around, enjoying the scenery, and dragging her body with her elbows, Preslyn is finally crawling!!!! We are so proud of her! It happened during her first appointment with a physical therapist from my work. The PT put some toys out of her reach (which I always do), and then Preslyn got on her hands and knees. Normally, she would just go right down to her belly and start army crawling. But, oh, what does she decide to do this time? She stays on her hands and knees for several minutes, thinking, and then...the little bugger starts crawling!!!!! The physical therapist did absolutely nothing to help. Preslyn just decided to do it! Then, when she got to the piggy bank, she stayed up on her hands and knees, reached out for a coin with her left hand, put it in the piggy bank, and THEN reached out for a coin with her right hand and put it in the bank...all without falling to her belly! Later that night, I put some toys out of her reach and what does she do? Gets on all fours... and then falls to her belly and starts army crawling! When I told her to get up, she looked at me and shook her head defiantly! This little girl has a mind of her own and sure knows how to put on a show!

Family Home Evening

I am so glad that the theme in Primary is Eternal Families this year. I know this is inspired of the Lord and that we should all make it our #1 proirity to teach this important principle in our homes. I love to follow up on the lessons that are taught at church during Family Home Evening, hence our lesson tonight was about our "Happy Family!" It was Daddy's first Monday teaching his night class at CSN (he put in a 16-hour day!) so we really missed him tonight, but Demarie made sure we video taped our "lesson, song, and activity" so that Daddy could participate later when he got home. We thought you might enjoy our Family Home Evening tonight as well! I hope in all the trials and difficult circumstances that are going on in the world (and in our own lives) that we never forget that the family truly is a blessing from the Lord...right????

Preschool Field Trip-- Anderson Dairy

We had a great time at Anderson Dairy on Friday. They have a really cute presentation complete with a talking cow, rooster, and ice cream! It was fun to see how creamer, sour cream, milk, and icecream are packaged. Demarie had a great time with her friends. Thanks to everyone who came!

HIP HELPERS

Like I said in my last posting, all children are unique and reach the various developmental milestones at their own pace. Our little Preslyn knows this is true and is in no hurry to crawl, walk, or run. AT 15-months she is content to sit in place or lounge around on the floor looking at a book or fiddling with a toy. I can see in her expression at times, "What? You want me to crawl across the room to get that cookie that you put on the floor? Hmmm. Too much energy required. No thanks!" The physical therapist at my work suggested these cute little shorts called "Hip Helpers." As you can see, they are made out of spandex and sewn up the middle. The idea is to help her keep her legs together in order to get in the 4-point position. That's the idea anyways. Preslyn is able to lounge around in them just as easily as her other pants! Actually, they have helped and we have been doing some movement exercises on the therapy ball and I have noticed that she is getting stronger and stronger. Maybe she will be crawling by the time she is 2! Go Preslyn! We love you! (Hey, at least she can point to her eyes, nose, mouth, teeth, tongue, belly, hands, fingers, thumb, toes, feet, hair, and ears. Now there's brilliance!)

CELEBRATING A MAJOR MILESTONE!!!!!

In my profession, I have learned that all children are unique and reach various developmental milestones at their own pace. Of course, there is a range in which a certain milestone occurs (i.e., sitting up, crawling, walking, saying first word), but as a child reaches each milestone, there is cause for celebration. Well, we are finally celebrating in our house! Demarie experienced (and survived) one of life's major milestones... her first skinned up knee! Yes, most children experience the pain of scraping a knee around 18-20 months as they take off running faster than their little legs can go, but at 4 1/2, we are so proud of our little princess! She was in the backyard riding her bike and peddling quite fast. She was so excited when Daddy came to witness such a dare-devil act that she took a turn too fast and tipped the bike over on her side. After wiping the dirt off her palms and drying her tears, Demarie got back on her bike to ride some more. She was a little more cautious, but we were so proud that she tried again after such a tragic accident. It wasn't until 10 minutes later after we went inside that I heard a blood-curdling pain-stricken scream, "Daddy! Daddy! I have an owie! I'm bleeding!" She had pulled her pant leg up to reveal the injuries of her accident. Luckily, Daddy came through with a Dora band-aid and Mommy and Preslyn were able to kiss the tears away. She did limp around the house the rest of the evening (after Mommy showed her how), but as the days went by, the red scab magically disappeared! Way to go Demarie!!!!