Entries from December 2010 ↓

We did a big countdown to 8 p.m. here at Blau House.
Ezri enjoyed a bit of New Year’s Dancing and some ringing in 2011 with a giant jingle bell.

Ezri is getting way into acquiring and using adjectives.
Yesterday as we got in the car she pointed to the snow and said, “Snow is white. Snow is cold. Snow melts.”

Her biggest two questions about her world lately are “What’s in it?” and “Who is that? What’s name?” She’s discovered that people, dolls, animals, and stuffed animals often have a name in addition to a label. We’ve had to make up some names for her dolls.

The baby doll made by Corolle is Cory. The new doll that is the same size as the creatively named Dolly has been named Madison to go with Dolly. Nicely, her gifts from my mom of Raggedy Ann and Andy came with names, as did her Ernie puppet. So when she asked we had ready answers for their names.

She is not yet aware that she can name her toys, but she certainly thinks she should know their names. I am also learning names of random people while out and about. “Who’s that? What’s name?” Ezri asks pointing at a fellow shopper at Target. The man looks down at Ezri and says, “I’m Dennis.” Ezri points up and says, “Name Dennis.” I am working on getting her to respond with, ‘Hi, I’m Ezri.” We aren’t quite there yet.

Today we had this conversation
me: what does mama have in her hand?
ezri: Fanby (I was holding ezri’s weasel stuffed animal named Fanby – the name on its tag as its from IKEA)
me: what does mama have in her other hand?
ezri: coffee!
me: what does mama have in her hat?
ezri: head
me: what does mama have in her nose?
ezri (with a big smile): BOOGERS!

Will I regret teaching her about boogers? Maybe.

She is also very excited about being measured against the growth chart in her room. She’s 2 foot 11 inches and has been each day we’ve measured her this week. Growth may not be happening quite as quickly as she’d like. She will say “Stand straight. Heels against the wall,” repeating the instructions Eric gives her for being measured. She also likes to talk about how “Ezri is getting big.”

She can now say “vomit” instead of “womit.” I like that she is still talking about herself in the third person, though she’s picked up some pronouns they are still coming.

Talking to our kid is great!

It’s been awhile since I’ve written about Ezri’s books.
It’s a little late to recommend holiday fare, but I thought I’d mention 3 that worked out just about right for her interests and attention span this Christmas.

The first one was a gift from librarian friends, so it was well selected.
Santa’s Suit by Kate Lee
Santa is bored with his red suit and tries on suits of different colors which just don’t work for him. By the end he realizes that “Red is best.” There are textures on the pages, so the reader can pet Santa’s fuzzy suit or feel his blue corduroy suit. Ezri loved the changing outfits and it works as a color learning book as well. One quibble is that I’d really liked to have seen in him the orange suit instead of just talking about wearing it with it thrown on the floor. I think Ezri would have liked to see Santa in each color, though the orange suit was in the illustration. She requested this one each day after it came into the house.

Mouse’s First Christmas by Lauren Thompson
A young mouse ventures out exploring and finds presents, a decorated tree, a cookie, Santa. . . To the young mouse everything appears huge and the illustrator does an excellent job of making the reader feel the enormity of the things mouse encounters. Christmas seems big to toddlers and, while it may not be Ezri’s first Christmas, it is the first in which she is participatory. So, she could identify with the mouse experiencing things for the first time in this story. The rhyming text is brief, but richly descriptive making it great for an audience with a short attention span. I also recommend other books in this series by Thompson. Mouse’s First Fall, Mouse’s First Halloween, Mouse’s First Snow

Maisy’s Snowy Christmas Eve by Lucy Cousins
Maisy is a highly anthropomorphised mouse who is having her friends over for Christmas eve to make paper chains, bake pies, and wrap presents. Her friends come over in a heavy snowfall, but Eddie the elephant fails to arrive. All the friends must go out into the snow to find Eddie who is stuck and come to his rescue. The simplistic Maisy books work just right for toddlers and this Christmas offering is no exception. It was longer than some Maisy books, but this did not stop Ezri from asking for it AGAIN. I recommend Cousins’ other books for toddlers too.

We had a quite exciting morning this morning. First, Ezri slept in until 8am.
When she awoke, she found her big present–a kitchen play set:

Opening presents was super exciting:

Plenty of asking ‘What’s in it, Daddy?’

Some presents required quiet contemplation and concentration.

After all her presents were opened, Ezri served Amanda (and dolls) something from her kitchen.

Ezri had a great time in her snowpants in the backyard at Grandma Liz and Grandpa Harvey’s house. The attention span of Ezri only allowed for a short snow person.

Mostly Eric was the snowperson builder, but Ezri helped here and there saying, “Little bit more snow on it. Snow on it.”

Here she is helping.

The snow was deep enough and her boots were heavy enough that after a few steps she would topple.

She would either get up or calmly say, “Help, mama,” and I’d stand her up and off she’d go. The outside fun ended when her mittens got soggy and her fingers got cold.

With just the right amount of snow (pretty, but not messing up the roads too much), cookies made by Grandma, and the chance to skype with Aunt Coral and Uncle Jason – we’ve had a pretty rocking Christmas Eve. Ezri is now sleeping and her parents are off to complete some assembly and wrapping.

Eric called it fierce.
I enjoyed the playful use of color.
We are pretty sure that on the runway, this one would be OUT.

Yes, the model’s mouth is full of clementine.

Ezri helped decorate the tree last week.
Ezri hung her first ornament ever – a felt apple my mother made.
She mostly directed by handing ornaments over and saying, “Here you go.”
Then pointing to the tree and saying, “Put it RIGHT HERE. Right here, mama.”
She has strong opinions about when the tree lights should be on or off. Mostly she wants them off.
“Turn it off, mama. Turn it off.”
Overall, she seems happy to have the tree and its ornaments to admire.

The cats think that under the tree is a prime napping spot.

Yep, she found the chocolates.

Ezri needs her naps so as not to turn into her evil twin – the uncoordinated, super-cranky, tantrum-prone Ezri.
Lately, though, she’s not so interested in taking them.

I put Ezri down for nap with stories and songs.
But, wait what’s that sound. The door is opening. . .

Is that the face of a napping girl?

Here she comes! She’s got on her it’s-time-to-play face.
“I don’t want to going to nap,” she says.

We played some tickle monster and tried again.
Eventually she took the nap, but not without a few more door opens and plenty of, “I don’t want to going to nap.”

GLOW

PAINT

BANG