"Firecar WOW"

Today we visited a local fire station with the MOMS Club. Alma loves firetrucks, or as she calls them firecars, and must have said "WOW" a million times.  One of the firemen dressed in full fire gear, which was interesting to see.  The kids got to climb through the firetrucks and at the end of the visit they all received plastic fireman's helmets and badges.  It was a fun and educational visit!

Prince the Horse

 Last weekend, Joshua, Alma and I went out to a farm where our friend keeps her horse.  Alma has been terrified of horses in the past, so it was great to see her progress to actually petting the horses (not much, but at least she touched them) and sitting on a pony for a few moments.  We are so blessed to have friends in Bethlehem who have include us in their lives with such warmth and hospitality.

Gift from Kate and Neal

Right before her 21-month doctor visit, Kate and Neal sent us some medical equipment.  It made the visit to the doctor's office even more fun because she was familiar with the stethoscope.  Alma seems intrigued by listening to our hearts.

Choo-Choo

 As another Montessori-inspired activity (based on the idea of playing follow-the-leader or following a path around a room), Alma has been playing a game she calls "Choo-Choo" which consists of walking along two 2x4s and then jumping off the end.  We change how far apart the boards are from one another to add complexity.  And, with our bumpy yard, the boards move around a good bit as she walks, adding to the challenge. 

In the summertime, in addition to kicking off her boots, she would often take off her shirt. 

Rain Damage

 While all the rain we received during (and especially after) Hurricane Irene was great for walks with Alma's beloved yard sale-find umbrella, it was hard on our house.  Our roof has some serious issues and we've been busy with getting quotes from roofers.  Below is Alma reading a book to herself on our front porch as another roofer climbs his ladder to take a look at the damage.

When I Let Her Dress Herself

"You Had Me At Bacon" shirt, tutu, white patton leather shoes, hat with mermaids.  Her favorite things.  Beautiful!  I sent this picture to Joshua in the morning and he was amazed she was still wearing it that evening at dinner after a park play date, story hour and a trip to the grocery store. 

Sorting Game

Joshua and I have recently been discussing and implementing activities for Alma that are based in Montessori principles.  This is our first sorting game -- putting coins and beans in separate bowls.  Every day we play a version of this game that is similar but increasing in complexity.  It's so wonderful that I get to learn so much about the Montessori philosophy from Joshua.  I've been enjoying perusing his binder of lessons (from when he completed his Montessori training) for more ideas.  

Apples, Pears and Mud

Yesterday, we spent the morning picking apples and pears with our friends at a huge orchard near Bethlehem.  Well, Alma didn't spend much time picking because she was too busy gobbling up the delicious fruit.  She would trek through the mud with the fruit smooshed into her face before eventually coming up to me with only the stem and telling me "DONE!"  What a sweet fruit-loving babe.

21 Months Old

I'll admit it: I think Alma is pretty much the ideal child.  I love spending my days with her and feel as if we have such a good rhythm to our days and that life is rather easy with her.  In prepping for the coming of our next child, I've been trying to think of ways that I want to apply what I've learned with Alma to the next baby's upbringing.   Sure, they will be different and we cannot replicate the process, but I just want to be mindful of the current successes and failures that we are experiencing.  Here it goes...

Things I'm Happy We Taught Alma/Alma Does on Her Own:
* "All done"/"Not an option"  We sign something that looks like so-so (shaking hands with palms open) to mean that we don't have something, something is completed or that something isn't an option.  This has been invaluable for us as we don't have to say "no" all the time, but can instead convey that some things just aren't possible.  For example, before she could say any words and was just barely signing, I could use it to tell her that at certain times I could not provide something (i.e. nursing, a snack, etc).   And nowadays it is useful for telling her that certain activities aren't allowed (i.e. climbing too high on a fence that overlooks the ocean).  Alma is great that she generally doesn't push the limits on this sign.
* To say please and thank you.  I find that I cannot tolerate a toddler screaming demands at me.  But add a little please ("peas" or "bee") and thank you (usually just the sign) in there and I can deal with any demand.
* To sit down when eating. This not only keeps the mess down in the house, decreases the odds of the dog snatching her food and keeps me from having to worry about her choking, but it also creates the situation where eating is something we do on a scheduled basis and not just on the fly.  So many other mothers seem to spend all day chasing their kids around trying to get another bite into their mouths.  Alma seems to respect the idea of meals and snack times, more by her own nature than my teaching.  Although I think the fact that she has to sit down during the process helped to reinforce this.
* To clean up toys before moving to the next activity.  She isn't volunteering do to this, but most days she easily jumps in on the suggestion if we help with the process.
* To say "nice".  Alma has started using it to acknowledge things she likes.  Like when she came into the living room after I hung some new curtains, when she was put into her crib with fresh sheets and when I gave her a cup of milk spiked with a taste of hot chocolate.  It is such a sweet sentiment. 
* To pray before meals.  Alma loves to "circle up" (holding hands), bow her head and close her eyes for a moment of silence before meals.  While this is actually something we feel a little bashful about at times -- we don't want to be those people -- it is such a great habit that she usually instigates.  And sometimes, if dinner is especially tempting, she will nibble at it without the use of her hands, which is hilarious.
* The idea of "Only Mama's". This concept is applied to food that I don't want to share.  Like cookies and miniature candies. When I tell her that certain food is only for me, she solemnly says something like "mama eat mouth" to acknowledge that it is just for me.
* To read books by herself.  She will sit for up to an hour looking at books by herself before she demands that you join her and read the words.  I love hearing her tell herself the stories that she sees.  While I always hate not being a part of the process (the side effect of working from home is that I sometimes have to do some work during the daytime), it's easily one of my favorite things.

Things I Wish I Had Not Taught/Allowed Alma:
* To say "Yuck"  This has become a recent favorite word of hers.  A word that accompanies pointing at the offending object.  Usually that object is whatever I'm eating.  Imagine trying to enjoy a salad while your little one repeatedly points in your bowl and screams YUCK, BLAH, YUCK!  It's hard enough enjoying a salad some days.  Hence the miniature candies, right?  Yesterday at the grocery store, the deli counter employee gave Alma a slice of American cheese, to which my darling little girl yelled YUCK.  Charming.  She also signed "no thank you" but all anyone heard was the yuck comment.
* I got in the habit of only singing "The Ants Go Marching" when putting her down for naps and bedtime and now she won't allow me to sing anything else.  I'd like to change it up, but we seem to be too entrenched in the habit.  Not such a horrible thing, but worth noting for me.
* While we don't watch much TV during the day -- maybe 30 minutes two days a week -- we have been using it for messy diaper changes.  For awhile I just could not get her to sit still and started turning it on for the length of the diaper change to distract her.  It started becoming norm.  Makes me frustrated; but so does a wiggling bum smearing ... I'll stop there. I think that I've almost curbed this bad habit, but it's been difficult.
* Sitting on my lap when I use the computer.  It is impossible to type with a squiggly little one on my lap -- my ever-shrinking lap as my pregnant belly grows -- and I wish that I had never allowed this to be an option.

There are a load of things I'm missing from both lists, but this is what is on my brain today and what I want to remember about my 21-month old.

Reason #212 Why We Miss South Philly

At Mass on Sunday, the first day of football season, we looked around our new parish in Bethlehem and did not find even ONE Eagles jersey, shirt or emblem.  In South Philly, it would have been at least half the attendees in full regalia.  We miss that sense of home team pride and community.

Union Beach Day Trip

Alma and I were thinking of trekking down to North Carolina to join my parents at a vacation house for a week.  However, after a lot of back and forth (analysis paralysis, for sure), I decided that I wasn't quite up to the 9.5 hour drive that it would take to make it down there.  Instead Joshua, Alma and I drove out to the Jersey Shore for the day.  Playing in the sand, watching seagulls and getting lungs full of fresh air was just what we all needed.  What a great day!

A Year Ago

It is wild to think that a year ago we moved from South Philly to Bethlehem.  The time has gone by incredibly fast. Just a year ago we were...

Introducing Alma to the joys of swings:

 Camping out at FDR park for the day as potential buyers viewed our house:

 Celebrating the finalization of buying/selling houses in our small backyard with food from the corner store:

 Going to the local high school every day when Joshua got home from work to play fetch with the dog:

 Snapping the last of the stairs photo series with our tiny little Alma:

A Very Good Mommy

Alma loves these sunglasses, wearing them every day as she pushes her beloved stroller around the neighborhood.  When I look at her, I kept thinking of the Jim Gaffigan routine which says something like ...

"I'm so white because my father was Swedish and my mother was Elton John.  He was a very good mommy!"

Reason #23,876 Why We Moved Out of South Philadelphia

This butterfly (or an impressive imposter) visits our backyard and says hello to us every day.