Snugly Saturdays

Each Saturday night it seems both kids end up snuggling into our bed for some sleep. I rarely think to snap any photos but did today. 

Q's first push pop

It's been a crazy couple weeks where Quorra and North have taken turns passing a virus back and forth. They are now both well. So we celebrated with dinner and push pops. 

Happy Friday! 

Ol Settlers

Each year, Bowling Green Indiana hosts "Old Settlers Festival".  We've been lucky enough to attend a few years.

This year North and Quorra enjoyed meeting up with Nana and Grandad, eating fried fish and funnel cake, and listening to some music while playing on the playground.

Here's North on the jungle gym:

 Also, here's just a silly recent picture of North and Quorra at Sam's club.  While we lived in Virginia, we developed an aversion to discount bulk item stores because they were always so stressful and crowded.  Then we moved back to Indiana and hadn't bothered to revisit them--until a week or so ago when we found ourselves at Sam's club and had a strangely wonderful experience.

Queen City Classic (Temporary) Tattoos

Over Labor day we had a great time getting to hang out with some very best friends and getting some swimming time in.  While hanging out, the kids even got some temporary tattoos from Jeremy and Carrie's amazing new tattoo shop Queen City Classic Tattoos!  Here they are showing them off

 North

 Lincoln

 Mila

Quorra

Hat trick

I'll catch up on blog posts some day.  In the interim, I had to capture on Quorra's blog the events of the evening.

Last night we decided to get the baby potties out while daddy was at band practice just for fun.  Today she decided to use them.  3 times the very first night she ever even tried.  2 poops and a pee.  Admittedly the first poop seemingly took her a bit by surprise.  But then she seemed to regard the whole event as a party trick.  An hour or so later she demanded her diaper "OFF!" and she pooped again.  Then a while later peed.  We're pretty excited about the prospect of a potty trained gal in the coming months.

Developmental Profile

I've been lazy about posting.  I'll catch up sometime.  In the meantime, I couldn't resist sharing Quorra's developmental profile from her daycare--such a lovely profile of where she is at present (or at least when the profile was given--a few weeks ago now).

Edith Quorra 

 Developmental Profile

Summer 2013

Vanessa and Amy, Caregivers            

Social Emotional Skills

       Quorra is a cheery and very expressive young child. She is adventurous and willful and enjoys physical expressions: connecting with others, pretend play, and humor. She makes a lot of eye contact, laughs, and makes exclamations often. She kissed her reflection in the mirror (5/28). She pretended to sneeze with her caregiver (3/4). She touched index fingers with a peer (2/28). Her face lights up with familiar people, and she identifies some of her peers and caregivers by name. She said, “Charles,” pointing to a photo of her classmate (5/17). She said, “Amber” when Amber came to the lunch table (3/12). She seeks assistance from caregivers when she needs. She held up her fork and sad to her teacher: “bite” when she needed help feeding herself at lunch (5/21). She waves and says, “Hi!” She is discerning about who she will allow to care for her when she is upset, and generally seeks the most familiar person available. She watches others’ faces closely and with focused intensity. She keeps a safe distance until she feels comfortable to connect with another. She will attend to others, for example, in returning peers’ items, such as their hats, to them, or in giving hugs. Quorra joyfully joins in group activities such as the “Play Your Instruments” song (5/21). She plays peek-a-boo and hides and peeks out of spots in the classroom, delighting in being “found.” She hugged a peer when her caregiver said the word, “hug” (5/17).

    A sunny-faced Quorra notices her caregiver in the mirror. 

Quorra advises quiet at naptime with a “shh” sound.

  Quorra requests a book.

Self Help Skills

       Quorra has strong emerging self-help skills and often prefers to try attempt things independently, though she will ask for assistance when she needs. She feeds herself with a fork and spoon, drinks from a sippy cup, and sometimes asks for help getting bites of food. She is able to drink water from an open cup, but still spills quite a bit. She speared carrot pieces with her fork and fed herself (3/11). She held her snack bowl in her left hand while spooning hummus into her mouth with her right hand (6/11). She cooperates in dressing and undressing herself and has a play interest in the baby doll clothes and play hats. She will put on and take off her hat again and again. She tried to put her shoe back on after taking it off and declined help from a teacher (6/5). She participates in hygiene routines such as dropping her bib in the laundry basket and ascending the step stool to get her hands washed. She seems to enjoy the water very much, and sometimes requests to have the water on a second time. Quorra cooperates with diaper changes; she has sometimes pointed to her diaper area and said, “poop,” but not consistent with her bowel movements.

Physical Skills

        Quorra is a very physically active child and walks around the classroom throughout the day. She uses push toys such as the animal cars often. She pushes wooden blocks and stands on them (5/15). She climbs in and out of cardboard boxes (6/10) and the wooden trough (4/25). She can go up and down stairs independently, using a railing.  She rides toy cars and pushes herself forward with her feet (4/24). She imitates the teachers during movement songs such as “Teddy Bear” (6/14). Quorra shows strong emerging fine motor skills and coordination. She can place a puppet on her hand and manipulate it (6/4). She can hold a book and turns its pages. She drums with her hands and with mallets (5/13). She holds two items such as balls or puzzle pieces and claps them together. She stacks nesting cups (1/7). She paints with brushes and with her fingers and draws with markers and crayons. Quorra explores a variety of sensory experiences with: sand, water, leaves, flowers, paint, amongst others. She felt the textures of the fish tile mosaic with her caregiver (6/14). She comforts herself with the use of her pacifier, and will ask for it when she needs. She said, “this” and signed, “please,” and pointed to her pacifier that was in her crib (6/13). She is extremely excited to go outdoors.

  

Quorra enjoying the feel of sprawling on the slide         

Quorra climbing the roller coaster ramp

Quorra checking a teacher’s face as she rolls two wood cars.


Quorra focused on pushing the click-clack push toy

                     

 Language and Literacy Skills 

        Quorra has strong emerging language skills. She nods and shakes her head to indicate yes and no. She gestured and signed, “No, thank you,” to decline a request from her teacher (6/12). She says, “O.K.!” (4/3). She signs “more,” “all done,” “again,” “thank you,” She wagged a finger and approximated “right back” when a teacher left the room (6/5). Quorra is an eager communicator and uses whatever skills she has at her disposal, often combing speaking, signing, gesturing and crying out to get her message across. She signed, “more” and said, “bah,” when she wanted her milk bottle (5/3). She said something like, “No, thank you,” while she waved away food at lunch (4/1). Quorra has a strong interest in literature and creative spoken word. She pulls books from the shelves and offers them to teachers to read. She said, “book” while a caregiver was looking at a photo book with her.  She holds books herself, turns the pages, and points at pictures. She gets very excited about using and viewing puppets with songs and sounds and seeks out puppets associated with familiar songs, such as the bee puppet and the “Here is the Bee Hive” song (6/7). She mimics animal sounds found in books, songs, and with puppets. She also enjoys finger plays, especially “Itsy Bitsy Spider.” She writes with markers and crayons.

 Quorra points to an image in a book her teacher is reading.

         

Quorra pulls markers from their stand for her writing.

Critical Thinking Skills 

       Quorra is very curious and observant. Looking out the classroom window, she pointed and babbled with her caregiver (6/13). She participates in putting things in their places, such as putting the instruments away with the classroom-typical “bum-BUM!” sound (6/6), and experimenting with putting toys in nesting cups. She plays peek-a-boo by hiding behind shelves or under a scarf. She pretends with puppets. She enjoys hat play (6/6).  She plays with baby dolls regularly, usually rocking and patting them. She has recently started dressing and undressing them. She pretended to change baby dolls’ diapers with her caregiver (5/3). She also plays with food and dishes in the play kitchen (5/14). Quorra is musically expressive, and enjoys playing instruments and dancing often (2/13). Quorra is enthused by new discoveries and begins to practice them right away. She generalizes words, properties, and concepts to new situations. She said “socks,” and pulled at her tights (6/13). She pressed a magnetic block to its magnetic counterpart, as though pressure would assist its adherence. She matches shapes using toys such as the hippo shape sorter and the magnetic crane. She has an emergent sense of time and anticipates routines such as the preparation for going outside and lunchtime. She persists when motivated by a goal, such as when she crawled under the seats of the buggy to retrieve her hat.

Quorra wiggles a bee puppet while her caregiver sings a bee-related song.

Quorra reaches to fit a ball on a nesting cup.

                

Happy 4th of July!