new language development & interests & news

I am amazed at her language development over the past months. If I tell her to say "gracias" and it's to a person who doesn't speak Spanish, she'll say "thank you" instead of gracias. It's also cute how she'll say thank you/ you're welcome even though she's not the one who is supposed to say you're welcome. "wha that means?" "wha that is?" she's asking a lot. I tell her how to say that in Spanish and she'll say "que esto". ... she's getting to be more aware of bobos and if I accidentally scratch her or poke her, she might say "ow, no hit me, mama" OR she'll say "I forry" which she does sometimes even though she doesn't need to say that for hitting something. She needed band-aids tonight for bobos on her fingers, I think from paper cuts.

She says fo-ah for sofa, pienda for pierna (leg), no instead of don't (as per in Spanish).

Oh and this past month she's loved Winnie the Pooh and Buzz/Woody from Toy Story...along with Nemo and Dora too. She's not liking to take walks too much in the stroller but she'll sit in her push car or walk herself to look at the Christmas lights around the neighborhood.

She's slept in the bed with me this week while Baba works and her crib is full of stuffed animals she was playing with one day (and B slept in his room with his friend J and then cousin A). So she's slept mostly through the night but awoke around 6/7 calling out things in Spanish/English (zapatos, haga do yit, guantes, laughing or crying--apparently vivid dreams). For some reason for the past 2 weeks she's woken up needing gloves and while the gloves on, gloves off, cream on her hands, cream on my legs, then gloves again episode hasn't repeated in the past few days, she still wants gloves.

with the cousins

T loved playing with cousin A, letting her rub her hair while almost falling asleep. A and B decorated their cupcakes with my homemade frosting and sprinkles, and A,B,G, and T loved the lights at the Tammany Trace park area

Santa Claus

She loved Santa at the 3 parties she saw him--family party, tot group party, and taekwondo party.

toilet training

She's doing pretty well with the potty. She doesn't want to wear diapers while going out and we've successfully gone out to Michael and Jessica's for the Christmas party, out to Lela's to see Nye and Debbie, and to the tot group Christmas party and then to the mall today. At the mall she announced she had to pee so I dropped everything with Baba and picked her up to run to the bathroom. We made it in time! Yay. She's gone to her nap the past 3 days without a diaper and of the 3 days, today she didn't wake up with a wet bed. But she slept for about 2 hours each day and that's when she awoke crying that she'd wet the bed. But today I had to wake her up to go get Bekher from school so we had a dry bed.

feeding & bathing her baby

painted nails

As she delayed going to bed tonight, she pulled out my fingernail polish box under the dresser and as always she played with the bottles. But tonight she had to open the bottles and paint my toes, fingers and some of her fingers. It was my first manicure from Senorita!

"reading"

Tonight and a few other nights this week, Senorita "read" one of her books. It's so cute to hear her remembering the words. "El Cuento del Senor Pato" is her board book about a duck and she knows the book now.

She didn't take a nap today so she went to sleep by 8:20 tonight.

Yesterday we walked to the park, walked back, got into the car to head to the library and came home by 12 to eat lunch while she watched a little bit of NEMO. Then we went to the pet store after her nap, after picking up B from school.

"ti ka doe"

Oct 31 outing

She was a princess and B was a skeleton with an ugly mask which he ended up not wearing at all.

potty training

Today we went to the library and she didn't want to wear a diaper so I braved it with underwear! So she's sitting on my lap for the story reading when I feel something warm on my legs. Yes, she peed on me. Oh my soul. I had a change of pants for her but not for me of course. So we had to get back home for me to change and then return there so she could play with the puzzles. We stayed for about an hour today with puzzles.

I love you

I'll tell her "te amo" and she'll look up at me and say " i love you" and it's so cute. She still won't say it in espanol though.

she's been waking up at night and asking to come into my bed: "duerma mami" or "mami cama" and how can I refuse such a cute little thing??!!

dreaming of nemo, cejas, no diapers

Tonight she fell off the futon and was crying of course. I asked her (in Spanish) if she had bobos anywhere, specifically asking about her head or back. she shook her head no several times. She cried out "mas nemo" and was pointing up in the sky. I asked her if she saw nemo when she was sleeping and she shook her head yes, this after she stopped crying of course. She's watched Finding Nemo these past few days, various parts, not the whole thing of course and is fascinated by the colors and the fact that he is lost.

She recently learned eyebrows, cejas, and likes to look for them on people or her "amimales" and she'll say "No Botas tiene cejas" (Boots, Dora's monkey friend). It's cute how she puts the NO in the wrong spot.

And on the 18th we had our first outing without a diaper. We went to Target and to the Petsmart place (to look at animals) with "calzon" for a short time. We had success until we returned home and I discovered her pants and carseat were wet. She uttered no word of this accident and continued playing in the car and upon arrival at home. She doesn't seem to be bothered by soiled pants/diapers because twice now she's wet her pants and didn't say anything and twice now she's soiled her diapers and proudly says "I sit down poo poo" and won't let me change her dirty diaper!

corn maze

We went to the corn maze in MS today and had a great time. The workers at the pony ride got a kick out of T speaking Spanish: "monta caballo" she kept saying. And naming the animals in Spanish. She cried when she couldn't do the trampoline bungee thing like B could do. She got tired at the end & had to be carried at the end of the maze. She didn't want to take her picture in the pig "stick your head in the hole" picture. B liked the shooting range. And they both liked the tractor/hay ride. She also like the slide tube.

Libary

Today we tried library storytime again and she did fine with it. Afterward we went into to main part of the library and she played with the puzzles and looked at board books for 1.5 hours. so we were nearly at the library for 2 hours. Then on the way home she remarked WEN MI HOUSE?? whearas yesterday she said Wen mi casa??

a new week's activities...

Today it rained and we went splashing in puddles. She walked out and down the street walking thru all the puddles. And we watched the garbage truck pick up garbage. She liked that. Also we painted today, but had to do that inside. And she always wants to watch DORA! "I need Dora" she says all day long. She says I need..... and I'll have her say necesito which she'll say but she will not say quiero for I want!

"Wen mi casa" she said as we walked back to the house after the puddles, mixing her arabic and espanol.

Yesterday we went to Young Chef's Academy for a birthday party. She wore an apron and enjoyed sitting there eating with that apron on. The older kids made pizza while she snacked on chips and salsa.

Her potty training is coming along, although she peed on the chair while she was eating! Pee pee toilet she said a tad too late!!

mosquito bite= swollen eye

On Saturday morning the 26th, senorita woke up with a swollen eye. Here's a photo of that day, just above, and the day after which is the photo on top. It improved by Sunday, the 27th. She'd received several (many??!!) mosquito bites on her neck as we walked on Saturday afternoon.

espejo pequeno, espejo grande

She was "wash hands" in the bathroom sink which means she was sitting on the bathroom counter with her feet in the sink and hands under the water as I stood behind her. She noticed the little mirror like part of the towel hook and said "espejo pequeno" and then to the big bathroom mirror: espejo grande! I was so excited to hear this language development.

I love you!

She's been saying I LOVE YOU in such a cute voice. I reply "yo te amo" but she won't say it in Spanish. She tells the neighbor's lawn animals [by the fish fountain that's in the previous posts pictures with the princess and Saints dress] I love you rana (frog)... etc... and has to give a kiss to all the statue animals-dog, raccoon, 2 turtles, various frogs, snail.

She cried today because she thought she saw a dog (from the car) when we were picking up B from school and cried and cried to see the dog "I go see doggie" so when we got home I had to take her to the neighbor's, knock on the door, and ask to see their dogs (because the fish and pretend dog weren't cutting it today).

feeding the "amimals"

She has taken a particular liking to a certain cat stuffed animal (that belongs to Bobby's child anyway) and an old panda of mine. She had to put them at the table and feed them; they had to have a bowl and fork. And they have clothes on. She also likes to put all the Dora, etc dolls/people "seepin" (sleeping) under the white blanket. And she loves this monkey towel. On another note, an April entry showed some toys she didn't like.Well, now she's ok with all of those toys and all of her dolls which she kisses and bathes and holds sometimes.

princess, cheerleader, and soccer player, TKD

Senorita likes to go to a neighbor's house and look for the goldfish (Romeo) in the pond/tank in the picture. We took pictures there this week. Also B had his first soccer game in Slidell.

She's saying lots of new words in English and spanish and repeating many things now. Wha dat? Que eshto? uv oo (love you) grashus (gracias) chee cho (thank you), de nada.

she likes to wear B's taekwondo equipment too.

besitos

Oh she was so cute this morning as she played with her animals. She put some aside and said each one was sleeping. buff woof seeping, bay seeping, caballo seeping... and when she picked up the bears (bay) she kissed them sweetly and softly. her little voice is so sweet and she is saying more words now IN ENGLISH still. But I repeat everything in Spanish and sometimes she says it in spanish after me and sometimes she refuses. She says "read boochs" (books), "hold you" but will repeat "carga'me" and smile. She says "shhh, Baba seeping" and "i uv you" And she loves to go to the beach.

2 year update

Well the last time I wrote was a few weeks before Jordan. I'll try and put some photos on here of the trip. So much time has past since my last entry. T is speaking some Arabic, some Spanish, some English and some jibberish words. I'm proud that our 7 weeks in JOrdan bore some fruit with the arabic words. She's also doing toilet activities nowadays. Not every day, but she's had lots of times there, although she still wears diapers a lot of the time. She likes Dora, Barney and Plaza Sesamo dvds. I try not to let her watch too much network tv. I'm still so happy to be home with her. She has her 2 munecas/bebes that she carries around much of the time; they survived going to Jordan and returning safely although quite soiled. I'm trying to keep a written diary of things we do each day. She's still been entertaining herself with the piles of stuffed animals, moving them from one area to the next. and she likes books. She's learning her colors too.

We had a small b-day party for her the week after we returned from Jordan, just at the house here with some family members.

BlueBayou water park

We went to the water park last Sunday, mother's day. She conked out on Brenda who had to hold her for the hour she napped. She did NOT care for the water slides and finally towards the end she started playing in the pool.

things she doesn't like

Senorita does not like these toys, along with all of her dolls too. She makes an furrowed brow face and throws them to the side.

more words

She's gotten up to about 10 "words" for this month:
buh buh for bubbles/burbuja
baaaa for ball/pelota
Booney for Barney
shoooo for shoes
wah wah for agua/water
apple
book
bobo
coooo for cool for sunglasses
ocho 8; and H in Spanish plus a few more letters and numbers, most prominent is OCHO!

Now she's been saying most of these in ENGLISH and I can't believe it. I try to just speak in Spanish to her and she mostly watches Plaza Sesamo, Spanish Dora and KaiLan and now Spanish Barney thanks to my friend Fabiana from Venezuela. The English video she watches is the Baby Signing time videos and that is how she learned BALL, BOOK, SHOE because they SING those words while SIGNing them. So the only definite word in Spanish is alla' but I"m telling myself that the buhbuh is for burbuja and wahwah for agua. She says coooo for sunglasses because I always say "wow, cool" when she puts them on. She knows ocho mostly and M, H, N in Spanish as well. Since she hit 21 months her words have increased greatly.

some activities this month

The first one is of her pointing out una arana (spider); then she's crying because her animal fell out of the basket; then B and T are at the Bouncy house place; then she had to put on her Ladybug raincoat even though it was hot and sunny; we fed the ducks.

sleeping with the animals and trying to ride a camel

This is T trying to sit on the toy camel we'd bought in Egypt. And 2 poses of her sleeping with her animals in bed for nighttime and naptime.

Florida beach

We went to Fort Walton Beach and Destin last weekend, after Easter holiday. Both B and T loved playing in the water, although it was chilly. Talia took a nap on the beach and woke up to B "fake" crying and she immediately went over to him to check if he was ok.