Reading and Letters

Claudia has started reading more regular books and less board books because she has the patience to sit through a longer story now. She especially likes The Best Nest, which is one of my favorites from childhood. She also really likes to listen to Waltzing Matilda and read the book along with it. This is the unofficial national anthem of Australia, so like every good Australian, she is learning it young. She is also very excited about letters these days. She knows about half of them and likes to talk about the first letter in the names of her friends and in the names of animals. Her favorite (of course) is a C and she can write it pretty well. Her pronunciation of some of the tougher sounds are also improving, like the "L" and "F" sounds.

After a few rough weeks, Claudia is now doing great in preschool. She loves her new teachers and really looks forward to seeing her friends everyday. Her favorite times are arts & crafts and going on the playground. Last month's theme was transportation and she is constantly talking about rocket ships, airplanes, and boats. Unfortunately, she has reverted back to having accidents most days, usually around naptime. Also, she's back to peeing in her Pull-Up at nights. She's still not quite 3, so we're just going to let it run it's course because I'm sure it's just a phase. She is also having some behavioral problems at home, like refusing to cooperate, having mini-tantrums, and sometimes even biting and hitting (ugh). Her outbursts are only directed at us, as she still remains sweet and gentle at school. Bedtime is a huge struggle these days. We start our bedtime routine at 7:30 and it's usually 9 or 9:30 before she goes to sleep. It's really killing our evenings and time together as a couple, so I hope we can it sorted out soon.

We've had a couple health scares in our extended family lately. Glen's grandma Allison developed dangerously high blood pressure and had to be hospitalized. She is slowing improving, but will be living with Glen's parents for awhile until she stabilizes. Then, my dad had a minor stroke this week that left him with a blind spot in his peripheral vision. He is still undergoing testing to find out the cause and we're hoping it was an isolated incident. Pretty scary stuff.

Playing in a "fort" between the beds.




Playing on "big bed".


Playing in the Quad at the UW with the cherry blossoms in bloom.