Park Playtime
Every once in a while we'll adventure to a less visited park. On this trip we met up with Brooks and Emma.
Olivia: First Dental Encounter
So, today Olivia had her first visit to the dentist. I had no idea that kids visited dentists this young, but our pediatrician recommended it at our last visit, and we figured that we may as well get her used to the idea. Plus, we're trying to encourage more regular tooth-brushing, and thought that some serious dental attention might encourage a bit more focus.
Olivia was shy and reluctant as usual, warming up after 5 or so minutes to the bubbly dental assistant. O. did great, following instructions, opening and closing, answering questions, sitting still, etc... until it was time for the actual DENTIST, of course, when she became uneasy again... who was this guy, anyway?
All went well, her teeth are in primo condition, and she seemed to enjoy the experience on the whole. When I left her this afternoon with Olga and Emma, she and Emma were tearing through the house, bringing babies [stuffed animals] from her room into the big [dentist's] chair in the living room where Olga [the dentist] was administering teeth cleanings... who knew that elephants and frogs and flamigos and beetles all need to pay more attention to their dental hygiene??
Song #2 (heh)
Olivia has another new song.
"poo-poo,
under the rainbow.
poo-poo,
under the sun.
poo-poo,
under the moon.
poo-poo,
under the sky.
poo-poo,
under the dog.
poo-poo,
under the dad."
Ad there are, as you may imagine, endless variations.
Berkeley Kids
This unintentional fashion shoot shows a group of Berkeley Kids in their native habitat and their rainy season plumage.
Toys
"Livvy, why are you picking your nose?"
"To get boogers."
"why do you need boogers?"
"To give them to you."
"Why...?"
"Because they are toys."
Happy Kid
Until just recently we've had to cajole Livvy into taking baths. Now she see's it, once again, as a great opportunity for play. She even lays back and lets us wash her hair. A breakthrough!
Boom, Boom Kitty
Livvy sang a new song to the kitty today, completely made up from scratch (no pun intended).
"Boom, Boom Kitty!
Boom, Boom Kitty...
On a lady bug.
Boom, Boom Kitty!
Boom, Boom Kitty...
On a bumblebee.
Boom, Boom Kitty!
Boom, Boom Kitty...
Under my tiny trains."
Catchy!
"Last Night"
When she tries to think of anything or communicate that something happened in the past, she says it happened "last night."
Today Jenny dropped Livvy at Tot-Land, and she said, "Daddy and I were here last night."
I KNOW that it's been at least a month.
Games
We've been playing lots of games -- formal and otherwise at our house. It seems that games are Livvy's way of processing the things she encounters and learns. The games are elaborate, and usually involve lots and lots of repeating. Here are a few that we've played in recent weeks.
Beeping Game
One of the most elaborate games that Livvy has been playing recently she calls the Beeping Game. It's loosely based on shopping. She brings items, usually her fuzzy friends, and asks you to either hold the phone up to them or swipe them across the table or laptop and then bag the items.
This game is very repetitive, and involves many fuzzy friends, and many switching of roles. She likes to add twists at each round like, take the fuzzy friend, swipe across the beeper, kiss it and then bag it. Repeat. Adjust now by asking "how much?" after swiping, but before kissing.
I've played this game 400 times.
Library Man
Another recent game involves Livvy sitting on the couch, reading books to you. She very quickly summarizes the book, and then says, "You be the library man."
Then you get up, read the book. At one point I turned the book toward me so I could read the text, and she said "Hey! Library man! I can't see."
The next time she took her turn as the library man, she said "Can you say 'I can't see'?"
It's all about mimicking and adapting these days.
I've played this game 400 times.
The Grandma Carol Game
We've been playing a game where Livvy pretends to be Grandma Carol, and puts her fuzzy friends to sleep. Then she leaves, and says, "Can you cry when I go to work and make me come home and give you pats?"
So, she leaves, and I pretend to cry and she quickly returns and says, "No, not you! Make the pelican cry."
So then I hold the pelican and pretend to cry. She the runs around the hose and asks me to cry louder, and the she returns and says, "Pelican, are you ok?"
Once she is satisfied, "Grandma Carol" leaves again, and starts the whole process again with the second of her forty fuzzy friends.
Yup. 400 times.
Board Games
We've been able to play some board games, which I think is quite a big milestone. We're primarily focused on matching games -- we have both a Thomas the Tank Engine and a Goodnight Moon -- both matching games. She likes both just fine. At the start, she lost interest about 1/3 the way through the game. Now she plays all the way to the end, moves the game pieces back on the floor and gleefully says "Again!"
We've played these games 400 times. But now we're experts.
Boys Vs. Girls
Livvy matter of factly greeted me at the door recently by saying, "You have a penis."
Only slightly surprising.
And the other day I was keeping her company while she went pee-pee on the potty and she said, "Some boys pee standing up and some pee sitting down. Boys have penises."
She's clearly got the concept down.


