The power of routine and overgeneralization

This morning, I dropped Aidan off at daycare and her main teacher was there (she usually comes in after I drop Aidan off). I was explaining to Miss Lillie that I packed tennis shoes in the diaper bag because Aidan INSISTED on wearing her (size-and-a-half too big) crocs to school today. The school has a "no crocs on the playground" policy. So, Miss Lillie shares that Aidan usually takes her shoes off first thing anyway. Then she goes on to say that lately when Aidan gets put down for a nap, she immediately takes off all her clothes. She said they used to try to prevent this, but gave up and just try to keep her covered with her blanket during nap time. So, our little girl is napping in her diaper at daycare.

Why is this happening? Well, Aidan has recently learned she can take off her own shirt and sometimes her pants and she likes being a big girl. And what do we do every night before going to sleep? TAKE OFF HER CLOTHES! No one ever said the girl was dumb. She knows you take off your clothes to go to sleep. Perhaps I should pack pajamas?

Other cute stories:

Last night after dinner, Aidan was still in her high chair. She leaned over to look at the dogs, shook her finger at them and said, "It dow! It dow! No, no, no."

Monkey see, monkey do.

She's taken on the job of feeding the outdoor kitties. She takes it very seriously and wants to make sure the kitties are eating properly. After putting the food in (or near) the bowl, she walks around, crouched down (as there may be kitties under the cars) saying, "maow, maow, maow."

Sunday night, I was cooking dinner and Aidan was having trouble staying occupied by herself, so I asked her to help me cook dinner. We were having green beans. I washed them and snapped the ends and then gave them to her to break in half and put in the pot. She did a great job! I don't think I even had to show her what I meant by "break in half." She then helped pour the water for the rice from the measuring cup into the pot (it only took 3 tries - spatial awareness is still developing) and pour the rice into the measuring cup. I then gave her some bowls and things to play with and she practiced pouring water from one thing to another. She was much better by the time dinner was ready. It was a lot of fun! Now, she keeps pulling a chair over to the counter so she can "cook." I think we are going to be eating a lot more green beans in the near future.

She's discovered that she can be the instigator of "pea pie" (the version of peek a boo that Christianne grew up with). She will now hide behind things and peek out and and say "bee bye!" "P" is still a hard one to say. It is really cute.

I was talking to a friend who is a play therapist and has worked a lot in infant mental health. I was telling her some of the things I have been doing with Aidan. For example, the other night she was playing with a box and trying to fold the flaps down. There was one stuck up and she was trying to push the other ones down and getting frustrated. I stopped her and said in a calm voice, "Think about what you want to do." She stopped for a moment, pushed down the flap that was stuck, and finished closing up the box. Or, the other day she was going down the big slide and came down sideways so she ended up on her back on the ground. She wasn't hurt, but I could tell from the stunned look on her face that this was not the outcome she was expecting. I helped her get up, brushed her off and gave her a kiss, and said, "Wow! That wasn't the outcome you were wanting. Think about how you want to do it differently next time" and sent her back up the ladder. The next time she came down feet first and landed just find - and looked very pleased with herself.

My friend said, "She shouldn't be able to do that at this age."

I said, "Really?"

Aidan has also learned a very bad word:

"T...V!"

And

"Sprout!"

Bad parents. We are watching a little TV. Mostly, we watch together and she will watch a bit and then go do something else. Don't tell the American Academy of Pediatrics. :-)

Here's my current favorite picture of her: