February started out with an awesome treat – Nonna came to visit and watch Caroline for ten great days! We had a very big deadline at work, and asked Nonna if she’d come and care for Caroline so we could get some concerted work done. Nonna quickly agreed – and then we did the bait and switch and asked if she could stay just a liiiiiiiiiiiiittle bit longer so we could tack on a business trip to that deadline. Nonna, good sport that she is, kindly agreed and embarked on ten days in Caroline’s world and our wacky busy house.
It was so fun for me to watch them together. Caroline and Nonna played and played, read books, ate lunch, explored Target, and generally had a good time. I know Caroline loved their time together and trust me – if we could have convinced Big Pop not to miss Nonna, I think we could have convinced Nonna to stay!
Nonna discovered that Caroline could sing songs – Row, Row, Row your Boat and the Itsy Bitsy Spider are favorites. Caroline will sing “row, row, row…” and expect you to keep on going with the rest of the words. And when you sing about the spider, she’ll make the hand motions!
Caroline also loves her books – she will sit quietly through two or three at bed time, listening and turning the pages for the reader. She also “reads” every morning on our drive into school, flipping pages, pointing and naming things in her own special language, and tossing the book aside when she’s ready for a new one. Her two favorite books? In “I am a Bunny” (thanks G-Aunt Barb!) Caroline can find and point out Nicolas on every page. And in “What’s wrong Little Pookie?” she finds the shoes, Pookie’s mama, and the socks and yells out the word as she points to the right picture.
It’s very fun to read with her and we’re introducing longer and longer books – and more things for her to find and point out on the pages!
We play another fun game at bath and diaper time, where Caroline points out her body parts as I ask her where they are. She’s got nose, bum, belly, mouth, feet, fingers, and toes DOWN. Eyes and ears sometimes get confused. And she loves to point out my parts – especially my TEETH – when we switch from Caroline to Mama. What is more, she’ll now take a handful of lotion at bath time, rub it into herself – and then ask for more to rub some on my face. It’s the sweetest thing ever.
Caroline has mastered zippers and socks, which results in me finding her some mornings with her zip up blanket half off and her socks tossed behind the crib. This also means she loves to try to pull off other people’s socks – her brothers, mine, and her dad’s. She is an equal opportunity sock stealer, and she hoots with delight when she liberates one.
In February, the weather turned nice and we gratefully started spending more time outside. We goof in the backyard almost every night before dinner, and have been on some spectacular hikes and other outdoor adventures. Knowing how cold and wintery it is in most other places makes us all very appreciative of the mild Georgia weather.
As Caroline’s brain, vocabulary, and body continue to grow and develop, so does her sense of independence. Caroline’s strong will is as sharp as ever, and she wants to do things on her own – especially, it seems, those things that make her parents worry about injury like going down steps or running across concrete. But it’s wonderful to see her sense of confidence and pride when she masters a new skill or catches us giving each other the “where/when did she learn THAT” look? I have a feeling that there’s more – much more – of that coming.
