Daycare...

Tonight was the "fall festival" at Sonia's Daycare. This means that parents can come at 4:30pm and hang out with their child in the daycare with their teachers and other parents. There was also a "Chili dump" to contribute to for supper. We had fun! It was nice to see Sonia interact with the toys and other kids and to have a little relaxed time to talk to her teachers. Everyone seems to think that Sonia is settling in very well and she seems to know all the teachers across all the age groups from baby to pre-K. It definitely helped to make me comfortable with my choice to see her happy there!

Here's a few pictures...

Sonia playing in the "sensory table" which is filled with sunflower seeds, gourds, and cups.

Sonia with her teacher Miss Sandy ...

Sonia with Miss Barbara (our favorite teacher but Sonia was ready to go home so we'll have to try another time for a happier picture) ...

And, finally, Sonia's latest "art" project...

Eating update...

Sonia's eating at daycare has been improving dramatically (as has her overall state and experience)! The last 3 days she's had either "ate fair" or "ate well" on her meals and snack. But, I realized over the weekend that this may be, in part, because she's making strides in feeding herself! She now holds the spoon and, if I put food on it, can get it into her mouth easily. I realized when taking a chance tonight on what mess she'd make, that she's also getting a bit proficient at scooping the food. She can't resist sticking her other hand in to grab some food too ... and she becomes a bit of a mess... But, she managed to eat her little bowl of my chili "all by herself". She also scooped out and ate her yougart by herself (although I didn't let her hold the little container out of fear for flying yougart).

What a girl :o) Mommy is so thrilled with each new "skill"...

Here's some pictures...

Ready for winter...

Sonia's boots arrived yesterday. She was pretty interested in them sitting on the floor. But, she clearly felt like Bigfoot with them on. Just wait until she has the full snowsuit, hat, and mittens to go with it :o)

Mobility is on it's way ...

Sonia started taking a few steps the last few days. We've been practicing in the one room I have with carpeting...

She turns so she's leaning her back against the couch, puts her arms out, and then walks and throws herself into my arms. From there, I turn her around and she trots back to the couch. Repeat and repeat and repeat.

She's not able to take more than 4-5 steps without falling but it's a start.

Her excitement is so contagious! I can't help but giggle along with her!

I've found it hard to catch her and get a picture too. So, here's what I have so far which is pictures of her racing toward me. I had to record the date ... first steps on 10/13. I'll work on some more pictures and video once she's a bit more stable and/or when I have visitors to do the photographing!

Here she is...

Enjoying the fall season...

Sonia had fun playing in the leaves. She's still not sure that she likes touching the grass but walking in it is fine. She's getting pretty proficient with her walking toys and likes to climb off and on the lion scooter.

2 Months since Sonia Day ...

I see from my banner that it's been 2 months since the day I met Sonia. It so hard to believe!! But, I'm not sure if it's hard to believe that we've only known each other for 2 months (it seems like we've been together forever) or if it's hard to believe that 2 months has already flown by (could it really be that long?). I feel amazed by both but over the moon blessed to have the chance to be Sonia's Mom! Happy 2 month Anniversary, Sweetie :o)

"School" Art ...

Sonia made her first project at Daycare to celebrate the Fall season. It's apples in a basket. I've been waiting so many years to have these fun little projects hanging around my house... it warms my heart! :o)

Sonia isn't walking but ...

Sonia (and I) survived her first week of Daycare. I wouldn't say it was great (her "teacher" rated it as FAIR) but also said that it got a little better every day. Thursday, she still didn't eat much of anything there and had some tears during the day (and lots when I dropped her off) but they said that there were also some smiles and giggles during the day. She's eating a LOT in the evenings and I'm feeding her breakfast before she goes so no big worries yet on the food side. Hopefully in another week or few it will be happy days. We'll give it a bit of time...

The good news is that I had today off work and also Monday and part of Tuesday so we'll have 4.5 days together. Today we had a doctor's appointment but otherwise just played. It was beautiful outside (70s) so we went to the park and took a long walk in the stroller too.

So, the progress on walking...

Sonia isn't walking alone yet. She is creeping along anything she can grab onto (walls, furniture, toys, people) and getting stronger at walking holding onto just one of my fingers. Last night, she started standing up by herself without holding anything. She moves from sitting, to kneeling, to squatting, and then slowly straightens her back to standing. She stands there and claps for a moment and then either grabs onto something or sits back down.

Her latest crazy act was tonight. We were watching her 20 minutes of Elmo video that she gets every couple days. She was creeping around the coffee table as usual and I was relaxing on the couch. She pulled a pillow off the couch and was stepping up on it while holding the coffee table. Ok, nice fun. The next moment she'd lifted a leg and pulled herself to kneeling on the coffee table. She was clapping away so proud of herself. I had my camera close so I snapped a picture before grabbing her off the table and moving all pillows away from the area! What a brave girl :o)

Anything can be a toy :o)

Everyone always talks about how the wrapping paper and boxes are as fun as the toy, right. This fits with that theme... I gave Sonia a diet coke bottle I'd finished. She has had countless hours of fun with it. She knew from watching me that the top should come off... and she worked and worked at it until she was able to twist it with her little fingers and get it off. Then, the question became, how to get it back on again. This is a much bigger challenge. She figured out that she needed to have the concave part against the bottle to make it "fit". But, she hasn't mastered holding the bottle with it on and twisting the right way to put it on. She does love to have me hold the bottle and put the cap in place and then have me twist the bottle to attach the cap.

Many hours of fun with a piece of junk fit for the recycling bin...

Sonia Feeding herself...

Based on our pediatrician's advice, I've started letting Sonia feed herself more often. It's always an adventure!

Breakfast - Sonia loves organic Os (Cheerios) with a little milk. She's good at holding the spoon but seldom gets any cereal to her mouth in the spoon. After a few tries, she typically resorts to holding the spoon in one hand and with the other hand digging cereal out of the bowl and into her mouth. It's pretty funny to see how proud she is of eating it herself (albeit without the spoon). I can sometimes get her to put stickier stuff (like squash or mashed potatoes) into her mouth if I fill the spoon and put it in her hand.

Snack - Sonia loves fresh pear pieces. Since this is a fine motor exercise, she's good at it. Yay!

And, speaking of butternut squash, here's the result of a bit of "self feeding". It makes for a great picture but takes a bit of cleanup!

I guess we need to keep practicing! :o)