We have had a long cold winter here in Ofunato. We have had much more snow than usual. In fact we woke up to about 2 inches this morning. I wish it would warm up so we could go outside and play more often. It will be here soon enough though. We are trying to make the best of it. Two weekends ago we built our first family snowman. Violet had a wonderful time playing in the snow and she loved greeting her "Frosty each time we passed by". She loves digging and so she has been having a great time shoveling snow with her small shovel and bucket. She loves running and jumping and singing and does so whenever she has the opportunity.
She has been doing really well with her potty training too. She went all weekend wearing her Dora panties with no accidents. We even went out for most of the day on Sat and Sun. She used public bathrooms with ease and was very pleased that she could use the "big potty". We are thrilled for her and hope that she continues to go through this phase anxiety free.
Another exciting milestone we have achieved is that Violet read her 1st word! She has been loving the alphabet since she was about 15 months old. She has known her phonics since she was 18 months old and has been able to recognize all of the letters since she was 19months old. She started recognizing the word love at 19months but she wasn't really reading it. She just knew it by looking at it, almost like it was a picture. But on Feb.29, 2012 she looked at the letters and carefully sounded them out. She was playing with magnetic letters on the fridge and accidentally spelled the word van. She looked at it very quietly first. Then she started sounding it out. vvvvvv aaaaaaa nnnnnnnn. She did it over and over very slowly. Then she started putting it together more quickly. Finally she said "Van! It says van, mama!" I was so shocked and so thrilled that I was standing right beside her while she accomplished this for the first time. She was so pleased with herself and she beamed with joy! Later we were playing with a spelling toy and she read the words "bus" "cats" and "taco". We were so happy for her! She loves sounding out words now and she does it often. She loves reading and will choose reading over watching TV any day! For that I am thankful!
She has really been enjoying playing with jigsaw puzzles these days too. We have one set that is shapes and colors and she really likes it. When she completed the heart puzzle she told us "It's a peaceful heart mama! Peace from God." She then tried to pick it up and press it to her heart and to mommy and daddy's hearts too.
She loves maps too. We have a large world map on the wall and she often asks us to show her where friends or animals live. She can point out Australia, China. Columbia, Japan, US, Africa and India on the map. She loves to look at it. Especially since we replaced it last Jan. with an picture map. It has pictures of things you can find in that location. She loves looking at what she might find in a new country. The other day we were praying for our sponsored child, who lives in Colombia. And Violet told me, "Shirley lives in Colombia. It's hot there and they don't have a lot of money. They make coffee in Colombia. I want to send her some of my toys."
She counts to 20 and often says random double digit numbers. For example we were reading a Dora book that included a picture of Dora's Abuela. I asked her "How old do you think Dora's Abuela is?" She looked at me and said "74". I had to giggle out loud. I didn't even know she knew that number. She recognizes her numbers 1-20 now too.
She loves to play doctor these days and loves playing with her real stethoscope that her Mimi gave her. She tells us she wants to be a doctor. She checks us out and gives us shots and then wants to be the patient. She gets so dramatic and tells us that she doesn't feel well. She holds her stomach and says "ooo it hurts. Can you listen to my stomach please. Then she always wants a bandage. The girl LOVES band aids!
She loves to paint and we recently decided to let her "remodel" our kitchen by painting the back splash. It is made of a thick cardboard paper material and it was so drab looking. So we cleared off the counter and took off the cooking range and let her go to town. She had a blast and really created some beautiful art for us. It is such a pleasure to look at her art while I am cooking and doing the dishes.
She loves art, music and especially ballet right now. She dances to music and often tries to teach us different moves. She loves to do yoga too. I love watching her move. She moves without hesitation or fear of ridicule like only a child can. I hope and pray that she holds on to that for as long as possible.
Her favorite painting is Starry Night. She even surprised us one day last Jan. by pointing it out at a friends house. It was hanging on the wall and she shouted "It's Starry Night! It's Starry Night!!" It was so cute!
She loves to dress and undress herself these days. And requests certain outfits and shoes. She is loves to wear her pjs all day on the weekends and now enjoys making pancakes with mommy. She helps me stir and pour ingredients. I love having a little helper. She helps pick up messes and cleans up spills too.
She still nurses quite frequently and we are still ok with that.
She is still having a very difficult time going to school. She cries so hard and begs not to go. She holds on to me so tightly and says "please don't leave me mama!" It breaks my heart and Gabe's too. She cries at school but not all day thankfully. It is a real struggle for us and we are praying for guidance as to what to do about it. She does have friends there and she is learning a lot of Japanese. One of her friends that she plays with often at school is named Yoshino chan. She is close to the same age as Violet and also speaks about on the same level as Violet too. So they are together a lot. The other day we asked Violet about school and if she played with Yoshino chan and she said "I tried to give Yoshino chan a hug but she didn't want me to. She moved away." "Maybe she didn't understand that you were trying to hug her baby" we said. "I am going to try to hug her again!" Violet said. It was so cute. I hope that she does try again and that Yoshino chan accepts the hug this time. :)
Last little story before I go:
We started a new project last month. Violet has been interested in seeds and flowers and so I asked her if she would like to plant some seeds. She said yes. So we went to the home center and I let her pick out 2 packets of seeds. She chose Sweet Peas and Dalias. Then we bought some soil and 2 little pots. I let her help me fill them with soil and then she sprinkled in the seeds. We gave them some water and then I told her they were going to take a nap. She kept wanting to dig them up and look at them. I told her they had to stay in the soil and drink water and rest. She finally agreed. Last night Gabe noticed that the Sweet Peas had sprouted! We were so excited to show Violet when she woke up this morning. I put them on the table and when she came in I told her to look in her flower pot. Her eyes popped open and her jaw dropped. She couldn't believe it. Then she wanted to touch them and hold them. We told her they had to stay in the soil but she could touch them gently. She did. Then she looked up at us and said, "They woke up from their flower dreams!"
Oh how I love this little person! She says the most precious things.
May you all have sweet flower dreams.
Sorry for the long post. I just wanted to catch up on her accomplishments as this is going to be her way of looking back on her life when she gets older. :) Love to you all!
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