Lola's favorite things
Lola's vocabulary expands on a somewhat regular basis -- she adds about a word a week. The most commonly heard words are go, cracker, up, dow-n (down), uh-oh, buh (bird), duh (duck), buk (book), muk (milk), nana (banana), mama, and dada. Her favorite thing to eat, and therefore her favorite thing to say, is cracker and she says it all the time when she's excited.
Lola understands a lot of vocabulary too and will follow basic instructions: get your shoes or go to the changing station or give Samantha a hug. Some commands she's not as quick to follow (Let go of Raina's hair!) but on the whole she's eager to show off what a big girl she is.
The potty has returned to its proper home in the kids' bathroom and Lola loves plopping down on it over and over again. It's a great game and occupies her for a full minute of bouncing each time. The bathroom also holds Lola's toothbrush. Lola climbs up on the stepstool, claims her toothbrush, and walks around the house brushing her teeth. She automatically cries when toothbrushing time is over so we've learned to let her decide when she's done brushing her teeth. She is fascinated by the toilet paper (we don't leave that out for her anymore) and she frequently stands on the scale, bounces, and watches her weight go up and down. Lola enjoys bouncing on beds too, and she often treks into Samantha's room to bounce and bounce and bounce.
We're trying to connect Lola with a lovey. Our efforts thus far have proved unsuccessful, although we are making headway with a white cat (Raina's first lovey) and a very large, round tweety bird (courtesy of Aunt Ginny). Lola's favorite toy of the moment is a large plastic red truck; she zooms it around the house a la Matthew's Truck. Matthew's Truck is one of Lola's favorite books and I only can assume the two things are related.
Lola plays independently most of the time, and a large amount of her play is pretend-based. She plays with puppets or with the dishes and food in the play-kitchen. She also loves to chase a beach ball in the basement and she cackles with glee each time it bounces away.
She and Raina roughhouse with Daddy each night. She'll start the action by pushing someone over, climbing on her/his midsection, body-bopping repeatedly, and shouting "AAAAHHH!" She's become much stronger and wreaks havoc on the bladder if the person is unprepared. She plays chasing games with us and, even though she's much slower than the rest of us, she never stops trying. She just circles and circles and circles the house while we lap her.
She's also fascinated with the outdoors and frequently says "go!" and tries to open the door. All of our low-lying windows have Lola prints (hand and mouth) that demarcate where Lola watches the birds and ducks and deer and trees in our yard. Once outside, she charges down the driveway and heads straight for the neighbor's house across the street. (The bird-watching is better from over there.)
She has little to no shyness or inhibition and she requires a lot of safety supervision. Lola warms up to new activities far quicker than Raina does; in some cases, Raina only will do the things that Lola tried first. Raina was traumatized by her first BounceU birthday party, for instance. Lola, however, was overwhelmed with excitement and we had to restrain her multiple times the inflatables that were much too advanced for her.
Lola also loves her mommy. Lola can be completely stable and playing by herself but if mommy walks by or her voice is heard Lola devolves into a crying, hysterical mess. We distract Lola before Raina and I leave in the morning. Watching anyone go without her really makes her jealous and mad, and she just breaks down when she sees Raina leaving with me and without her.
Other successes: Lola has developed much more of a sleep routine. We put Raina to bed and then it's Lola's turn. Lola gets a diaper change, a small amount of milk while cuddling, and then is placed in her crib while still awake. She used to cry incessantly, but now only puts up a mild, half-hearted fuss for a few seconds before settling down. Life is a lot easier this way!
Lola understands a lot of vocabulary too and will follow basic instructions: get your shoes or go to the changing station or give Samantha a hug. Some commands she's not as quick to follow (Let go of Raina's hair!) but on the whole she's eager to show off what a big girl she is.
The potty has returned to its proper home in the kids' bathroom and Lola loves plopping down on it over and over again. It's a great game and occupies her for a full minute of bouncing each time. The bathroom also holds Lola's toothbrush. Lola climbs up on the stepstool, claims her toothbrush, and walks around the house brushing her teeth. She automatically cries when toothbrushing time is over so we've learned to let her decide when she's done brushing her teeth. She is fascinated by the toilet paper (we don't leave that out for her anymore) and she frequently stands on the scale, bounces, and watches her weight go up and down. Lola enjoys bouncing on beds too, and she often treks into Samantha's room to bounce and bounce and bounce.
We're trying to connect Lola with a lovey. Our efforts thus far have proved unsuccessful, although we are making headway with a white cat (Raina's first lovey) and a very large, round tweety bird (courtesy of Aunt Ginny). Lola's favorite toy of the moment is a large plastic red truck; she zooms it around the house a la Matthew's Truck. Matthew's Truck is one of Lola's favorite books and I only can assume the two things are related.
Lola plays independently most of the time, and a large amount of her play is pretend-based. She plays with puppets or with the dishes and food in the play-kitchen. She also loves to chase a beach ball in the basement and she cackles with glee each time it bounces away.
She and Raina roughhouse with Daddy each night. She'll start the action by pushing someone over, climbing on her/his midsection, body-bopping repeatedly, and shouting "AAAAHHH!" She's become much stronger and wreaks havoc on the bladder if the person is unprepared. She plays chasing games with us and, even though she's much slower than the rest of us, she never stops trying. She just circles and circles and circles the house while we lap her.
She's also fascinated with the outdoors and frequently says "go!" and tries to open the door. All of our low-lying windows have Lola prints (hand and mouth) that demarcate where Lola watches the birds and ducks and deer and trees in our yard. Once outside, she charges down the driveway and heads straight for the neighbor's house across the street. (The bird-watching is better from over there.)
She has little to no shyness or inhibition and she requires a lot of safety supervision. Lola warms up to new activities far quicker than Raina does; in some cases, Raina only will do the things that Lola tried first. Raina was traumatized by her first BounceU birthday party, for instance. Lola, however, was overwhelmed with excitement and we had to restrain her multiple times the inflatables that were much too advanced for her.
Lola also loves her mommy. Lola can be completely stable and playing by herself but if mommy walks by or her voice is heard Lola devolves into a crying, hysterical mess. We distract Lola before Raina and I leave in the morning. Watching anyone go without her really makes her jealous and mad, and she just breaks down when she sees Raina leaving with me and without her.
Other successes: Lola has developed much more of a sleep routine. We put Raina to bed and then it's Lola's turn. Lola gets a diaper change, a small amount of milk while cuddling, and then is placed in her crib while still awake. She used to cry incessantly, but now only puts up a mild, half-hearted fuss for a few seconds before settling down. Life is a lot easier this way!
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