Last night Riley knew about 20 letters of the alphabet by sight, and could think of words they started with (other than the ones on the page)... I was so surprised! I knew she knew some of them, but didn't realize just how many. She also seems to be able to recognize both upper and lower case. So cool! She is also funny whenever she sees upper-case M or W, she insists on flipping the book over to show me how they become W and M :) She also jokes about letters... I'll ask what other words she can think of that starts with J, expecting her to say my name, and instead she'll say Daddy! Aron! etc. (other peoples' names, knowing I thought she'd say mine).
We've had to start a new behavior/reward system... we have a "squishy" jar, and a bag of squishies (foam shapes). When we notice Riley is behaving, we reward the good behavior by letting her pick a squishy to put in the jar. When she is not behaving- say, doesn't listen when we ask her to do something, won't stop whining, throwing a tantrum, etc.- we take a squishy out of the jar and put it back in the bag. When all of the squishies are in the jar and there are no more in the bag, Riley can choose any prize she wants -- she can watch a tv show or movie, have a candy or ice cream or other treat, get a new toy, go to the museum or park, etc. (her pick). We are trying to be really careful of our language, so that we are enforcing rewarding her effort and motivations rather than behaviors themselves (e.g., It makes us so happy when you listen and help us clean, would you like to put a squishy in the jar? Rather than - You can have a squishy for throwing away scarlett's dirty diaper!) It's hard not to bribe and/or reward specific behaviors, so we'll see how successful we are.
In other updates- Riley has been getting up at night to go potty, all on her own! She got up twice a couple nights ago- once right away when I was still around to pee, and then later when we went to bed we found poop in the potty, and riley fast asleep! I couldn't believe she got up, went in the bathroom and pooped, and went back to bed on her own. I did try to explain to her that she can come and get us to help her wipe (she's not great at it yet haha), but I think she's doing a great job. She has gotten up many times now after going to bed, and yesterday got up and peed in the morning before coming in our room. Her pull-up was still wet from sleeping, but I think this is pretty good progress! Now if we could just get the going-to-bed part to be a little smoother, I'd be thrilled!
She is getting a little jealous now that Scarlett likes to look through her books, and tends to take the one Scarlett has away, but she does give her another one to replace it, so not too bad. She is also "helping" us teach Scarlett how to share, after we explained to her that Scarlett doesn't know how to share yet. She likes to pretend to feed Scarlett with her play kitchen stuff, and Scarlett seems to love it. She also sings to Scarlett and makes silly noises, dances, etc. which all make Scarlett laugh hysterically. We also put Scarlett in the bath with her most nights, and they both seem to love it.
I think I posted that Scarlett is sitting on her own now, but I don't know if I emphasized just how well she sits... I am amazed! I had to bring her with me to a school for work the other day, and she sat on the floor next to me while I was working and handing out stickers to kids, and the teachers were all pretty impressed at her balance. At home, she can take her large (about 10" cube) toy and flip it from side to side without toppling over. I am definitely amazed!
She has been drooling like crazy, so I'm worried she's cutting teeth already, but it could also be that her nose has been a little stuffy, so she's breathing through her mouth more. Who knows!
We've got a busy month coming up, so we're thinking of slowly starting to introduce rice cereal today. If we do, I'll definitely get a video!
OK enough posting for now, since I am supposed to be working. But here's a few pictures- I only have pictures from late Dec. to late January on this computer... I'll have to get the older and newer ones onto my computer soon.
Riley at the alter for Scarlett's baptism:
Baptism pic:
New Year's in Sarasota (Pineapple drop!)
Riley learning to fish:
Cousins having breakfast together:
Scarlett's first boat ride:
Building!
Finished building!
Plane back to PA:
Snow!
First time sledding
Tea party with Daddy's espresso cup :)
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