Chloe and Sophie evidently missed hamming it up for the camera. Needless to say, they made up for lost time today. Here are two of the sillier shots, taken this morning after my husband opened his birthday presents, which also included a seltzer maker called the “Fountain Jet” donated with love by my mom. The girls loved that. Because it makes funny noises when the CO2 gets added to the water.
We had an activity-filled day. Went bowling this morning. Sophie enjoyed it, Chloe didn’t. That’s because we needed to help Sophie roll the ball down the lane. As a result, her score was better than Chloe’s. Chloe was upset about that. So we only played one game.
Earlier this evening, all of us went to the YMCA for family swim. The girls really enjoyed it. And we did too, until we realized how cold it was outside the water. Then we had to wait, dripping wet, for one of the two family changing rooms to become available. Why they only have two such rooms is beyond me. Oh well. We survived.
This photo to the left is Sophie pretending to be one of her stuffed animals. Isn’t it nice to have a camera again?
Chloe has rediscovered the joy of Legos. She played with them when she was younger, but until today, she hadn’t tinkered with them in at least a couple of years.
And then, surprise, surprise. When I arrived home earlier tonight, the Village People were waiting for me! OK, not really. But tell me her sculpture doesn’t make you want to sing and dance to “YMCA.”
The unanimous favorite was the clown on the right. Papa knocked over the construction worker on the left, but Chloe handled it extremely well. No tears, no screams. She calmly put the little guy back together and was evidently very proud of her creation.
I love it when Chloe creates something and is proud of what she’s accomplished. It was a great way to end the day.
Update 11/13/07: Sophie followed instructions again! Not all of the instructions, but most of them. She danced backwards, forwards and sideways. She excelled during circle time warm-up, and helped clean up the props. There’s hope for this toddler, yet!
Sophie likes to dance (see photo to left, Exhibit A).
So when it came time to enroll Sophie in a YMCA class, I thought it would be fun for the two of us to bond while creatively moving across the dance floor, since she seems to have a knack for it (see video below, Exhibit B).
With a feeling of irrational anticipation (adjusting to the stay-at-home gig has been a bit trying for me, to say the least), we went to the first class a few weeks ago. The instructor, a lovely woman who teaches at a local studio, warned all of us caregivers that the children might not participate, at least in the traditional sense, right away. They might simply observe, or make up their own moves. All of this is good, she told us.
No problem, I thought. Sophie loves to shake her booty. But Sophie often moves to the beat of her own drummer. And her listening skills are not yet as honed as her mischief-making skills. She is only two, I remind myself, ad nauseum. She’s also the youngest in the class. First session, she mostly watched. Second class, slight improvement. Third class, complete and utter meltdown. You get the picture. Until today, the only thing she seemed to enjoy was climbing on top of my back during warm-up when I’m on all fours trying to demonstrate the moves to her (“trying” is the operative word here) .
It thus came as a huge surprise when, at class this morning (after a minor tantrum when I tried to get her in the car), she creatively moved! We’re not talking 100% participation, mind you, and she didn’t always follow the teacher’s instructions. But she made a good-faith, smiling effort to move like a duck and like a spider, and she leapt and “swam” in the water (represented, of course, by a blue hula hoop).
Even our kindly teacher noticed the difference: “There’s been a breakthrough!” she exclaimed at the end of the class. Indeed, there was marked improvement. Even I had fun.
I’m currently taking bets on the last two classes. Will the progress continue, or will Sophie revert to her old ways? Tune in next week – same time, same channel – to find out…
A Mom's Ramblings About the Marvels & Mishaps of Parenting, the Joys of Family Travel & the Writing Life
Earlier this evening, all of us went to the YMCA for family swim. The girls really enjoyed it. And we did too, until we realized how cold it was outside the water. Then we had to wait, dripping wet, for one of the two family changing rooms to become available. Why they only have two such rooms is beyond me. Oh well. We survived.
