Fail.

Yesterday was full of "excitement" (a whole post must be devoted to the "fun" later). But, one thing was just hilarious. I went to pick Shelby up from school I saw her friend Chloe and her parents in the parking lot as I was headed in. Chloe's mom looked at me with confusion and said that Shelby wasn't at school - the teachers told her Shelby was picked up early. I could hear the proverbial crickets chirping. And, I'm fairly certain I had the stupidest, trying-hard-to-connect-the-dots look on my face.

Then it dawned on me: Scott picked her up to take her to a doctor's appointment.

FAIL.

Fraggle Hair

I don't know what it is about this picture, but Shelby's hair reminds me of a Fraggle....

Shelby came home from school with this cute little ponytail. I love it!! It makes that long hair look even cuter! I think it will be a great "summer look." Plus, it's long enough she can still play with it when she's tired!

When I picked her up, she got up from her chair and pushed it in! What a big girl! I asked her teacher about it, and she said Shelby takes directions well! She picks up her toys, she sits for story time, she socializes with the other kids, and uses her sign language!

St. Pat's

It's been quite a week. We've been a bit distracted, but we did take time to celebrate St. Pat's (not that Scott or I is more than 1/16th Irish!).

At school, they celebrated with green snacks, shamrock deedlyboppers*, and a party. At home we had cornded beef and potatoes ala Crock Pot. Just for kicks, we gave Shelby a few cubes of beef. She scarfed it down and demanded more! She had as much as I did!

* "Deedlyboppers" is a onomonopaeic, Benjamin word for the boingy antennae on a headband.

Twice Shy

I picked Shelby up from school yesterday, and she was screaming her head off. :( Five minutes prior, she reached to touch her friend's book (that had kitties in it...her favorite), and the little boy bit her hand!!! Shelby was so mad!!! We hung out in the room for a couple minutes, and she was giggling by the time I got her in the car. Man! This is getting ridiculous! I think I'll send her in a Shark Suit on Monday.

Once Bitten

Shelby was bitten by another child on Wednesday! I got a phone call at work:

"Hi. this is Kenyatta from New Dimensions...."

My response: "What is it?! What's wrong?!" These people never call to just say hi. Kenyatta connected me to Shelby's teacher. She told me Shelby was bitten by another child after nap time. They don't tell you which child was the biter, but I've got them all under surveillance now! I learned this child hasn't bitten before. So, she wasn't on their radar before. Luckily, the teacher has a Blackberry. So, she sent me a couple pictures so I wouldn't be surprised when I picked her up.

The New Dimensions Biting Policy is when children have limited language skills, they are more lenient. They keep track of a lot of data: time, child involved, toys in the area. If the child racks up a couple bites, they bring in a professional to see if there's anything with the set-up of the room to help keep the kids calmer. When, the children get to be 2.5 and up, there is little tolerance for biting. The parents are called, and come up with an action plan to stop the biting. One of my friend's daycare has a zero tolerance policy. One bite and you're expelled!....even the infants!

War Wounds

I got a call at work today from Shelby's school.....never good. They told me she was pushing a toy bus across the floor, tripped, and bashed her face on the toy. :( She got a bloody nose, and a tiny cut on her lip. Her teacher said, "She shook it off like a big girl. She's doing fine...in fact she's tearing up a book right now!" She's a trooper!

She's officially walking now. She does the funny, 1-year old walking where both arms are above her head. She's surprisingly stable, but I think we're in store for more trips and falls while she she perfects her gait!

More videos to come of the ambulatory Pumpkin!

The Great Ones

Shelby has spent a week and a half in her new classroom. The Wobblers. The Great Ones.

There are 18 12-24 months old in this room! It's a veritable zoo! Shelby is, by far, the littlest one there! She's also the only one not walking.

But, after one week, we noticed how her development has picked up dramatically with the older kids around. She decided to feed herself her own bottle. She flung her whole torso back. It was pretty funny. On her first day, she laid right down on her mat to sleep. We were impressed.

Over the weekend, she stacked her blocks herself. And, in big news, she took 3 steps!!!

Now, this week, her bottle-drinking is much more controlled (i.e. she doesn't have to fling her body backward now). I came to pick her up today, and she was sitting at the table in a chair!!! And, she was playing with a puzzle (Nancy: I think she'll love the puzzles you're going to bring down!)!! Her teacher told me she was so tired 20min before nap time. They had to keep her moving. She crawled over to the cubby where they keep the stuffed animals and tried to go to sleep in there! At nap time they set up her mat quickly, she crawled over, and was asleep before they could get the blanket on her! The poor thing! They wear her out!!

Her teachers are trying like crazy to get her to walk. They say she's so close! They've seen her take a few steps, but they try at every opportunity.