School
I heard from Zoë's school today, and they've straightened out the enrollment. She's got a place, yay! So two days a week for two hours per session, Zoë will be going to pre-school and making pictures and learning songs and all the fun things kids learn there. I'm hoping it'll also improve her willingness to comply with directions (although she has been gettting better at that) and I'm definitely hoping it'll improve her speech, which is slowly developing but is still far behind what you'd expect for a child her age.
Thursday, we go for an hour long orientation and introduction class. It's just to get the kids used to the idea of where they'll be, etc. My guess is that Zoë will zoom off with the other kids and the toys and won't give me a second thought...
Assorted News
I've been bad about updating this journal. I'll catch up now, before Nanna and Grandpop send me an email asking what's going on...
Zoë's speech is still sporadic. Now and then she'll come out with something cute or unexpected, such as "sink" when washing her hands. She also seems more inclined to talk to her father than to me, probably because I'm better at reading her body language and she doesn't have to talk to me.
The cutest thing she's said is when I went over to the area by the telephone to get myself a pencil so I could take some notes at the computer. This is one of her favorite places to get into mischief (she pulls over a chair and climbs up to rummage around the countertop), and naturally we often tell her to get down or leave things alone, etc. When I went to get the pencil I hear this little voice behind me say, "WHAT are you doing?" Apparently, that's what you say to someone who's messing with the stuff by the phone!
Her potty training is sort of hit or miss. She hasn't figured out about wetting her pants at ALL. I think she's actually still unaware of that whole process, to be honest, so I'm not going to push her. As for the other, if we notice she's about to go and put her on the potty, she's happy to do it there, but she won't tell us when she needs to go. Well... sometimes she'll come stand near you at the start so you smell her, and maybe that's her way of telling you she's about to go, I'm not sure. It might be coincidence. She also sometimes grunts and that's a sign, as well, which she may be doing deliberately. I wish the kid would just talk. It would save a lot of trouble for all parties.
Haven't heard back from her school yet. The enrollement clerk told me that she thought the teacher was on holiday and she'd have to talk to the teacher to sort it all out, so I'm not too worried just yet. I did have a think about it, though, and I definitely filled out the paperwork at the school in the classroom, and the teacher held Miranda while I did it (which is odd, because Miranda's not the sort of baby who lets people hold her, but she didn't seem to mind). I came back the same day in the afternoon with the money. They had the money but not the paperwork, so somewhere along the line, the paperwork got lost. Ah, well. It happens. Hopefully she'll be able to get a placement soon into the year, if a bit late. I was assured that there are ALWAYS kids who drop out for various reasons.
Today in the grocery store we had to go through a checkout where Zoë could easily reach all the wrapped chocolate bars and goodies (she didn't see the lollipops or she would have wanted one, I'm sure). She reached out and handled them, looking, then putting them back. It was very sweet, and she was quite pleasant. She's slowly losing the uncoltrolled willfullness of a toddler and getting more and more cooperative and more interested in helping and doing what she's asked to do (although she's still willful and can be stubborn; that's just part of her personality).
Lately, I've been making her take a morning nap. When she gets up, I put her back in bed. She complains, but usually has a bit more sleep, and then, she's a lot more pleasant during the day. I think the kid is like I was a child, always fighting sleep as long as I could and then springing out of bed the moment I was awake because there were so many more intersting things to do than sleep (I've since learned that sleep is good, and I'm sure Zoë will, too).
Preschool Problems
Well, it seems there's been a mixup with Zoë's preschool enrollment. I find this distressing, because I've been really looking forward to her going. I think she'll get a lot out of it, that it'll help her speech delay problem and help her in various other important ways (including teaching her a bit about following directions).
What happens is the paperwork for the enrollment seems to have gotten lost and separated from the deposit. The enrollment clerk had the money with the name on it, but no paperwork or details so she didn't know how to proceed with it.
The problem is that the three-year-old classes are full. They're going to put Zoë on a waiting list (presumably very high on the waiting list), because apparently there are usually a lot of dropouts and rearrangements every term, so she'll probably be able to get in eventually (and I presume they'll pro-rate the fees).
It's just disappointing that she's not going to be able to start school when we were planning. Bah. I have faith that they'll get something worked out, and she will get to school some time this year (probably later this term), but it's still discouraging. Well, it is for me. Zoë's not worried about it at all, of course...
Clean Teeth
Part of Zoë's bedtime routine is getting her teeth cleaned. In fact, this is sort of code for asking her if she wants to go to bed (because she'll never admit to being tired).
Tonight she was acting like she was tired and bored, and so I asked her if she wanted clean teeth. She immediately came over to her dad, who's normally the person who gets her ready for bed (that's part of the routine, too). He was watching a film, though, and wanted to wait for a commercial break.
Zoë, being the independent, I-can-do-it-by-myself kid that she is, quietly went into the bathroom and started to brush her own teeth. She put toothpaste on the brush (a little too much, but not that bad, suprisingly) and started to brush her teeth. She seemed to realize she couldn't turn on the water, though, and about that time Andrew went in to see what she was up to. She happily let him help her finish cleaning her teeth and then gave goodnight kisses and went to bed (although she didn't go to sleep right away; no rules about that).
Stay out of the drawer!
There's a story told about Andrew that when he was a little boy, he got a stick or some such item and stuck it into an open bucket of paint. His grandfather, who had been using the paint, said something to the effect of, "I'll teach you to get into my paint!" Little Andrew indignantly replied that he hadn't been in the paint, only the stick had. (I think that's how the story goes; it's close enough.)
Well, Zoë's latest annoying behavior is emptying out the dresser drawers in her room. I've told her off about it more than once. I had thought she learned her lesson, but today when she was supposed to be having a nap, I went to check on her and she had climbed up into one of the top drawers, a box-shaped compartment, and was sitting inside it.
When I said, "Stay out of the drawers!" I didn't mean it literally, but maybe I should have...
Fun with Cymbals
Zoë's found an interesting application for the cymbals Uncle Greg gave her. She stood for a while this morning with a cymbal in one hand, gently banging it against her own head and then holding it close to her ear so she could listen to (and probably feel) the sound/vibrations.
I'm Zoë and I'm Three!
I've taught the little girl a new phrase: I'm Zoë and I'm three! It comes out more like "Zoë ahh tree!" but she seems to enjoy saying it.
She's talking more and more. Last night she was trying to figure out how to wear a lacy, satin nightie of mine (which she got out of the laundry). She tried one strap over the head, then took it off, tried another... she never did figure it out, but as she was trying, she was saying, "Let's see..." and "There ya go," and various other phrases we use with her. Her speech is still kind of garbled and difficult to understand, but she is talking and that's the important thing. When she starts preschool (in just a couple of weeks), I expect her speech will improve greatly when she's around the other kids regularly.
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