Sunday, April 30, 2006
Talking About Swimming Lessons
Both girls are enrolled in swimming lessons at the Y, and our first dip in the pool was yesterday morning. Jordi had the following conversation with Susie last night about it:
Suzy: "Jordi, where did you go swimming yesterday?"
Jordi: "In the water."
"Where was the water?"
"In the pool."
"And where was the pool?"
"At the YMCA!"
Suzy: "Jordi, where did you go swimming yesterday?"
Jordi: "In the water."
"Where was the water?"
"In the pool."
"And where was the pool?"
"At the YMCA!"
Thursday, April 27, 2006
Jordi Sings the Birthday Song
Libby, one of Jordi's cousins, is visiting from Virginia this week, and yesterday she had her 3rd birthday party over at the Fords' house (I'll post some picutures soon!). Jordi has been having a great time visiting with her little cousin, and was even more excited about going to this party. So, when the guest of honor arrived, Jordi led her right over to the piano, started "playing," and proceeded to sing the entire Birthday Song to her! It caught all of us off guard, as it was completely unprompted and unrehearsed. But it was so cute, and I'm glad I got to see it!
Monday, April 24, 2006
"What's the 'E' eating?"
This story is a couple months old, but still a favorite of ours:
At bedtime one night, I was reading "Go, Dog. Go!" to Jordi. It's a beginner reading book, and uses very simple words with lots of appropriate punctuation. Anyway, as I was reading one of the lines, Jordi interrupted me:
"Mommy, what's the 'e' eating?"
What is she talking about? "What's the 'e' eating?" I repeated.
"Yes, Mommy," she said, pointing to a comma following a word ending in 'e', "What's the 'e' eating?"
Aha! How observant! "Well, Jordi, that's called a comma, and the 'e' is not eating it. It's called punctuation, and..."
And then we proceeded to have a nice conversation about commas, periods, question marks & exclamation points! (However, explaining punctuation is not as easy as you may think.)
At bedtime one night, I was reading "Go, Dog. Go!" to Jordi. It's a beginner reading book, and uses very simple words with lots of appropriate punctuation. Anyway, as I was reading one of the lines, Jordi interrupted me:
"Mommy, what's the 'e' eating?"
What is she talking about? "What's the 'e' eating?" I repeated.
"Yes, Mommy," she said, pointing to a comma following a word ending in 'e', "What's the 'e' eating?"
Aha! How observant! "Well, Jordi, that's called a comma, and the 'e' is not eating it. It's called punctuation, and..."
And then we proceeded to have a nice conversation about commas, periods, question marks & exclamation points! (However, explaining punctuation is not as easy as you may think.)
Thursday, April 13, 2006
Stumped by a Toddler
I always knew it would happen, I just didn't think the first time she asked me a question I couldn't answer would be when she was two and a half!!
Jordi has developed an interest in reading the clock as a way of knowing when Mommy will be turning the TV on for one of her shows. She has two favorites: "Blue's Clues" comes on at 10 o'clock while Caroline's sleeping and "Deal or No Deal" comes on at 8 o'clock when the sun's going down. So, as I was putting Jordi to bed after "DOND" the other night, we had the following conversation, in which she asked me a question that I simply couldn't answer:
"Mommy, is it 9 o'clock?" (There's a little clock with a dial on her nightstand.)
"Yes, the little hand is pointing to the 9, so that means it's 9 o'clock!"
"Mommy! When it's 8 o'clock, "Deal or No Deal" will be on! and I will watch it!" (she's always excited by the thought of watching this show!)
"Yes, Jordi, but it's 9 o'clock now, and "Deal or No Deal" is over."
"NO! I want to go back downstairs and watch "Deal or No Deal" NOW!"
"Now, Jordi, this is how it works... the numbers go in order on the clock. See? It starts at 1 o'clock, then it's 2 o'clock.. (I went through all the numbers a couple times; you get the idea.) So, it was 8 o'clock when "Deal or No Deal" came on, but now it's 9 o'clock, and "Deal or No Deal" is over."
(Here comes the stumper:) "Mommy, where did the 8 go??"
"Hmmmm," I thought, "I could be in trouble on this one... where does the 8 go? The little hand just goes past it, but it's still right there on the dial..."
I ummm-ed a couple times, hoping something appropriate would come to me, but nothing did (which surprised me since usually I'm pretty good coming up with explanations Jordi can understand!). And now, days later, I still don't know where the 8 went!
Jordi has developed an interest in reading the clock as a way of knowing when Mommy will be turning the TV on for one of her shows. She has two favorites: "Blue's Clues" comes on at 10 o'clock while Caroline's sleeping and "Deal or No Deal" comes on at 8 o'clock when the sun's going down. So, as I was putting Jordi to bed after "DOND" the other night, we had the following conversation, in which she asked me a question that I simply couldn't answer:
"Mommy, is it 9 o'clock?" (There's a little clock with a dial on her nightstand.)
"Yes, the little hand is pointing to the 9, so that means it's 9 o'clock!"
"Mommy! When it's 8 o'clock, "Deal or No Deal" will be on! and I will watch it!" (she's always excited by the thought of watching this show!)
"Yes, Jordi, but it's 9 o'clock now, and "Deal or No Deal" is over."
"NO! I want to go back downstairs and watch "Deal or No Deal" NOW!"
"Now, Jordi, this is how it works... the numbers go in order on the clock. See? It starts at 1 o'clock, then it's 2 o'clock.. (I went through all the numbers a couple times; you get the idea.) So, it was 8 o'clock when "Deal or No Deal" came on, but now it's 9 o'clock, and "Deal or No Deal" is over."
(Here comes the stumper:) "Mommy, where did the 8 go??"
"Hmmmm," I thought, "I could be in trouble on this one... where does the 8 go? The little hand just goes past it, but it's still right there on the dial..."
I ummm-ed a couple times, hoping something appropriate would come to me, but nothing did (which surprised me since usually I'm pretty good coming up with explanations Jordi can understand!). And now, days later, I still don't know where the 8 went!
Sunday, April 09, 2006
Trouble Sleeping
Jordi has always been a good sleeper, but every once in awhile, like last night, she has trouble getting to sleep.
About 10:40 p.m., a small voice from upstairs called out: "Mommy.. Mom-my.. will you come talk to me for a little minute?" How could I refuse? Anyway, the start of our conversation was very cute. Here it is:
"Here I am, Jordi. What's the matter?"
"I don't feel good."
"You don't? What's wrong?"
"I'm a little bit sad."
"Sad? Why are you sad?"
"Because I'm not tired..."
Hmmph, don't I know that feeling! And, really, don't we all?
About 10:40 p.m., a small voice from upstairs called out: "Mommy.. Mom-my.. will you come talk to me for a little minute?" How could I refuse? Anyway, the start of our conversation was very cute. Here it is:
"Here I am, Jordi. What's the matter?"
"I don't feel good."
"You don't? What's wrong?"
"I'm a little bit sad."
"Sad? Why are you sad?"
"Because I'm not tired..."
Hmmph, don't I know that feeling! And, really, don't we all?
Friday, April 07, 2006
"When I Get to be a Birdie.."
One common explanation given to a 2-year-old for why she can't do something now is that she has to wait, as in "when you get to be a grown up, then you can drive a car." Jordi grasps this concept well, and has taken to applying it very liberally when processing new information or experiences.
For example, here's a conversation we had yesterday as we walked from the car to the house:
Jordi, pointing to a white spot on the driveway: "Mommy, what's that spot?"
"That's bird poop."
"Why?"
"Well, birds sit in trees and, see those branches up there? that's where they sit and sometimes while they're sitting there, they poop, and it lands in the driveway. See? there's some more white spots.. more bird poop!"
"Yeah! More bird poop on the driveway!"
"Don't touch it, Jordi, just look at it..."
"OK, Mommy. Mommy? when I get to be a birdie, I will be in the tree, and I will poop on the driveway..."
As if hearing it the first time wasn't amusing enough, Jordi was so pleased with her conclusion that she brought it up for discussion several more times throughout the day! Too much!
For example, here's a conversation we had yesterday as we walked from the car to the house:
Jordi, pointing to a white spot on the driveway: "Mommy, what's that spot?"
"That's bird poop."
"Why?"
"Well, birds sit in trees and, see those branches up there? that's where they sit and sometimes while they're sitting there, they poop, and it lands in the driveway. See? there's some more white spots.. more bird poop!"
"Yeah! More bird poop on the driveway!"
"Don't touch it, Jordi, just look at it..."
"OK, Mommy. Mommy? when I get to be a birdie, I will be in the tree, and I will poop on the driveway..."
As if hearing it the first time wasn't amusing enough, Jordi was so pleased with her conclusion that she brought it up for discussion several more times throughout the day! Too much!
