Monthly review: September 2018

Posted: Oct 6, 2018 - Modified: May 29, 2019| monthly, review

Weaning was a big thing this month. A- did not like it at all, and started resisting both comfort and bedtime routines. We're slowly settling down into new patterns.

A- was also very interested in letters, spelling, and writing, and in riding her balance bicycle.

Kaizen:
- I added my library card barcode to my phone case and put the Presto card in a cardholder. This made getting out the door so much easier.
- I checked out a daycare and interviewed a babysitter's references. We decided to go with the status quo of my staying home with A- instead.
- W- and I talked about workloads and our coping plans when we're both under heavy loads. I started doing more household maintenance during the week, like sweeping the bathroom while waiting for her to use the toilet and taking out the litter boxes while she napped.
- I organized A-'s drawers, putting away warm-weather clothes and bringing out cool-weather ones.
- I experimented with using voice dictation to do my journal entries.
- I experimented with putting a movie on my phone. It looks like I might be able to watch things in 5 minute increments.
Us
- I woke up early and sewed a pair of shorts for myself!
Gross motor
- A- liked running up the hill and coming back for a hug whenever I blew the whistle. Sometimes she even ran a little out of sight. She also enjoyed being chased and picked up.
- A- learned how to pedal a tricycle.
- A- learned how to coast on her balance bike.
Fine motor
- A- used chopsticks to pick up a piece of shredded duck.
Language
- A- said, "Teach me how to write!" I suggested that she start with tracing lines and circles with her finger. I also showed her how letters are made up of simpler shapes. We practised painting over letters, too.
- A- liked substituting ideas in books. Little Excavator became Big Excavator, and Never Follow a Dinosaur became Never Follow an Excavator. She corrected us whenever we used the original words from the books. (4. Cognition)
- A- loves reassuring me that she's prepared. "Don't worry, I have a water bottle when you get thirsty."
- A- was very interested in letters. She asked questions of the form, "What starts daddy?"
- A- read several books to herself. It was awesome.
- A-'s been insisting that we call her M-, and invariably corrects us when we call her A- (even when I'm talking to W-). We made a nametag for her to remind us. I called her A- again, and she said, "I have my nametag on."
Eating
- A- tried egg yolk, carrots, and rice with a little curry sauce.
Sleep
- Weaning and teething disrupted sleep a lot, but being more firm about bedtime seems to be paying off.
Emotion
- A- asked me to draw a lonely A-. Then she asked me to draw W- hugging her.
- Even during tough moments, I'm glad I'm the one here with A-. She's going to test and run into her limits, and I have more patience than a babysitter would.
- A- got overtired on the way home, and she threw a big tantrum. It was hard to carry her home while rolling our grocery cart too.
Social
- A- reminded me to look both ways when crossing the street, and insisted that I do it again whenever I forgot.
- A- had a small owie and insisted on W- for comfort. "Mama's kisses don't work. Daddy's kisses do."
- A- played with independence. She asked me to say, "You're not allowed to go up the hill." She ran up the hill, then wanted me to chase her and carry her down.
Pretend
- A- had fun playing with the big cardboard boxes in the schoolyard. She pretended they were houses, and we visited each other. She also pretended that one was an oven and that she was a carrot muffin.
- A- asked me to use the long, thin towel to tie a pretend bike trailer to her balance bike. She had lots of fun bringing it around.
- A- really liked the giraffe that W- made for her using the Little Engineer set. They added wheels and wings to it, and she flew it around the house.
- A- merrily typed on her cardboard laptop. She said, "I'm getting a thought out of my head."
- We reenacted the put away video.
- We put paper slips and elastics around books, and then pretended that they were requested books that A- could check out.
- W- made a megaphone out of a piece of paper. A- had lots of fun shouting through it, just like in the book "Go, Dog, Go."
World
- W- went for a haircut, so A- and I came along and watched the hairstylist work.
- We followed the garbage truck around. The worker showed A- how the compactor worked.
- A- saw a bird die. It hit the window and then fell on the deck. She spent the rest of the day talking about dead birds, pretending to be a dead bird, and asking about death.
Self-care
- We're all done with weaning.
- A- took some of the magnetic tiles to a corner away from the other kids, saying she wanted a "quiet area." (2.2 Self-regulation)
- We went to the ocularist for a checkup. A- was pretty anxious, and often reminded herself about the toy box. The ocularist said she'll get a new conformer in November. In the meantime, the ocularist polished her conformer, and A- picked a box of crayons from the toy box.
- A- tied a scarf around her waist all by herself. (5.2.1 Dressing)
- A- ate lots of crackers, cheese, and peaches during snack time. She kept asking for permission and serving herself with tongs.
- A- figured out how to turn the door knob even with the knob protector on. She went between rooms a few times.
- A- turned the lights on and off by tapping the light switch with a roller.

Blog posts

Sketches

Time

Category	Previous month %	This month %	Diff	h/wk	Diff h/wk
Sleep	33.0	37.7	4.6	61.2	7.8
Unpaid work	7.3	9.3	2.0	15.1	3.3
Personal	8.3	9.9	1.7	16.1	2.8
Discretionary – Play	0.3	0.7	0.4	1.2	0.7
Business	0.8	0.9	0.1	1.4	0.1
Discretionary – Family	1.6	1.0	-0.5	1.7	-0.9
Discretionary – Productive	3.4	1.7	-1.7	2.8	-2.9
Discretionary – Social	2.3	0.3	-2.0	0.5	-3.3
A-	43.0	38.5	-4.5	62.6	-7.5