• Kaizen
  • I tweaked the margins for the book about A- turning three years old, and I learned how to use pdfjam to make booklet signatures. So much easier than my old workflow! This should let me make longer books at home, too.
• Us
  • I learned how to use my serger to make a rolled hem. The serger made working with chiffon really easy. I accidentally bent a needle, but no one got hurt.
  • It was a good thing I decided to practise baking cakes before A-‘s birthday party. The first cake was too wet because I misinterpreted the recipe. The second cake stuck to the pan. For the third cake, we lined the cake pans with parchment paper, and it turned out perfect. Yay!
• Gross motor
  • Jen suggested going to a nearby indoor playground which E- had previously enjoyed. Even though it was busy, there was enough space for us to play. A- insisted on being close to either me or Jen, so we explored the structure together. She liked the big slide, the space shuttle, and the ball pit. We had sushi afterwards, and A- ate quite a few pieces. I think it would be nice to make this part of our routines.
• Fine motor
  • A- made a playdough cake with three candles.
  • A- said she was writing “Happy Birthday.” Her scribbles went from left to right, up and down.
• Language
  • “W- Y-, what are you doing?”
• Music
  • A- got captivated by the window display at the music store. We stood there for a long time, talking about ukuleles and pianos and playing music. I had been thinking about what kind of instrument might be good for her to start exploring, since she doesn’t yet have the coordination for the ukulele or recorder. The salesperson showed us a small melody harp and a glockenspiel. A- was really drawn to the small Schoenhut baby grand piano, though. “It’s tiny. Just the right size for me,” she said. She played with it for a long time. I told her I’d talk to W- about whether we could get something like it.We discussed it over dinner. I liked that the baby grand piano wasn’t electronic, but I wish it had better sound quality. Also, it required too much dedicated floor space. We talked about getting a small electronic keyboard, but the ones we looked at had too many functions and we weren’t keen on some of the features. We even discussed getting a MIDI keyboard and using a Raspberry Pi computer as a synthesizer. In the end, we decided to keep things simple and take advantage of what we already have. A- knows how to climb up on the piano bench, turn the piano on and off, and press the keys, so we can start with that.

    I’d like music to be a fun part of our lives. It’s nice to be able to pick out melodies on the keyboard or the ukulele, and maybe she can learn something like that too if she wants. We’ll see!

  • In music class, A- volunteered to be the teacher’s partner for a few songs. Yay!
• Self-care and independence
  • We went to Webb Ocular for a checkup. A- was still a little scared of Mr. Webb, but looking forward to the toy chest helped her stay calm. She picked a pretend microphone immediately. At home, she played with it a little before agreeing it was something for the donate pile.
  • A- picked out her outfit today. Her floral dress and yellow rain pants happened to match a public art installation perfectly.
  • A- wanted to wear two ponytails. She enjoyed wearing a sweater that matched mine.
  • A- was curious about microphthalmia, so we flipped through Clinical Ocular Prosthetics.
• Eating
  • “Hey, I really do like this salsa.”
• Emotion
  • After going to the supermarket with W-, we went to the library. We didn’t get there in time for the drop-in centre, though, so A- was a bit disappointed. She had been looking forward to going there, but we had gone on so many other adventures already that afternoon.
  • A- and I talked about swimming, since we won’t be going swimming for the next few weeks. She pretended to go swimming in our room.
• Social
  • A- taught E- the line “Yes, no, maybe so?” They sat in the kids’ chairs. E- asked, “Yes, no, maybe so?” A- enthusiastically said “Yes!” They repeated this many times.
  • We had Jen, Ewan, and E- over for dinner (pizza, Brussels sprouts, soup, bread, sweet potatoes, cake). The kids played with toy tools and blocks in the living room while we chatted in the kitchen. They had lots of fun making each other laugh. I shared the toum I made. W- and Ewan had an impromptu knife sharpening session. Jen played the piano. It was awesome.
  • We went to a fabric store to buy some chiffon for making square scarves for peekaboo and dancing. A- learned about the process of picking out fabric. She tapped my credit card on the terminal to pay for it. We were about to walk away, but she remembered to get a receipt too.
  • A- repetitively looked at the clock and then pounced on me. This amused her a lot.
  • A- insisted on checking out the books herself. She said, “I want to practise talking to the librarian.” The librarian walked her through the process of checking out.
  • A- went to the kitchen, said “Ha ha,” and did something close to jazz hands.
  • We had a birthday party for A- with just W-‘s parents and one of A-‘s uncles. A- loved showing them stuff, and she entertained them while W-, J-, and I prepared the food. A- ate cake and enjoyed playing with her presents.
• Pretend
  • A- pretended to be a music teacher, showing E- how to sing “Popcorn” and “Someone is Hiding” with the scarves. She also sat in a chair and pretended to read a book to us, holding the book facing out just like at circle time.
• Cognition
  • “I’m making a line.” A- lined up several Duplo fences.
• World
  • We went to the museum to look at dinosaur skeletons. A- was also interested in the mastodont skeleton.

Blog posts

• 2019-02-04 Emacs news

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