Monaloca

We’ve been practicing counting as Nalani walks up and down steps. And hearing 1-2-3 counted out as warnings for Melina and Kai doesn’t hurt, either. She her first three numbers down pat!

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Nalani’s supreme confidence and tendency to lay claim to “her” territory in the room has led daycare teacher Jenny to call her Little Ms. Alpha Toddler. We see it happen all the time, with kids both smaller and larger than herself, and usually with a grin. She does everything with confidence, and from where we stand, the appearance of forethought.

She methodically watched Melina and her friends practice somersaults then gave one a try herself. Then again and again until she got it right. (She’s now a pro.) She’s become quite adept at toddler-aged puzzles (especially one with barnyard animals), and continues to “read” story books for 15-20 minutes on her own. She’s also started asking for a book as we put her in her crib at night. Yup, in the dark. Though most often we catch her reading it when she wakes up in the morning. Did I mention forethought?

Nalani still adores routines, and loves her sleep. As soon as we say “ready for night night?” she asks for milk, and the other night when I took too long with step two she walked into her room, pulled her sleep sack out of the drawer, and brought it to me. She’s also absorbing everything we do and say. Recently when I asked for her hand to cut her nails, she looked at me and said “Peez?” I realized she was telling ME to say please! Once I corrected myself she gave me her hand without complaint.

She still speaks mostly in single words or very short phrases (as in “thank you”) but she sings. The ABC’s, Baa Baa Black Sheep, and Row Row Row Your Boat are favorites. She misses every third word or so, and if you’re not paying attention you’ll think it’s just babble, but listen closely and you’ll hear a true rhythm and a familiar string of words.

Back to the alpha toddler (er, kid?) theme: The other day, Nalani was playing by herself with a train table while Melina got her hair cut. Then a boy about Kai’s age came into the salon and stood, hands in pockets and hood on head (just like Kai), right in front of the table. Nalani immediately made a bee-line to the three-times-her-size kid, pushed in front of him, and started to play with the trains by where he stood. Then she looked up at him and grinned. The kid could’ve cared less, he was just waiting for a hair cut.

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Melina loves reading to her little sis. It’s extra fun when you can act out a book, like Eric Carle’s “I Can Do It!” that I captured on video.

On her end, Nalani loves to bring motions and props to stories and songs. At daycare she’s started bringing her teachers props (a stuffed sheep for Baa Baa Black Sheep, a toy bus for Wheels on the Bus, you get the picture) to show what song she wants to sing.

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Melina’s been practicing her two-wheeling skills whenever we get the chance, and today we biked at the park around the corner with Lily. After just five or six times out on her bike sans training wheels, she definitely has the swing of it!

I credit her year and a half on a balance bike (and Melina’s own eagerness) for the smooth transition. Up next: starting without Mommy’s help.

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Melina got her first two-wheel pedal bike last month with money Joey made by selling a bunch of his old vinyl records to Amoeba. She spent a few weeks with training wheels, just to get used to pedaling again (after over a year on a balance bike), not to mention the whole idea of pedaling backwards to brake.

Yesterday we took off the training wheels and lowered the seat. Today she figured out how to stop without crashing. Look at her go!

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Nalani decided it would be fun to jump in front of her sister’s bike path. Since Mina’s just starting out, we thought it best to pull her to the side.

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