Curie October 2013. Halloween is tonight and Curie is going to be Superman. We don’t have a picture yet, but you probably get the idea from all the Superman shirts she wears. This month Albert went to Mexico City and Ann Arbor and Curie grew like crazy while he was gone. She converses with us now, and has a memory like steel trap. Erin asked Albert to buy apple juice in the morning and when he got home that evening, Curie, unprompted asked “daddy buy apple juice?” Then the next day when he did buy apple juice Curie clapped and said “good job Daddy!”
We have had to learn boundaries (must not let her get spoiled – though how do you not when the temptation to give her little things to make her happy is so great?), and Curie learned the concept of “after” one night. After a long while of crying and patiently explaining, we realized- she totally gets “after,” it’s “first” she wants.” Fortunately she was good with “after” and we are able to give her treats “after” dinner and not “first.” When she wants something she knows she shouldn’t have she says that she just wants “one more,” or a “leel bit” and holds up her index finger.
Erin made Curie a bedtime chart and we have started working on getting her to sleep on her own. She is good with getting stickers for bath, diapers, books, prayers, kisses, and such, but has not yet gotten the concept of putting the sticker in the right place. Free spirit that two year-olds are, she puts the sticker wherever she wants. Curie goes to the potty regularly, still proud, still claps, still empties out the potty herself and washes her hands. She cooks in her kitchen and wants to help with everything.
This month we went to Tim’s Rivershore for fried clams – a lot, Erin’s mother came down to help while Albert was gone, we went to the Hoagland Halloween party where we were Security this year (not really, last year we came as safety inpsectors), and we went to Strasburg to see the trains – twice, one day after the other because Curie liked it so much. She talks all the time about “our train” now and how after the first night, the “train went home.” Curie was not that much of a Thomas the Tank engine girl before this, but now the trains are the best. She does, however, differentiate between “my train” and “my Thomas,” probably because our train (the 475) was not blue and did not have a face.
Curie has always been between 0% to 11% or so on the growth chart, at her last appointment she hit 11% in weight and 28% in height. Go Curie! She has been singing Happy Birthday, ABCs, and Old Mac Donald a lot. She accompanies herself on her “lil ‘tar” and her piano. Her piano is the funniest thing in the world to us, she stands on it and plays with her feet singing at the top of her voice. And at night she plays with her cow that sings Old Mac Donald and kicks her feet like the cow does. The time each day is precious and it is all we can do to try to hold on to each moment. A picture a day, a video on occasion, a high five, a bump, and a beep (our variation), and a kiss good night…”my piddow! My piddow! Daddy you sleep here, that Mommy’s piddow! You sleep here!” Ah – wouldn’t trade it for the world.