What have you been up to: Almost 34 months

These last few weeks have had ups and a down.
The ups have included a week long trip to West Cork, where you got to see your cousins (my brother's 3 about the same age as you) and Nanny Marie, Grandad Dan, aunts and uncle. The down has been a bout of vomiting illness, which has been ongoing since Saturday night.

Several really exciting things happened there for you:-
1. This time you  were much more confident about joining in with your cousins' play. They were having great fun going to the moon on a sleeping bag (seriously, this entertained them for hours, no days).  You loved it. I do wish they lived nearby.
2. Even more excitingly, you got to share a room with your cousin Sarah.  Your first time sharing with another child.  I must admit, you got so excited, that you wouldn't stop singing and running over to her bed, so I had to remove you until you fell asleep as poor Sarah couldn't sleep. Sarah was so patient.
3.  Then you got to stay up until about midnight with Nana Marie while we went to the pub.  This brought back vague memories for me of sitting on laps listening to adults chat at night on holiday. Nothing concrete, just a feeling. So nostalgic.

You're making up more elaborate stories now, and telling them so expressively. "The Big giant had long greeeeeen hair. (footstep noises)  The mouse opened the door and  EEEEEEEEE he was so excited EEEEEE he saw the giant..."
You continue to make up words - you said we weren't people the other day, but yoginis.  Which is laughable really when there is so little yoga done here unfortunately.

More and more often now, your art represents "something" so e.g. the other day you made a park, and then a garden from beads, kept dripping blue paint on paper until it was a (really full) pool that you said was a swimming pool, and a big black painting which you said was a dark cave.  It's interesting to see how you transform your daily experiences and received information from books etc and transform it into something unique to you.

Activity wise, there's not so much "Montessori" as such on the shelves. But the skills are practised in real life so to speak.  Impromptu.  Like peeling every bit of skin off garlic cloves, using scissors to try to make a pom pom, a casual introduction to addition as we lay in bed at the weekend.  I do have some specific activities out - just sandpaper letters really (ignored recently) and "tap tap art" (klopftkunst in German - love that word so much more than tap tap art!) which is an activity where you hammer pins into coloured wooden shapes to make art.

You are fiercely independent and have now asked to wear normal undies at night (you always refused before), and insist often on bringing yourself to the loo. Even when vomiting, you insisted on holding the bowl yourself, and getting your own pyjama top to replace the vomity one.  Endearing, though a bit tragic to see a two year old sort herself out after being ill!

You are starting at Montessori next week...3 days, which is better than 5, but still too much!  Hoping to cut it down next term. More on this to follow...

Not many photos this time.  We are photoed out at the moment, plus I am finding it hard to know what photo host to use for blogger.  Any tips anyone?

Love Mam x