Carmela is fast becoming a little kid, but she still most definitely has moments of being a toddler. As with every transitional phase, this has resulted in a little bit of clinginess, a little bit of moodiness, and some unfettered joy as she masters each new skill in her amazing, big world.
Recently, she and Mama started attending a synagogue that has really terrific kids programming, including tot Shabbat once a month, babysitting during all the regular services, and a really terrific lunch after all of the regular services. Because the synagogue also has a school program, there's a playground outside and lots of toys and things to play with. There also are lots and lots of kids Carmela's age. This has been extremely cool for Carmela, and also a bit scary and intimidating. The first time Mama dropped her off, Carmela raced into the toddler room without even looking behind her. The next time Mama tried to drop her off, Carmela clung to Mama like a spider monkey; when Mama was finally able to duck out, the teacher had to come get Mama during services because poor Ela was crying and crying. This past Saturday, Ela started to get clingy, but because it was tot Shabbat again, and Mama stayed with her, Ela felt better and went to play. Same with the gym where Mama and Daddy go together on Tuesday mornings. The gym has a big toddler play room with gymnastics mats for tumbling and jumping; the first time we went, Ela literally ran for the mats without looking back. The next visit, though, Carmela wouldn't let go. Mama had to go to her class, so Daddy stayed until the hula hoops came out, at which point Miss Carmela was ready to go play because Miss Carmela loves a hula hoop. So, it's been a bit challenging getting her to let go and go play, but Mama and Daddy both recognize that new environments full of kids are a little intimidating, so one or the other sits with Miss Carmela for a few minutes to break her into the new environment and let her come to terms with it in her own time. (As an aside, we think Carmela's going to really like temple once she gets used to it. She already has made a little friend her age named Natalie, who she asks for and shares toys with. She also really loves the teachers, and asks for Miss Julie when we're not there. She also asks to see the Torah, and, when we're sitting together during services before babysitting or tot Shabbat, she "sings" along with the chanting and says "Ah-mein" after the congregation sings it during kaddish. Oh, and she also really likes picking out her dress to wear to temple each week. It's all pretty cute, and Mama is enjoying it.)
Miss Carmela still loves to run, chase, jump, climb and play, but she's also developing a greater interest in coloring and "drawing." Right now, her "drawing" consists of carefully executed little circles all over her paper, but she believes them to be "pitty, pitty pitchers," and Daddy and Mama have no reason to disagree. She seems to have the smallest understanding that pictures should be of things, and she can recognize objects that Mama or Daddy draw, but she definitely can't draw things herself, and when Mama asks what she's drawing a picture of, she usually responds with something like, "I draw pitcher." Carmela also enjoys painting and playing with playdough, especially rolling it into snakes (worms/slugs) and snails. Soon, Mama is going to introduce collage-making and working with glue (this could be a good idea or a very bad one) and small, manual dexterity crafts, like beading big wooden beads onto yarn.
Carmela loves water play still, and loves to make a big mess. Mama doesn't mind if she has towels nearby. Last week, after Mama canned salsa and peaches, she put the warm (but not hot) canner full of water on the floor and let Miss Ela play in it. Ela thought it was awesome, and used a measuring cup to transfer water from the canner to a smaller Tupperware bowl. Then, Mama threw a big, fluffy towel on the floor, so Carmela poured water onto the towel and got to learn about absorption and saturation. Miss Ela also really likes playing in sand, scooping and digging with shovels, finding tiny pebbles, and burying toys and finding them again. We have lots of fun with this at the park.
Carmela's language seems to be getting more articulate, and she's becoming more familiar with pronouns, tiny verbs (like "is"), and sometimes articles. She still mostly speaks in toddler speak, and a lot of the time Mama is the only one who understands her, but there are times when she speaks clearly enough that others also can decipher her language. For example, she told Mr. Richard, her housemate, that she saw an elephant have a bath at the zoo, and because she said "elephant" and "bath" clearly, he more or less got what she meant. Carmela almost always says "please" and "thank you" appropriately, and she's getting better at asking for help when she needs it ("hep pease"). She's pretty good at communicating what she wants, and will tell Mama, "I talk Gama," or "I see Maddie," or "I go outside," or "I coloring," or "I watch Elmo." She also can say, "Mama, where are you?" and "Mama, what doing?" And even when she can't say something herself, or communicate clearly, if Mama or Daddy asks her a question for clarification, she can understand the question and say yes or no in response. This growing ability to communicate has been enormously helpful for Mama and Daddy.
Ela's working on potty training, but we're not 100 percent there yet. She'll pee-pee in the potty if we're home and she's wearing big-kid underpants or nothing, but she forgets and pees in her pants when we're out and about, and she has yet to poop in the potty. Mama and Daddy are definitely not worried about it, though. Ela knows what to do and where it's all supposed to go, and when she's ready, she'll put all the pieces together.
Socially, Ela is a pretty affectionate girl who seems concerned for other kids, and will ask, "What matter?" and give hugs if someone seems hurt or sad. Like most toddlers, though, she's not super great at sharing, and can be possessive and territorial. Overall, she likes other kids a lot (she'll even ask Mama for kids when she wants to go play at the park or the playground), and she definitely does great in one-on-one situations. Her very favorite friend is Maddie (still), but she also had a great time playing with an older boy named Asher a few nights ago, and she seems to like Natalie and Georgia a lot, too.
Mama and Daddy are pretty confident Carmela will be ready to start preschool when she's 2 1/2, which will be a pretty big milestone for the Doctors. She knows her colors, and she can almost sing the ABCs; she can identify several of her letters. She also can "count" in short series, but can't go all the way from 1 to 10 yet. She also knows the concept of counting, but doesn't usually start with 1 and progress from there; she might start from 7 as from 1 or 11. She can do art projects or crafts with supervision, and she gets along with other kids and communicates what she wants and asks for help very well. She's still not great at sitting still and listening to a story, but Mama and Daddy are thinking at this point that it's a temperament thing; she'd much rather be running around, or, alternatively, holding the book and "reading" it herself. She seems to understand group activities, though, and understands the concepts of sharing and taking turns, even if she has to be reminded to do it. And she loves to sing and dance and play with percussion instruments.
Carmela still takes one solid nap at mid-day every day, and there's no living with her if she misses it. She still wakes up about once a night, and she still loves food, and will eat just about anything, though spaghetti and other kinds of noodles, chili, fish, and most fruits and vegetables are her favorites. She also will ask for steak specifically. Also, she is absolutely obsessed with Popsicles, and asks for them from the time she wakes up until she goes to bed at night.
Carmela also likes to help out around the house. She helps Mama vacuum by asking to be picked up, and then she helps hold the handle and push the vacuum. She sweeps after Mama's done to make sure Mama didn't miss anything. She helps water all the plants, and she helps water the garden and pick little weeds outside. When Mama does laundry, she helps by tossing socks and underpants into the dryer and then pushing the button to start it. When Mama's making the bed, she helps by lying in the middle of it and rolling around and laughing. Mama's really thankful for the help! She also helps to cook dinner by stirring, and she helps make cakes and things by licking the bowl.
Mama and Daddy both are pretty excited to see what Miss Carmela will come up with next. Hopefully, this fall will bring some good things our way, and Miss Carmela will have lots of exciting new adventures and experiences to blog about!
