Thoughts on TGM

It has struck me several times lately how quickly TGM is growing--physically, in coordination, in communication, and in other ways.

Physically is the easiest to measure. I haven't measured her with a yard stick, but I have been watching how her clothes fit. I picked up some size 18mos pants for her back in October at a consignment sale. When I tried them on her back then, the legs of the pants completely covered her feet. These days, those pants fit perfectly and I'm weeding the size 12mos clothes that don't fit anymore.

As she has grown physically, her list of physical accomplishments has also grown greatly--both gross and fine motor skills. This afternoon, she was out playing in the backyard with the melting snow and ice. As she was walking, she slipped a bit on the ice, but caught her balance and continued on without falling down. Six months ago she hadn't even taken her first steps yet. She likes to go up and down stairs with minimal help. Among fine motor skills, she has taken a liking to scribbling--markers on the white board at clogging, crayons in her coloring book, pencils on any piece of paper we'll leave in her reach.

Meanwhile, her vocabulary and her ability to express herself continues to grow as well. We've done a fair amount with TGM using sign language. It's something JM and I both know pretty well, his sister is deaf, and we found that TGM likes the Baby Signing Time and Signing Time videos through the library. And there are times when we look at each other and ask, "How do parents who don't use sign language manage?!" She's not going to carry on a conversation through sign language any better than through speech at this point, but with both systems going simultaneously, we have a much better chance of catching the subtle difference between "Daddy" and "Tati" (Tabitha) and remembering that "che" means she wants cheese (even when we aren't in the kitchen and Mom and Dad aren't on the subject of food).

Her interests are developing and becoming more apparent to those around her. She loves music (what toddler doesn't?), dancing, and animals. And she enjoys books about these subjects. She has a growing list of books that she enjoys reading and having us read to her. They include such titles as The Monster at the End of this Book, Disney's Alphabet A-Z, Whispering Rabbit, Animal Sounds, Little Book of Poems and Prayers, Farm Board Book and cards, and many more.