January is already half over and I haven't had much time to sit down and post thus far in the new year. So what have we been up to in the Maudlin household in 2009? It's one of my busy times of the year at work, since I'm a CPA. No, I don't do taxes, but we are closing the books on the 5 properties that I am responsible for and with strict reporting deadlines, it's our last chance to get everything right before the auditors come. I had a couple of late nights last week, and Matt was practically a single dad. I'm glad it's only like this a few times a year. Thankfully, it's Matt's free time with his sports with no football and track not starting until next month His 1st semester isn't even over until next week, so his school year's not even halfway over yet.
Miss Aubrey is doing great. Someone at work asked me the other day how my baby was doing, and my response was she's not a baby anymore. It's really exciting to see her growing and learning right now. She moved up to the Toddler Class last week, and Matt and I got to meet with her teacher, Ms. Janshi (pronounced jan-SEE), this week. I think she's going to learn a lot from Ms. Janshi. There are only 4 children in the class. It's a much bigger room than the baby room with different activity centers, small tables and chairs where they eat together, sinks at their levels, and access to their own playground. They are on more of a schedule now and only take 1 nap.
She walked us through a typical day. They start off with play time where they play with different toys and at the different stations. Then at around 9 am they have a morning snack. Then, if it's not too cold, they go outside. Ms. Janshi said they all love outside time and don't usually want to come back in. They wash their hands once they get in and have circle time where they read stories or sing songs. Then lunch usually starts about 11. They all eat together and drink out of small cups with no lids (yikes!), not sippy cups. We haven't been brave enough to test this at home yet. Then after lunch it's nap time, which normally lasts an hour and a half. I asked if Aubrey normally goes down on her own because I still rock her to sleep at home, and she said as soon as they pull out the beds and turn off the lights, she goes to her bed and lays down. After nap time is over, they go outside again and then come in for an afternoon snack and then more playtime until it's time to go home.
Ms. Janshi explained to us that now is the age to start laying the foundation for the skills she will use later in life. Aubrey is a sponge and she is soaking everything up right now. She is teaching her lots of one syllable words such as mine, yours, share, bring, etc. as well as a little bit of sign language to help in their communication skills. Aubrey can do the signs for "more" and "all gone", and she is also learning the signs for "please" and "thank you".
Ms. Janshi told us that she asked one of the other kids in the class to bring her something, and Aubrey heard her request, went over to the other kid, took the item out of his hands, and brought it to Ms. Janshi. Ms. Janshi said she knew what I was asking, so what could I say except "Thank You".
We're very excited for 2009 and look forward to what this year has in store for us! I promise to post some pictures soon.
