What I can do at 20.5 months of age

At 20.5 months of age I want to share with you some of the things I am able to do ...

• send e-mail (well almost, mama is just joking of course), but I can count 2 and 5
• put together puzzle cubes
• request food ... say 'cheese' and take my mama's hand and lead her to the refrigerator door, so she can get me that cheese
• talk a lot on my very own toy cell-phone (develops my social skills immensely)
• slide down the slide - all by myself at the park
• dog paddle with mama's help in a big 3' deep pool (I love to jump off the edge into mama's arms)
• drink milk out of an ordinary tumbler all by myself
• help unload the dishwasher
• take the non-breakables to the cupboard (although some days I get completely side-tracked and leave them lying around on the floor)
• drag a dining chair up to the sink and cry (it's my way of saying I want to stand up on the chair and help)
• chew crayons (sometimes I scribble a bit)
• suck on playdoh (when I've finished playing with it and rolling it with a rolling pin)
• kick a ball
• throw a ball (backwards over my head)
• spin round and round and round and round (then fall down)
• run backwards
• sing a tune
• run and bounce up and down on a big bed
• cry when things don't go my way (but I soon get over it!)

Is there anyone else out there just like me?

Lush garden growth ... 8 weeks from planting

Potatoes, tomatoes, broccoli and onions are doing well ... lebanese cucumbers - slow... beans, carrots, peas, pumpkins (grown from seed) also seem slow; green peppers are a fizzer.

Keeping Cool

We have had 8 days of intense heat and humidity in the province of Quebec, with little end in sight.  Master J and I are sleeping in the basement at night where it is a cool 22 degrees celsius.  Our dining, living and sleeping quarters upstairs hover around 30 degrees celsius at night and during the day.

Thankfully the heat is not bothering this active 20 month old (seen above in a make-do paddling pool, rescued from a neighbour's front yard before the dumpster truck came along).

We are presently focussing some of our indoor activities on puzzles with shapes and colours.  I can recommend the 'Melissa and Doug' Beginner Pattern Block with 5 reversible puzzles in a box (recommended for Ages 2+).  Master J can master many of these on his own.  He loves being encouraged with handclapping, a pat on the back, high 5 and the words 'Bravo' when he completes a puzzle.

Today, while shopping for much needed shorts at Old Navy we stopped by ToysRUs on the way back to the car.  It's a long story .... but we came away with a FREE "Playskool" cubo de formas/form fitter (puzzle pieces that match shapes and textures into a cube).  I had been charged incorrectly and as I had gone back to customer services to tell them they promptly refunded my purchase in FULL and allowed me to keep the item!  Thank you ToysRUs.

As soon as we were home Master J began putting the shapes into the cube.  He has not mastered them all yet, but seems to enjoy this activity for short periods of time (with lots of encouragement).

My Parenting Tip:   Be an encourager to your children.

Take time to watch them play, and look for activities that they are good at and enjoy and really encourage them to persevere and succeed.

Playtime with Papa

At 19.5 months old playtime with Papa means the world to Master J

who gets to wrestle, roll, jump and climb

a love of gardening

5 weeks ago my vegetable garden looked like this ...

and today ...

rhubarb transplanted from a friend's house survived (yippee!); potatoes jumped out of the ground, onions no longer thin and floppy, broccoli doubled in size; beans, peas and corn just poking their heads out of the ground, the same for 2 pumpkins planted from seed (at the very back of the garden), several tomato plants have flowered and are now in fruit, and the 2 green capsicum plants look a little sad - yet they do have peppers on them! (will have to keep watering)

PEI - the gentle island, a great place for families

First impressions

• WOW the earth is RED! (Anne spoke of it!)
• Lovely LUPINS (I bought seeds to plant)
• A gentle and not so gentle breeze blew everyday
• Islanders are "kindred spirited"
• Aahhh ... smell the sea air
• So wonderful to be at the ocean (a distant memory from NZ)
• mmmmmmm yum ... LOBSTER!
• GREAT for families - we stayed in Cavendish
• Go early - mid-June when the tourism spots open, because peak season will be very busy
• It's a long way from Quebec city!
• We'll be back again (next year, I hope)

Must do's

• Read an LM Montgomery novel while you're on the island
• Enjoy a Lobster supper http://www.lobstersuppers.com
• Walk along the beach or boardwalk
• Go cycling
• Kayaking
• Toy Factory (for locally made wooden toys and a great selection of educational type wooden puzzles) http://www.toy-factory.ca
• Buy locally made preserves http://www.preservecompany.com

Sightly over-rated

• Cow's ice-cream (I thought it was more about their brand and merchandise than great tasting ice-cream ... sorry Cow's ... Tip Top from NZ is still #1 for me!)
• Too many Anne of Green Gables sites and memorabilia for my liking (better to enjoy LM Montgomery's books and use your imagination!)

PEI - The gentle island

this morning at the park

Park Play-dates are a great activity for toddlers ... every now and then we enjoy going to a new park with other mums and their kids.  This morning we only had to travel 5 minutes by car for a 9.30am start, and were home again around 11.30pm for lunch and a nap!  Don't forget to bring your sand toys and snacks!  If there is not an organised activity in your neighbourhood why not consider asking a few friends or mums with children living close by to join you at a local park for two hours one morning during the summer time.  As a parent, I believe it is important to be able to connect with other parents and spend time together to enable our children to learn good interaction and socialising skills.