Milestones

Each kid had a milestone "first" today.  

COLTON

Colton has been working on how to come DOWN the stairs correctly.  He has been loving climbing, so we spend a lot of time on the stairs for him to practice doing it correctly.  He can climb to the top of the stairs quickly, but once at the top, he tries to climb down head first.  After a few times of "letting" him fall a few steps and catching him (to instill a little healthy fear in him), we started working on the correct way to go down.  Today was his FIRST time turning around at the top ALL by himself!  Here it is on video:

SUMMER

Summer has been working on counting to 20 for many months now, and always seems to forget a number ;).  Today was her FIRST time counting ALL the way to 20 with no mistakes!  Here it is on video:

Another "first" for Summer was started today.  A little background info: we have  now had many months of no afternoon nap (where I still required her to lie down in her bed until her CD (40 minutes) was all done and then she could sit up and play with books and teddy's IN her bed).  She has been so great about staying in her bed during nap-time, and is so conscientious that after nap time she will always tell me if she got out of bed to get a kleenex or if she sat up while the music was playing when she should have been lying down (what a sweetheart!).   After the CD is done, she was allowed to play in her bed.  During this time she has been great about making up all sorts of scenarios while staying IN her bed --she is so creative with her teddy's and books and plays that she is flying in an airplane, playing in the snow, taking care of a sick baby, etc (she always tells me what she was playing when I come in to get her).  Anyway, after many months of no naps I decided to start a new routine today.    She now gets to play with any toys she likes (i.e. she doesn't have to stay in her bed) as long as she stays in her room until I come get her.  She was pretty excited about the new "Quiet Time" instead of naptime!     I am really proud of her, and she is definitely self-controlled enough, well rested enough, and ready to begin "Quiet Time".

Just for fun, here are a few pictures of her with the large icicle we found today (during Colton's nap time) while we were playing out in the snow.  Even as an adult, I think icicles are amazing!

We have been working on starting a few "special jobs" (a.k.a. chores) for Summer.  Since about 18 months she has put her own laundry down the laundry chute and helped to clean up her toys.  And she is a good helper with setting the table and unloading the silverware from the dishwasher.   But now that she is 2.5 years old she has two special specific daily jobs.  It is now her job to feed Tucker and it is also her job to take Colton's dirty bib after each meal and put it in the laundry.  She does a great job with those two jobs!  Here is a video of her feeding Tucker.