First Joke

Austen’s first joke happened recently when she crumpled up a piece of paper, shaped it and then showed it to Mama, saying, “Look, a flower!” Then she laughed.

Her second joke was putting her hands over her diaper area and saying “Look! A hand diaper!” Mama and Austen laughed at this one.

Classes and Activities

This winter Austen has been enjoying her Gymboree Art II class, her My Gym Gymsters class, and the MOMS club of Edison playgroup. (She’s taken a two-month Christmas break from Music Together but starts up again tomorrow.)

Along with classes, Austen enjoys shopping with mom; going out to lunch with mom; and lunches and playdates with her “Gymboree” friends and other local pals.

Memory and Consequences

When Austen did something bad at a play date, she remembered exactly what she had done and told Dada about it later in the day when he asked about her day.  No prompting.  Dada was surprised by her ability to recall what she’s done wrong.

 

When Austen asks to watch a video, Mama can explain that she doesn’t get to because, for instance, she hit Mama in Art Class earlier that day.  And Austen gets this.  It even deters her from hitting, although not every time.

 

It’s so much easier to explain things to Austen, even when the consequences are longer term.  And she knows a lot about what she is and isn’t supposed to do, even if she intentionally breaks the rules at times.

“I gotta go to bed now,” she said sleepily.

Chacha stayed here for a week while taking a computer course in Edison. At night, he would sometimes put Austen to bed. Regrettably, he often wore her out with so many bedtime stories that SHE had to end the bedtime reading session herself.

“I gotta go to bed now,” she said, pointing to her big-girl bed. Poor girl.

Was it Chacha’s monotone reading? We kid, we kid!

[Add picture of Austen’s bed or video of her doing her bedtime routine, Dada]

L.L.F.

Easel

Austen shows off her painting skills using a new easel, which Grandma Mindy gave as a Christmas gift. Austen regularly paints in her weekly art glass at Gymboree so she’s already a pro at handling paintbrushes, smocks and clean up.