Parenting Month 54: Many things to talk about

Homemade wood tangrams

This month's theme for both children has been expressiveness. Both of them have been growing in expressing themselves, which is a far cry from the previously very quiet in public T and a baby A.

T's expressiveness and confidence in public we still attribute to ATA (tae kwon do school).  He enjoys being good at something (which comes with practice), and now having passed two rounds of belt testing and one session of board breaking, he is gaining confidence that he can perform in public. So now in ATA class he cheerfully shouts out answers and ki-yup and yes sir/yes ma'am appropriately.  In preschool he now speaks regularly, which is a considerable change from even 6 months ago when he was very quiet. He still a relative island of stillness in the chaos that is the typical pre-school classroom, but he interacts more with others.

A has also become quite expressive. Last month she babbled and sounded like she was having a conversation.  Now when she babbles she is clearly doing so with intent, and she gets upset if you do not respond appropriately! Among things she can distinguish are toys, DVDs, books, and food.

Will you read this book about going to the potty for me?

In other news, T has had his kindergarten orientation. After testing, and visiting the school for various events over the past two years, he is getting comfortable there. We were bemused to see that T was NOT the shy kid of the group, instead he was a bouncing little pea going along (he is young, and even for his age he is short, but not skinny).  His future teachers have noted that he has a good attention span, made evident during his visits to the classrooms, testing, and when he came to watch the school play (watched the play without the parents having to closely manage him).

A has become mobile. While she still really wants to walk (she cruises and occasionally attempts to stand without support), she does crawl. And she does crawl with intent (a destination in mind). Sometimes that intent may or may not include us, so we have to keep an eye on her (gege has to be tasked with being a watchdog at times).  Among other things, she has figured out how to get up the stairs (she is ok with backing down). Since she has determination, she has made it to the top floor before we've figured out where she was.