Winter Catch-up Post

 I just realized I never put this one on the blog & obviously it must be preserved: 

I may have accidentally recorded in portrait, but I had the sense not to rotate halfway through at least (this time)

They're piling up the sleet/hail on the deck: 

We made snow cream on one of the days with fluffier snow: 

Recipe: 

Set out large bowl to catch fresh snow.

Whisk 1 c. whole milk with 1/3 c. sugar and capful vanilla. 
Whisk in snow (about 8 cups?) til consistency is good

Sprinkles optional 

Believe it or not, this one is from a different day. There'd been hail earlier, so of course Leah put on her Doc McStuffins helmet. Safety first, guys.

Dr Visit

 Leah had her well-child doctor visit Tuesday (& all three kids had their dentist appointments - no cavities!) 

This was the only picture on my phone: 

No shots today - they went ahead & did all of her kindergarten shots at her last visit - but we did schedule her 2nd COVID vaccine. 

Here's the link to last year's for comparison: https://babybuffaloe.blogspot.com/2021/03/dr-visit.html

They didn't hand out a milestone checklist - I'm not sure if they've stopped doing that or if the med student forgot. I found this one by the CDC: 

• Follows rules or takes turns when playing games with other children (mostly, I think!) 
• Sings, dances, or acts for you (definitely yes!) 
• Does simple chores at home, like matching socks or clearing the table after eating (with a little  encouragement, Leah's very helpful & she always asks to help if it looks like we're doing something interesting.) 
• Tells a story she heard or made up with at least two events. For example, a cat was stuck in a tree and a firefighter saved it (this is a big one! It seems like Leah likes to process things by telling stories about things. One of her favorite games is to play "puppet show") 
• Answers simple questions about a book or story after you read or tell it to him
• Keeps a conversation going with more than three back-and-forth exchanges
• Uses or recognizes simple rhymes (yes, but sometimes mixes up rhyming words and same-beginning-sound words)
• Counts to 10 (she's got good one-to-one correspondence for 1-10 & I think could count to 100, maybe with just a little prompting)
• Names some numbers between 1 and 5 when you point to them (1-12 I think) 
• Uses words about time, like “yesterday,” “tomorrow,” “morning,” or “night” (Leah has a funny habit of saying "last morning," which makes sense if "last night" is correct!) 
• Pays attention for 5 to 10 minutes during activities. For example, during story time or making arts and crafts (screen time does not count)
• Writes some letters in her name (She's good with all capitals and working on the lowercase) 
• Names some letters when you point to them (names all letters) 
• Buttons some buttons (I'll have to test this! She dresses herself, but her clothes are easy/comfy)
• Hops on one foot (yes!) 
• Draws a person with 6 body parts

Birthday Interview

Birthday Interview: Leah is 5!

1. How old are you? 5
2. What is your favorite color? Orange
3. What is your favorite toy? Trumpo
4. What is your favorite game? Life 
5. What is your favorite song? Shivers (by Ed Sheeran)
6. What is your favorite animal? Horse ... I mean, elephant!
7. What is your favorite book? I don't really know. The Batman Book. 
   

   
   
8. What is your favorite show or movie? She-Ra  
   

   
   
9. What is your favorite thing to eat? Oranges
10. Where is your favorite place to go? McDonalds 
11. Who is your best friend? Malik (This is her friend from preschool. Too bad he’ll go to a different elementary!)
12. What is something you learned last year? I can't think of anything. I don't really know. Did you learn anything at school this year? Or maybe at gymnastics? Can I pick something that I learned at home? Um. I have learned how to open a new soap bottle. A word I learned how to read a few days ago: Fish! 
13. What is something you'll learn now that you're 5? I don't even know. Ride my bike without the training wheels. 
14. What is hard for you to do? Bike riding
15. What is your favorite thing to do? Ummmm. Hm. There's nothing else in my head. If you could do anything, what would you want to do? Play with Nana Jana or Grandma Mary. 
16. What do you like about Me (Mama)? I get to cuddle you and hug you. 
17. What about Dada? What do you like about Dada? I really wish that wasn't in there. That question? Yeah. I get to play with him! 
18. What do you like about Amelie? Ummmmm. Nothing! (after a nudge) Well, she watches us. Who's us? You know what I mean!
19. What do you like about James? He's nice! And I love him!
20. What do you like about yourself? That question really shouldn't be there. Why not? Because. I love me. 
21. What do you want to be when you grow up? I don't know. Oh, I thought you had a whole list of things! How about you get a list of things you think I might want to be? I thought you wanted to work at the library? How about library or soccer. 
    

    
    

    
    

Here's the link to last year's interview: https://babybuffaloe.blogspot.com/2021/03/leahs-first-birthday-interview.html