3/3/09 (actual date of occurrence)

Today seemed like a big day developmentally for both kids. We have a large toy dumptruck and this morning Genevieve was pushing it around the house, walking behind it. Every now and then she would stop and put books in the cab of the truck and then start walking again. The next time she would stop, she would take the books out of the cab and put them in the back (the bucket part) of the dumptruck. She moved the books back and forth several times and never even fell or lost her balance pushing it around. It was impressive.

Tristan was painting today and at one point he put the picture he was working on underneath a plain piece of paper. He started making doo, doo, doo noises (with pauses between each “doo, doo, doo”) and pulling his picture slowly out from under the plain piece of paper. He kept saying something to me and I could tell he was getting frustrated that I was having trouble understanding him. It took a while, but it finally clicked for me. He was being a printer and “printing” his picture. Awesome! We’ve never knowingly printed something in front of him or explained the process, but somehow he picked it up – this kid is smart!

Later, Tristan was coloring and he was almost completely staying in the lines. This is the first time I’ve even seen him attempt to color inside the lines and not just scribble all over the page with no reservations. He was doing a great job.

I may be easily impressed but I think they both showed some real advancement in their individual stages. They amazed me and I really enjoyed watching them. I could almost see the synapses firing or the wheels turning, or whatever simile you prefer.

For your dose of cute pictures, we're working on music appreciation around here and Genevieve is enjoying "class."