So Riley is getting much better at talking and almost daily (will) say more things. I have no doubt that she knows everything I am saying and understands everything. She chooses not to talk a lot and I think it is because Devin is SO talkative. I know this is not uncommon for second children to do and I did confirm that with the pediatrician on Thursday when I took Devin in for his 4 year well check. Now here is where it gets me upset when people judge her. Yes, she is 2 and 3 months. Yes she is fully potty trained and no she cannot recite the alphabet without skipping letters. I had a lady at the store the other day ask how old she was and she playfully was talking to Riley. The lady was astonished with the fact that Riley cannot sing her ABC's without skipping letters. I looked at the lady and was like wtf? What does it matter if my kid can/cannot sing the ABC's. She can say what letter it is when I do flash cards with her, but she has not been able to verbally get the whole 26 letter alphabet in a song in order. What is more important? Uh hello, I would much rather my child know what letters are what instead of be able to sing a stupid song. And by the way, last time I checked those were two different skills. Any kid can sing the ABC's but not all actually know their letters. I would rather the latter over the singing. That said, she is talking more and more and it is funny to actually be able to converse with her and her carry on her side of the conversation well. On a plus side, we were at dinner Friday night and I was next to Riley. Frank and I were talking and she was trying to get my attention. I did not turn my head when she said Mommy, but she then paused and said, "Excuse me Mommy." I immediately turned my head, praised her good manners and listened to what she had to say. Yay for good manners!
It brings me to the thought that all kids really do process and develop differently. We play with another little girl who is a week older than Riley. She is adorable and very verbal. She speaks very well, (somethings it is jumbled when she gets excited) but for the most part she speaks in sentences clearly. She has been talking for a while now and when she and Riley are together they talk to one another. It is hysterical to watch them. Riley is not on her level yet, but she can hang none the less. Now when Riley cannot talk like this young gal can, Riley has been potty trained for 2 months while this girl doesn't mind to walk around in her poopy diaper. It amazes me that two girls roughly the same age can be so different developmentally. Both kids are excellent to be around and very self sufficient-but they have their own advantages/disadvantages. Neither better or worse, just different. That whole age range with development thing really is true. I know it is hard not to compare, but it is important to keep in mind that it will happen, eventually.
Riley is now finally able to dress herself completely. She can get her clothes and put them on along with her shoes. She sometimes gets her legs in the same leg hole of her shorts and I have to help her out...but man is it awesome to be able to go and tell her to get dressed and she does! Devin has been able to do this since about 2.5 as well. I am NOT the mother who enables laziness from kids when I know they are able to complete a task but won't because I do not make them. There is no reason why a kid over 3 should need help getting dressed especially when the clothes do not have any buttons or belt buckles. Riley like all kids has favorites to wear. Her all time favorite color is blue and she has a lot from a line from Gymboree that is blue. She would wear those outfits everyday if she could (and does at last twice a week.) Other than that, she loves dresses and two fish outfits we have. I think she would never wear the rest of her wardrobe if I did not chose things for her sometimes. I cannot blame a girl. Why would you want to wear sear sucker capris with pleated top when you can wear a cotton tank with jersey shorts?
Devin weighed in at 32.6 lbs (fully dressed in cargo shorts, pique polo, leather belt, undies and socks.) I am guessing that he is under 32 lbs :( still. Which is 20% for weight. He is 38.5 inches tall and that is 12% for height. He is proportionate for his height and weight, just on the small side. She said that he is super healthy and that his low weight is good. She said that since he doe not eat a lot of fatty, processed crap that he is at an advantage over heavy kids who eat normal Americanized kid diets. She reassured me that since I do not feed my kids processed/salty/fatty foods that they will probably stay skinny for years to come. She said they may follow after my body build of being petite. I definitely would NOT describe myself as petite anymore....Devin does have a speech impediment and she wants to see how he is doing around December to see if we need to send him to speech class. Apparently in Las Vegas you can send your pre K student to the public school for after school speech classes for free. Cool! I like free. Devin will be going to Challenger again for 4 year preschool this fall so we will see if they can correct it there, if not he will be going to our local elementary school. Other than that, he is happy, healthy and fully of energy!
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