As we grow and learn

Today is my grandmother turns 101. It's truly unbelievable. I didn't think she'd make it to 100 and I'm sure she's just as surprised. She definitely had a hard life growing up in the times that she did and having a "difficult" husband to put it nicely, but she ended up with some grandchildren that love her dearly and now has the ability to enjoy in the great-grandkids, even though she may not always realize who they are or remember their names.

Makenna is really excited that it's great-grandma's birthday as she thinks that there will be lots of presents to open that great-grandma will need help with. She doesn't realize that great-grandma is at the point in her life where family is the best present you could give her and that all other material things are soon forgotten about or not needed. Not that I didn't get her a little something.

Makenna was also anxious to make her a birthday card. Anytime Makenna hears of an opportunity where she can make a card, she jumps at the chance. This girl truly loves doing artwork. She is constantly drawing pictures of people (mostly "Katie" as she will tell you,) along with a rainbow over the person. Now she has a new accomplishment to add...she can write her name.


She, for some time was writing "MAN ANANNAN" We had to convince her that there was a "K" and an "E" in her name and a lot less "N's" and "A's." This past weekend we worked really hard on writing a "K" as she gets easily frustrated but she stuck with it and is now very proudly writing "K"s. Luckily mommy had a great idea for Santa to bring some pre-school workbooks for Christmas and she really enjoys working in them and practicing all her letters. We still have a hard time with "G" and "D" looks more like "P" and our "S" is usually backwards, but we're getting there.


She loves writ ting so much now that she also wants to write "Binghamton" and the street we live on. She's also writing her middle and last names. As we work on writing a letter she'll also tell me what other things start with that letter. For example, as she writes an "S" she'll tell me that "Sarah" and "Snake" start with S.

Plus, because of the pre-school workbooks, have been working on the different coins and what they are. Daddy told her that once she got them all right (penny, nickel, quarter, dime,) that she could take them to school. So she's been practicing and by the third day, got them down. It's amazing to me to watch how much she's learned just this past year (2010,) and now we're only a couple of weeks into 2011 and she's writing her name.

She also started a "sports class" at pre-school that she seems to really love. It's a class that will give her exposure to lots of different types of sports (basketball, hockey, baseball, gymnastics, etc.). Yesterday was the first class and whatever they did, I was told she did very well. I was shocked, but glad, that she picked the class. I gave her an option of T-Ball again, this sports class, or a dance class (which I figured she'd pick,) but she surprised me and immediately said the sports class. Then she asked me every day when her class was, and now she continues to ask me when the next class is.

Her swim lessons started again yesterday and I was even more pleasantly surprised at her progress. They put a swim belt on her with only one float (two is usually what she had on in the past,) and she did really well. I watched her swim out to the instructor with her face under the water and she would lift her head to get her bearings and then put her head back down and swim some more. She did this until she got to the instructor and then turned around and did it again back to the wall. I was just beaming.


The other thing that's getting better is her grasp of vocabulary. Not that she didn't already have a pretty good understanding of it already but now I hear, "Mom!? What are you doing in my room? Get out of my room. Get out, get out, get out!" I was stunned and said, "Listen here girly! You're only 4 - you don't have the right to tell me not to go in your room!"

The privacy in the bathroom has increased even more too. If she needs help, I need to come in only for that moment and then leave again. Last week she went into a public bathroom all by herself as I anxiously stood outside the door. I knew it was only two stalls and no one else was in there prior to me agreeing to let her go by herself. Although we did have one funny incident last Saturday.


We were at the mall in Burlington Coat Factory and she had to go to the bathroom. I took her in and "held" the door closed for her (for what seemed like forever,) as she went. Well, everyone who came in knew she was going and knew that she was going "number two." She was grunting away and you could hear her loud and clear. In between pushing noises, she would be singing or talking. I couldn't help but laugh and smirk and turn my head so as to not look at all the other people that had come in to use the restroom. I'm glad they had a few stalls as people would've been waiting for a long time.

Her grasp of other comments of ours have increased too. I've heard, "this is ridiculous," "oh come on," "that's not right," and "phew" now come out of her mouth quite a bit too. She also pretty much dresses herself all the time now and even argues with me about what she's going to wear. I'm to the point now where I have to ask if it's okay to buy her a particular item of clothing or footwear to make sure that she'll wear it. I really thought this happened a lot later!

It's great to see them grow, learn, and become independent but it happens way too fast! I want my little girl back some days so desperately.