Preschool Breakthrough

Claire's preschool teacher sent me the picture above this week of Claire actually PLAYING on the playground at preschool and having fun at it!  A first for her since preschool started.  The teacher also said Claire let her hold her more, came over and held the teacher's hand, laid her head on the teachers lap during story time, etc.  Major breakthroughs for this child who would not hardly let my sister, let alone a strange teacher, hold her.  I am hoping this pattern continues and that Claire is learning to trust others. 

Love,
The Scott Family

Happy Fall Y'all!!!

Love
The Scott Family

Preschool Progress

Preschool has been going pretty well.  Claire seems to be learning that even if we do drop her off that we will be back to get her shortly.  She still gets anxious and cries when being dropped off, but usually the tears stop within 5 minutes (or sooner).  The teachers have learned a lot about Claire in just a few short weeks. 

They have learned that Claire likes her own space and does not like to be crowded or feel like someone is in her space.  If she is upset, she does not want you to come to her and comfort her.  She wants to just be alone.  They have learned that she likes to play with the musical type toys.  Anything that makes music.  They have even “claimed” some maracas as theirs so they can always be in the room to distract Claire when needed.  They even did an art project this week tailored to the fact Claire loves music – they made “tambourines” with paper plates taped together with dried pasta in them.  She loves it!

I think one teacher has learned that if she just starts singing (and my mom says she has a great singing voice) that Claire will be happy!  They have discovered that some of her favorite songs are ABCs, Itsy Bitsy Spider, and Wheels on the Bus (or Wheels on the “Butt” as Claire says).  Yesterday they commented on how she loves music so much, that she needed to join the church choir.  I attribute her love for music to Nurse Marie.  When Claire was in the NICU, Nurse Marie found her a CD player and some soft musical CDs that she placed in her crib to drown out the loud beeping and noises of the NICU.  I really think this is why music is Claire’s soothing mechanism for everything. 

Her teachers have learned that Claire does not like change and has a hard time with change and transition.  She cries when they leave the room to go outside, has a great time outside, then she cries when they have to come back inside. 

Claire’s teachers have also learned that it is a huge deal for Claire to let them hold her for any length of time.  This shows me she is learning to trust them and I am so happy about that. 

I haven’t really heard about how she is doing with playing and interacting with the other children.  I just want to make sure she is adjusting well to the whole situation first before I worry if she is making friends.  I am lucky enough to get to pick Claire up most days from preschool on my lunch break so I do get to talk to the teachers and get to know them. 

Each week they learn about a color and a shape.  So far, Claire has learned about yellow, green, red, stars, squares, and circles. 

We are so proud of Claire and of her growing from these new experiences.  I hope each day continues to get better and better at preschool.  One day she won’t want to leave!  We are so appreciative of her teachers and how hard they work with her to make her have the best time possible. 

Love,
The Scott Family

Jones County Heritage Festival and Parade

Saturday was the annual Jones County Heritage Festival and Parade in Trenton.  We started out with the parade with friends.  Claire did not want to stay in her stroller so that was a struggle to keep her out of the road during the parade.  

Jones County grown kids (Claire, Mason, Connor, Anna, and Jack)

Hmmm, what do I do with this candy?????

Yum!

Then we headed to the civic center for more fun!

She loved the goats!

Horse and carriage ride

Claire's first horse and carriage ride

Love,
The Scott Family

Farming continued

Getting ready to ride!  Family photo 2012

Riding the combine picking corn.  Claire LOVED it once again!!! 

Picnic lunch with Da Da

Getting big!

How many more pictures Mom?

Like father like daughter <3

Claire's Combine with Da Da and Claire

Dirt  tastes good!

Love,
The Scott Family

Picking Corn 2012

 

Trent started picking corn Wednesday.  It's the first time in a long time that we have had several days with no rain.  So since the corn moisture was pretty  much ready, he decided to start picking ahead of forecasted rain this weekend.  Claire and I ran out there after I got off of work to check it out.  She LOVED it!  We didn't get to ride the combine this time, but hope to soon.  But you would have thought Claire was at Disney World.  She was so excited to see "Da Da" on his tractor that says "putt" according to her.  She kept running towards him yelling "da da Da Da" meaning bye bye Da Da (she changes the "b" in "bye" to start with whatever word follows the "bye").

 

In the first video, she is yelling "da da Da Da" over and over.  And when you ask her what a tractor says, you can hear her say "putt"!  In the second video, you can see how she follows Trent around like his little shadow.  I think she was in awe of him and his tractor.  Super sweet country girl for sure!

 

 

 

Love,
The Scott Family

I wear my sunglasses at night....

Well not literally, but I am starting to think that if I want to wear my sunglasses, I can only wear then when Claire is not around.  Don't ask me why, but all of a sudden last week, when I put on my sunglasses in the car, Claire FREAKS out and stars screaming!  As soon as I take them off, she is fine.  Is this part of a phase where she is testing me?????   I cannot think of anything that she would be scared of about sunglasses.  And she only does it with me.  Everyone else can wear theirs and she acts like nothing is wrong.

Love,
The Scott Family

The 3 Muskateers (and Eliza's 2nd birthday)

Saturday was Eliza's 2nd birthday!  We were so glad we could make the trip to Gymboree to celebrate her special day with her and her family and friends.  We were also happy to see Remi too at the party!  We sometimes refer to Eliza, Claire, and Remi as "The Muskateers" since they spent their first few months of life together as roommates at Duke's ICN.  As my mom said, these 3 will always have a special bond that no one else will share.  And that's wonderful!  I envision these girls being pen pals and friends for life.  They could even be college roommates one day!  :)

 

Here are some (giant) pictures from the exciting party!

 

 

 

Claire having fun!

Heather, Eliza, me, and Claire

Claire and Eliza

Remi (far left), Eliza (on slide), and Claire

Claire, Eliza (with blue ball), and Remi (pink skirt)

Claire's first time through a tunnel!

Claire decided to walk on the parachute

So her friends Remi and Eliza decided to join her!

Eliza (far left), Remi (middle), and Claire (running from camera)

 

 

Sharing between friends

Claire was excited about the hats but would not wear it of course.

I know we may not be able to be at every birthday party every year, but I hope that these girls (and parents) can all keep in touch as much as possible.  I love the connection they have. 

Love,
The Scott Family

Fever Bugs

Last week, Claire seemed to be running a slight fever.  We are still not sure if it is her 2 year molars working on her or what but the fever is gone.  I simply dread having to take her temperature.  She screams so bad.  So I went to Walgreens to see if I could find a different type of thermometer and ran across these stickers (only like $5).  They are called "Fever Bugs" and you just stick them on the child's forehead, chest, or under arm.  It reads the temperature very quickly - N for normal, 99, 101, 103, or 105 in the little black circles.  As you can see below, it said Claire's temperature was normal, but she still felt warm.  I checked her temperature with the digital ear thermometer and it was 98.8.  So I guess the stickers work!  They are cute - lady bugs, butterfly, caterpillar - shapes.  And she didn't even know it was stuck on her forehead!  :) 

I love these things and whoever invented them is awesome!!  They are now a must-have in our home.  You can leave them on for up to 48 hours, so while they are asleep, you can just sneak in and look at the bug to see the temperature without waking the child up. 

Love,
The Scott Family

PS - Please continue to keep the Mills family in your thoughts and prayers.  They lost their unborn son last week (the one I asked for prayers for last week).  Pray for peace and comfort for them. 

23 Months Old

I can hardly believe Claire will be 2 years old in one month.  It's just crazy.  We are so proud of her and all that she is!!!  Here are 23 things that Claire is doing at 23 months old:

1.  She is starting to repeat everything we say.
2.  Claire will still only eat fruit, fruit bars, Cheerios, yogurt, cheese, pancakes, and raisins.  And a few other snacky foods.
3.  Claire is officially a preschooler.
4.  She loves animals and books.  And still loves Elmo. Her favorite toys now are books, her stethescope, stuffed animals, straws (I know they are not toys), anything that makes music, her elephant music toy, and flashcards. 
5.  Her hair is the most craziest hair I have ever seen, yet it is the most beautiful hair I have ever seen.
6.  She has her Daddy's attitude.
7.  She has her Momma's "grace"  (AKA - clumsiness), but she is not as bad as her Momma. 
8.  She takes one afternoon nap that can be 30 minutes long or 3 hours long.  You never know.
9.  She sleeps through the night most nights.  Other nights she wakes up a few times but can usually soothe herself back to sleep.
10.  Claire is getting where she doesn't want to get out of the crib in the mornings at all.  She just wants to stay in there and play. 
11.  Claire loves to dance and loves music.  She has good rhythm. 
12.  She can make some hand movements when you sing "Itsy Bitsy Spider" and "Twinkle Twinkle".
13.  Claire still loves to be outside.  She is usually ready to play outside or go somewhere by 8 am.
14.  She has finally mastered the Tupperware sippy cups but drinks her milk from a bottle before nap and bedtime.
15.  She has this thing about Christmas books and toys for some reason. 
16.  Claire can count very well from 2 to 10. 
17.  She LOVES her flashcards!
18.  Claire is having separation anxiety. 
19.  The only time Claire will let you hold her for more than 5 seconds is when she is asleep. 
20.  Claire loves to "help" me fold laundry (meaning after I fold it, she pulls it all down and balls it up on the floor to roll in the clean clothes).
21.  Claire is very much a creature of habit - she does not like change or transition.
22.  She runs pretty much every where she goes.
23.  She is learning to brush her own teeth although I think it's more of just eating the toothpaste than anything else. 

Happy 23 month birthday sweet girl!  We love you!!

Love,
The Scott Family

First day of preschool

Claire did great for her first day of preschool!  We got up early, ate a good breakfast, and put on our yellow for the day.  I actually slept better than Granny or Grandma did!  Claire was ready to go so we headed out with her bags packed and my camera ready to go. 

on our way

Claire jumped out of my arms when we entered her room and started playing right away.  I was amazed!  But then a little boy came in after us and started crying when his parents left.  I could tell Claire got nervous.  She ran to me, I picked her up and assured her, and she jumped back down to play again. 

I'm here!

One of my favorite toys

I like to hug stuffed animals

I think she played with all of these toys within 3 minutes of being there.  She was so excited!  I was obviously the crazy psycho mom taking lots of pictures.  I felt like the papparazi. 

Mom - please, no more pictures!

Grocery basket

I decided while Claire was occupied with bubbles to sneak out.  Not before I had to explain her emergency book/toy in her bag and the fact she will only drink out of her certain sippy cup (that I also wrote on the ziploc bag I put it in).  I am sure her teachers think I am crazy and overly obsessive.

As I shut the door, Claire started crying.  Conveniently, there is an exit door to the church close by so I just ran out.  I felt good.  No tears for me.  As I walked in the parking lot though I heard screams coming from the church.  And I was out in the parking lot.  I knew it wasn't Claire because it was not near her room.  But I decided I needed to go back in and just listen for a few minutes. 

So I stood in the hallway and I could hear Claire cry every now and then.  So I was assured she wasn't screaming her head off and I left and went to work.  I called the teacher after an hour and she said Claire was fine.  She was doing the on again and off again crying but had her little book and was playing fine by herself.  She said she didn't want the teachers to play with her.  They were getting ready to go on the playground.  I knew Claire would like that.

I didn't hear anything else from the teachers so I knew Claire would make it.  I planned to pick her up 30 minutes early since I knew she would be exhausted.  When I got there, the teachers had her bag and school work waiting on me.  I got to peek in the door and Claire was pushing a little toy car on the carpet.  So cute!  Then she started crying so they handed her to me out the door.  She was exhausted!  But the director said she cried when they went outside and when they came back in.  This is typical of Claire as she is not into change or transitions.  So it's normal for her but I hope she can learn to adapt to change/transitions soon. 

She was excited to get in the car and head to Granny and Big Daddy's for the rest of the day.  She cried when I left her again at my parents and stood at the back door crying "bye bye mommy".  That broke my heart!  But I knew she was tired and was about to get ready for a nap.

Yay!  I made it through my first day of preschool!

My first school work

We are so proud of Claire!  Her teachers are awesome and I can't wait until she makes friends in her class.  They say the 2nd day is harder since the kids know what to expect, so we will see!  Please continue to pray for Claire that she enjoys preschool and can learn and grow and stay healthy!

Love,
The Scott Family