Learning, Growing, Developing and Enjoying

I considered myself extremely blessed to have the opportunity to be part of the Quinton and Sloan's lives. Not to mention the rest of the family! I guess this post is going to be some of my favorite recent developmental achievements and characteristics of Sloan's.

She has quite the personality. First and foremost her sense of humor is just like her big brother's. She finds humor in almost anything, whether it is something she does or something she sees. She is such a happy baby. . . unless the girl is hungry, if that is the case give her food and give it to her quickly or else you will hear it!! No joke. But she is almost always smiling, laughing and having fun. Now back to those vocals. She is starting to pick up on more words and tries to repeat them when you ask her to. Her newest words are brother and up (which sometimes sounds like bup or pup). She communicates quite well when she wants something. Yes, a lot of it is signing or pointing followed by uh-uh, but the communication is there. Besides, if you ask her to repeat you she always give it her best effort to say the word whether it comes out close or not. lol :)

Did I mention she was a HAPPY baby?!

Sloan enjoys playing "I'm Gonna Get You" with Quinton and myself during the day. Q and I love playing it just as much. She has already learned to reverse directions if she sees/hears us coming from the other direction. When caught, Sloan always enjoys the tickles that follow. She has also began trying to climb everything. She gets jealous when Q is on the couch and she is not. Yesterday, while is was just her and I, I showed her how to climb up on my leg as I sat next to the couch and then on up the couch. You could see the excitement in her eyes when she achieved this much desired goal. This became a game as she would slide off the couch almost as soon as she got up, just to do it all over again. Other things Sloan loves to do it put hat, head bands, glasses, masks, etc. on her head. She absolutely loves it. I foresee many dress up moments and a lot of jewelry is her future! Pictured is a series from when she got a hold of Q's construction goggles. She was having a blast . . . can ya tell?!

Since the Tooth #7 blog, she is now up to eleven teeth! I'm glad to see some molars, because now she can actually chew her food. Sloan enjoys trying to feed herself with a spoon as well these days. Although she gets frustrated when she is unable to scoop her food up into the spoon, her coordination while bringing the spoon to her mouth is quite good. A little more practice and she'll have it in no time. Besides all the things mentioned above, the one thing that stands out the most to me is her cognitive development. She understands what we say to her the majority of the time. She'll answer yes or no questions and when asked which book at nap time she wants to read first she'll choose (no it in not always the same hand). Just today while giving Sloan a bath she stood up. I asked her "Sit down please. We don't want to get hurt." She immediately sat down, without any help I might add, and did not try to stand again until all the water had drained out of the tub. For a little one who is constantly trying to stand in the tub, it was a big deal (at least in my mind).

Last but not least, it is breath taking to see how Sloan and Quinton interact. Quinton loves teaching Sloan how to say new words and how to play a game he has made up. He helped her learn to sit down to get into the great room instead of walking off the ledge. The kids have so much love for one another you can see it in their eyes. Sometimes Q will be the one who initiates a hug or kiss (a.k.a lovin's) and other times it is Sloan. It is cute regardless of who initiates the lovin's, but when Sloan does she gets this look in her eye and she just leans in arms spread wide and she lips puckered. It's so sweet! Sloan is the luckiest girl ever to have such a great big brother!!


It is wonderful being part of this important time in the kids' lives. I enjoy watching both kids concentrate on a task, using their problem solving skills at such young ages, or even exploring the world around them. How fascinating?! :)