Yesterday (Tues Sept 11th)

Ok, I'm a day late posting. Yesterday's weather was so gorgeous that we basically played all day outside.

In the morning Mary, the early intervention specialist, came out for her monthly evaluation of Sophie. Basically she plays with Sophie for an hour. She marveled at how wonderful Sophie is doing. She's been telling all her clients about Sophie and about how far she has progressed. She has been involved with other Asian children, and she said that one of the reasons they are so far ahead of the local Caucasian babies is because in China they eat a lot of fish. The fatty fish oils develop the brain. So, while many of the Asian moms didn't have prenatal care, they ate better.

Mary said that Sophie has excellent "problem-solving skills." Each time Mary comes out she brings a bag of her 'toys.' These toys are actually homemade toys created from everyday items. Yesterday she had a plastic Crystal Lite cup and cut a slit in the lid. She gave Sophie some poker chips and Sophie put them in the cup through the slit. Sophie loved it! I made one after Mary left and Sophie played with it several times throughout the day.

Mary said that Sophie will learn so much more being at home with me than she would in daycare. She said that when she went to the daycare center to evaluate Sophie several times, the workers were more involved with the younger babies than they were with Sophie. You see, Sophie is the type of child who can play by herself for long periods of time, so I think a lot of time they just put her in a corner and let her play while they tended to the younger, needier babies. I was glad to hear Mary say that Sophie will flourish more at home. That makes me feel even better about my decision to stay home. Before Mary left she said Sophie is operating at a 2-year old's level. Not bad, considering Sophie's not yet 17 months!

After naptime we went outside. I spread a large blanket under our maple tree and brought out some of her favorite books and toys. We played outside under the tree for about an hour (maybe 2, I lost track of time), and had so much fun. The weather was perfect, the sun was shining, I couldn't have asked for better weather.

For dinner I made spicy kung pao chicken from my Chinese cookbook. It was delicious, even better than what I've had at Chinese restaurants. Kylie took a bite and said, "Yum, Mama. Hey, I like Chinese food!" She then proceeded to eat most of mine!

After dinner we played outside again, this time Angus (Kylie's boyfriend) and his mom came out. Kylie and Angus played baseball with Steve while I took Sophie for a stroller ride.

Another fun day! Much more fun than working at an office. I could get used to this!