wonder.

Ohdeedoh posted a link to this book today, and it got me thinking. I've noticed things recently that have changed about S. Things that indicate that she is definitely growing and developing. I thought I'd share.

• S recently became much more deliberate with her drawing. She still rarely draws things that are actual things, but instead of big, looping doodles, her drawings are now compact...deliberate really is the best word for it.
• She has begun imitating writing. However, she still completely lacks interest in learning letters, which is odd because...
• She adores books and stories. She can recite verbatim many pages from many books. She loves words, doesn't care about letters. We'll get there.
• She has become very interested in pleasing adults. She is the kind of kid that responds much better to praise when she's good than discipline when she's bad. I'm discovering that talking to her about how she's expected to behave before we embark on our daily adventures is very helpful. Then, if she acts up, I can remind her of what we've talked about, and she generally doesn't want to disappoint anyone. Emphasizing that she's done well after the fact and that her behavior has made me proud or happy really works with her. Also, she worries much more about making people sad than mad.
• She is getting faster and stronger all the time and it's obvious. Watch out, world.
• She helps in the garden, but I sense that she realizes that her plastic play garden tools are inferior and I think she finds that frustrating.
  
• She is a great pretender. I love listening to the things that she makes up even though nearly all of her imaginings involve a princess.
  

That's just a bit of Little Ouiser in a nutshell.