Isaac has been consistently uninterested in learning his letters. It has always seemed like a chore, and for this reason we have never pushed it. We figured when he was ready he would show interest, and it would just come. In the meantime he has excelled at so many other things, that it has been facsinating to watch how a little person comes to be. His love for music and storytelling, his social prowess and ability to communicate with very clear speech and articulation, his fine motor and drawing, his MEMORY. These things consistently surprise us and make us smile.We have just started team two at discovery school, and Isaac is in Teacher Martha's class. At this week's back to school night she shared with us some of the goals for learning this year, and how her teaching philosophy was centered around learning through play. They were going to learn social skills, responsibility, emotions, how to be 'kind' people, gross motor skills, fine motor skills (cutting was stressed), and then of course the alphabet and numbers. Martha spoke about the letter of the week, and how each week she would be focusing on a different letter and learning about it a myriad of different ways. This week was letter 'D'. As we were driving to school this week Isaac asked me if I knew any words that started with the letter 'D', and before I could respond he said, 'I DO'... dog, doll, drum, doctor, dentist, diamond, dinosaur, dragon, and continued from there. Then came the " A big 'D' looks like a stick with a half circle and a small 'd' looks like a stick with a little tushie. Mommy 'D' says da, an de. Every day since he is talking about D, recognizing it, and excited to know it. It is the first time I have seen him learn something academic at preschool, and yet again i am reminded he is growing up.Coco too is growing each day. This month as Isaac has started school she has gotten sick several times. He is a wonderful carrier of all sorts of germs that she seems to catch. Two colds, pink eye, and a very fussy baby later I think we are on the mend, but it is no fun watching her struggle through it.She loves to stand, is starting to repeat sounds like 'Cat' and 'Dada' she has the clapping down and is starting to wave more consistently. She has just started to transition from sitting over to hands and knees to belly. I never thought she would crawl but it looks like she just may.
She has officially been in the outside world as long as she was incubating inside of me. That would make it eighteen months since this whole journey began. There have been so many changes this month. She started the month by mastering eating solids. She cant get enough. She takes handfuls of food at a time and seems to enjoy everything she is eating. She loves having slices of pizza, and toast. All small pieces of food are game as well as her pincer grasp is getting better each day. Her physical development has been fun to watch. We took a big trip to Toronto this month that seemed to have awaken her physical being. She is rolling back and forth and around the room, she is sitting and reaching, going in circles on her tummy. All movement is slow and thought out, but there is movement and desire to play and grasp objects. Some memory highlights of the trip:::
-Watching her roll all around the cottage floor for the first time.
-Her first swing.
- Watching her clap when asked for the first time.
-Taking both kids in paddle boats, canoes, moater boats.
-Taking Isaac on a tube ride.
-Water skiing.
-Ice cream with Isaac in a tiny Muskoka town.
-Sleeping next to Isaac for the first time ever.
-Taking engagement photos for Leila and Diggy
-Seeing how comfortable Isaac was staying at Barb and Paul's house.
-Brunch at Uncle Andrews.
-Watching Isaac play with all of his older cousins.
Most things find their way into her mouth, and she is transferring objects from one had to another (a big milestone apparently). She loves to stand and is getting steadier on her legs. She is clapping and waving and very good with her feet. She is starting to make a connection between the spoken word and the object, occasionally pointing to my 'nose' or 'mouth' when asked. Wiggling her toes when they are spoken about. More than anything she is so darn cute. Truly (i know cliche) the baby I would guess most parents dream of. In perfect honesty, even Isaac was more difficult than Coco and he was a dream baby. She is a love in every way imaginable. She has started with some separation anxiety, holding her hands out to mommy, not wanting to be passed off to others. This is often when she is tired or when I have been in and out all day. She loves and wants her mommy, and the feeling couldn't be more mutual. She loves books and being read to, is starting to really enjoy blocks, stacking, putting things in and out. She is grasping well. Now in terms of crawling...hmmm.. we seem a ways a way. The therapist thinks she would be more likely to skip crawling and go straight to walking, but thinks its very important that she crawl to build the strength in her arms. We are working on it, as it is the main focus in therapy and in constructive play around here. Coco now knows how to flip onto her back in an instant so it is hard to get any tummy time out of her, but we have sneaky ways of getting her on her hands and knees. It will be a big and interesting month to come.
9 Month Stats
14lb 8oz lb (3rd%)
26.5" (20%) 
Thinking back to last year, Isaac was terrified of the water. Just getting him in the pool was a feat in itself. We have a pool in very close proximity to our house so I knew that learning to swim was a safety issue, and something that was not optional. After searching for what I thought would be the best swimming program for him we found the Water Whisperer and signed him up. After ten thirty minute sessions he was comfortable in the water, able to put his head under, and happy to play.
Jump to this summer, there was some regression although we weren't back to square one. I knew some additional swimming lessons were in order so I signed him up for another two weeks with the teacher he adored last year, Brando. Two weeks later he was so incredibly close to swimming, just missing the last step, popping up for air. I decided to sign up for an additional two weeks, and although it was a huge drag to have to drive back and forth every day for a month, we have a little swimmer on our hands. He is jumping in on his own, swimming to the side, diving for toys. He can comfortably swim the length of the pool, flip onto his back and float, and for the first time I feel comfortable that he would absolutely be able to find his way to the edge if he fell in. We can sit outside the pool and he can swim and play. It has been a joy to watch his confidence soar with the addition of these new skills. He seems to have a genuine love for swimming and the water and can spend long periods of time in the pool occupying himself.
