"My kid is advanced"

Avery playing the face game while eating spaghetti.




A rare still moment...

Trampoline hair...

Preschool Fire Station Tour...

More trampoline hair...

Fairy costume...

When Callie was born, she was the last of four LaDuke cousins who were born the same year. All of these '04 cousins were also the firstborns in their respective families. It was a lot of fun to have sisters-in-law to compare notes with, especially since you seem to notice the tiniest details about your first child. I was also one of those who read all the magazines and books about development and was constantly consulting to see at which developmental stage Callie stood. It seemed like all of our children were right on target or just a little advanced in different areas. It kind of became a running joke between all of the parents. We would say, "Well, my kid is advanced," or "(she/he) is definitely advanced." I guess it is not that I don't notice these things as much with Avery; I think I just don't talk about it as much. But, I am a parent and I think I deserve to brag. I think in doing so just a little, not in a comparative way, I may be able to point out some of my children's talents and help them to develop them to become even greater. More importantly, I may be able to guide them through some of the things that are more difficult for them by giving them some confidence. This is just my own theory, but I think it is a good one.

So here we go.

Avery: As I have mentioned before, Avery is always on the GO. I have noticed that she is not just physically moving, climbing, dancing, or exploring, she is also constantly mentally computing. She takes a second to absorb information and then moves on. She has not shown the same concentration as Callie, but I believe she is just as bright. At 19 months she started to do wooden shape puzzles. I think she must have picked this up at church because it was not something I worked on with her. Avery is also physically talented with great stores of energy. She does forward rolls and climbs like a champ. Avery has a busy mind and has a hard time with the static sameness of being at home or sitting in the car too long. Sometimes if the car is stopped at a light she will yell, "Go, Go!" She likes to have something to do. Verbally, she is "advanced," too. At her 18 month Dr.'s appointment, I came prepared with a list of words she says frequently. My list was a little over 75 words. The Doctor said usually the most at this stage is 20. It was not just words, she would also say small sentences like: "I want Dada," "Where is Callie?," "Ready or not, here I come," and "Here you go." Now, at almost 20 months, she says well over 100 words and adds new ones daily. She is also very friendly, greeting strangers over and over until they say "Hi" back. Lately, I have noticed that she is very sweet to other kids her size. I have seen her offer to share things with them or try to tickle other kids. She does not like it when I leave her with baby sitters, nursery, or the gym. But she quickly bucks up once I peel her off and leave. It really breaks my heart, so I always check to see how she is doing and she is always happy. She is funny in Nursery. She loves Brother Brown. He seems to be the only adult leader she will go to willingly. This last Sunday, when I was dropping her off, she screamed and clung to my leg as I peeled her off. Then Brother Brown walked in. She looked at him, smiled, and put her arms up for him to pick her up. I left and she was not screaming. How funny she would choose him over the sweet women in there. She really likes her Daddy, so it makes sense.

Avery quotes:

"Hug, Huggie." A sweet request that simply means "I will pretend to hug you if you pick me up and carry me around."

"No, No...No, No!" Something she says as she does something she is not supposed to do, like turn off the TV when Callie is watching. She will even walk to the "time out chair" after committing this crime.

"Baby." Something she says about other kids her age.

"Hi, baby." Something she says to any adult in hearing range.

Callie:

Now that Callie is in school, I love to have her come home and tell me all about the things she learned and did. I am always impressed with how well she can explain the things she did and why they did them. Her teacher sends her home with lots of cute projects they worked on. Callie will have colored the pictures perfectly, in the lines with different colors in different places, and she will have followed the directions as well. All of her papers have a "WOW" stamped on them. I thought the teacher just did that to everyone's papers, but apparently it is only for the extra neat and correct papers the children have done. I have asked her teacher how she is doing in school. Her teacher has nothing but praise, and she always adds, "She is more than ready for Kindergarten." This feels a little like a report card for me, but I know that is not true. Callie is that way because that is who she is. She has a great ability to focus on a task and complete it . On her third birthday, she could sit for hours and draw her letters. Now she can sit and draw, color, play with dolls, or dress up for a long time. She has a wonderful imagination and great talent for drawing. One day I watched her teach her friend how to illustrate a book about Ariel complete with good drawings of Ursula. Callie would draw it and then hand the friend a colored pencil and have her draw it the same. She is a great little ballerina she is often the leader in class and likes to come home and try new "twirls" that are very close to a good pirouette. Callie has an amazing memory and can recall things from years past. She also can repeat anything she saw once on TV. Lucky for us we do not get any channels but PBS World, PBS Kids, and PBS HD. All of our other channels are in Spanish. She does sometimes try to watch the Spanish cartoons, and say "Mom, I can understand Spanish." Then she will hear a word like, "no" or "banana" and say, "See mom they said 'no'," or "'banana'." Just yesterday she learned how to count to 100 (in English!). Though she is smart she really always wants to just have fun. Her favorite games are playing tickle, chase, or hide and seek with Dad and Avery. Callie is also a very sweet sister. She will help Avery put her shoes on, play with a toy, or include her in her games of hide and seek. I love to see them interact peacefully. It really brings me joy.

Callie's funny Primary moments:

Sister Funk read a story using an English accent to get the children's attention. Callie raised her hand and said, "My imaginary older sister is from England."

While practicing for the Primary program the leader was cutting off a person's tie piece by piece. Callie thought it was really his tie, not one given to him for the activity, and she started to cry.

Isn't that precious . . . .