February's Short and Sweet 2012 Newsletter

Is it February already? I'm ready to spread the love. Please Welcome 3 1/2 year old Kaitlyn to Little Foot. I am so pleased to have her join us, Mateo will love having his friend around. We are not sure how long Kaitlyn will be with us, she is on a waiting list for preschool, but might stick around with us until she is ready for Kindergarten. I wish that I was able to post a picture of her here but unfortunately I still can't get my computer to start up, ugh. Thank you for your patience with these "Short and Sweet" newsletters.

Important Dates To Remember:
Tuesday, February 14th-(Open)Valentine's Day/ Field Trip to Tay's hearing appt.

Friday, February 17th-Furlough Day (Our first! Not mandatory, please let me know if you need care this day :)

Monday, February 20th-(Closed)President's Day

All About Mateo
Mateo is adding to his vocabulary! Here are some of his new words: car, milk, good, ice, juice, quack, Pa-Pa (Grandpa), Luna, Ne-Na (Sienna) and Yay-Yay (Shay Shay; Shane) He also now knows the signs for spoon, fork, fruit, candle, fire, truck, helicopter, and like. Mateo surprised me one day when he put his boots on all by himself, he is really interested in undressing and is working on putting on his clothes. I just recently brought out a potty seat for him to use. He is starting to show some signs that he maybe ready for potty training by asking me to change his diaper when it's dirty, pointing to himself when I tell him I need to use the potty, and wanting to sit on it too. We tried using the potty one morning and he almost made it. The first lesson in potty traing should be pee in the pot before you stand to up to take a peak, lol, he immediately started to pee once he stood. LOL. You may have noticed that he has been clingy and really moody recently, swatting at the babies and not sharing as well as he usually does. I believe that he has been having a rough time with all off the interviews we've had these last few weeks. They kids don't understand what's going on and the few visitors we have had must seem to be a lot for him. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for Kaitlyns long-term stay.


All about Sienna
Congratulations to Sienna on her newest tooth! It snuck up on her and we really didn't notice any discomfort she may have had. She's a pretty fast girl and slipping and sliding on the hard wood floor won't hold her back. She's starting to pull up! Before we know it she's going to be cruising along the train table and anything else she can manage to hold on to. Her favorite thing to do is play peek-a-boo in her bed before falling asleep and of course standing up to observe what everyone else is doing. She loves playing in the puzzle area and exploring all the different pieces and materials. She's so busy that she can't sit long enough to finish a bottle LOl, but can be impatient when you aren't scooping yummy food fast enough. I've introduced the sign for more and milk. Sometimes I think she might be trying to use the sign for more but her "oh o's" cannot be mistaken. Lol. She also says "Ma Ma" and tries to imitate sounds we use, like blowing a kiss and making raspberries.


All about Shane
Shane loves to be on his feet! He is really determined to walk and stand like a big boy, it's really too cute to see this little guy clutching to the train table with a huge grin on his face. He can hold on and stand for a few seconds without assistance but he has a ways to go before he can do it by himself, but don't tell him that, LOL. When he isn't on his feet or dancing to music he is playing with his favorite toy; a blue plush Eric Carle elephant. His stomach muscles are getting stronger everyday and he can sit with the safety of a pillow behind him. I bet he'll be really happy to move when his his pal Sienna comes to snatch away what he has. He has also been introduced to the signs for more and milk.

Really sweet moments:
While recapping a walk around Stow Lake, Tay takes my hand in his and gently kisses it a few times. Sniff sniff, tear.

Sienna giving Mateo a smooch on the forehead.

Mateo giving hugs and kisses to Shay Shay and Ne-Na.

Mateo asks for Yay Yay and Ne-Na on their off days, or asking to including them for snack, walks or outings. I love this!

Happy Valentine's Day!!! And Happy Birthday, Heather!

January's Short and Sweet 2012 Newsletter

Happy New Year! Good-bye 2011, Welcome 2012! We hope you all had a great winter break celebrating the holidays and ringing in the new year with your family, friends, and loved ones. We can't wait to start this new year with you.

Important Dates:
Monday, Jan. 2nd Closed - New Year's Observation Day
Monday, Jan. 16th Closed - Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Monday, Jan. 23rd Closed - Lunar New Year's Observation Day

Mateo's Updates:
The first year and a half of Mateo's life has been great, he has discovered and accomplished so much in this short time, I can not believe that he will be two in May. During Winter Break Mateo has been keeping me busy, we've been out and about, had some great play dates, and has been busy scattering all of his new gifts all around the house. His interest in verbal communication has peaked, he has been babbling like crazy and has been practicing some new words and sounds. He misses Shane and Seinna and can't wait to play with them.

Sienna's Updates:
Give a round of applause to this Little Mover, before the Winter Break, Sienna was getting comfortable with her new crawling ways. She also mastered the skills to sit up from a laying down position, which made bed time pretty challenging. She was also working on cutting a sharp painful tooth! With her new skills at hand I bet she's been keeping Heather and Evan busy, too, LOL.

Shane's Updates:
Congratulations to Shane for his first set of top teeth last month. Just before our long break, Shane started practicing the art of sitting up, he did well for short periods of time with the help of a Boppy pillow. I am so glad to hear that his "sleep training" at home worked out well, we hope that nap-time has also been a success.

We can't wait to see you!