This is summer

Ladies

Otso: 4 years and 9 months

Summary

This month we went to the US. He had a great time and it was a good English refresher course. 

Learning/Development
He doesn't know how to be angry without yelling or hitting these days. When he is mad or stressed, he most often hits Lumi or äiti. 

Both kids are having trouble with the round doorknobs in the USA. 

He is quite interested in reading and looking at letters, especially in Finnish.

Language

The trip to the US is making a big difference in his English skills. He really wants to play with his cousins, so he needs to speak English. 

However, the kids still speak Finnish to each other. And he still says "he goed" instead of "he went", and he does not pronounce the "th" sound in "there" or "they" or others. 

Update : toward the very end of the US trip, they were sometimes playing in English together. Now that we are back in Finland, they are speaking English often together. 

He is adding the phrase "so [adjective] that I couldn't talk" often. For example, "it was so funny that I couldn't talk" or "it was so scary that I couldn't talk". 

Toys/Games/Other

Favorites right now: the Brain Quest questions pack

He does not want to get in the pool, despite the very hot weather. He stands at the edge and throws the football with his cousins. He also liked bocce ball. 

He loved the splash pad! It was a relief to find some kind of water play that he enjoyed. 

Social

His best buddies at päiväkoti kesähoito right now are Salli and Samuel.

He is enjoying his cousins in the US, especially the older two, Sophie and Samari. He likes to kick and throw balls with Samari, and I'm not sure what he does with Sophie (take funny pictures, horse around, etc). 

Health (eating, sleeping, etc)

Bedtime is much easier now that he isn't napping at päiväkoti. 

He likes to sleep with the fan on at home.

Events

20-27.6 grandpa and mama dollie!

29.6 last day of daycare 

30.6 flight to USA 

4.7 movie theater Trolls

5.7 space center 

8.7 drive to Georgia 

10.7 hike stone mountain 

11.7 splash pad 

14.7 play with Paige and kids 

15.7 visit to Meredith's house

16-17.7 flights home to Helsinki

18.7 leikkipuisto

19-22.7 mökki 

Random

28.6 showed up in the bathroom naked except with a googly eye finger puppet on his penis, so his penis looked like the nose. 

16.7 (pointing to luggage handlers at the airport) "at night I am going to dream about doing that stuff at the airport!" 

19.7 (getting dressed) "I saw my nuts!" 

Cute frog!

Lumi: 7 years, 5 months

Summary

She has finished up with preschool. We may take advantage of the daycare in the few days before school starts in August, but basically this phase of her life is complete.

Social

She has a few friends, but is more attached to adults right now. She loves Otso, and enjoys playing with him.

She loved staying home with Grandpa and Mama Dollie while they were in town. They read a bunch of books and played board games.

Leisure

5.6 after much badgering, she agreed to ride her bike to daycare. and she loved it! it's a nice breezy downhill ride.

9.6 she tried again to ride the 20 inch bike, and really enjoyed it! Now it looks like she is riding a properly sized bike with 3 gears, and she loves it.

We started a new book series "Zoey and Sassafras" and she enjoyed it.

She loves money. She loves to count how much money she has, and tell everyone about it. She got a lot of pocket money from Grandpa and Mama Dollie, and she counted it over and over like Scrooge McDuck.

Learning

Her reading is really coming along and is smoother every day. I have not been able to find another series that really captivates her like the fairy books used to do. Junie B Jones was a bit interesting, and she likes Zoey and Sassafras, but neither were enough to make her beg to get more.

Language

Not much change here; she speaks easily in both Finnish and English.

Health

It shows when she doesn't get enough sleep. She clearly needs a lot, and when she is tired, she gets really spacey.

Events

4.6 started at the new daycare for the few weeks of June

2-9.6 Andy and Andrea visit

11.6 Otso invited Salli for a playdate, but Lumi enjoyed playing with her just as much

15-17.6 Nakkila

16.6 Eeva's confirmation

20-27.6 grandpa and mama dollie!

29.6 last day of daycare

30.6 flight to USA

Random

She has a new joke: Mitä Jesus sanoi kun hän sai uudet sukset? "Jee! Sukset!"