strawberry fields forever.

gymnastics girl.

Iris has been participating in the base-run gymnastics program for a couple of months now. She has come a long way in terms of being physical with her environment. A few weeks in gymnastics has her running, hopping, tiptoeing, rolling, balancing and more. The class is just 30 minutes once a week, but it's been precious to her. She absolutely adores it, as you can see by the joy and confidence in her face!

Stretching time - touch your toes!

Doing her "Table" pose.

Doing the Bear Crawl.

Leap! 

Roll!

I did it!

Balancing Bear Crawl.

TA-DA!

Straddle walk.

Balancing on the bar.

Hanging onto the bar for as long as she can.

Balance beam with Papa!

Feet in the circle for stamps and stickers at the end of class!

milk and cookies.

Iris' current favorite book is one called, The Baby Blue Cat and the Whole Batch of Cookies. It was also my favorite at her age, and this is even my original copy which is at least two decades old! Sadly the book is out of print now, so I'm especially glad that my mother saved many of my childhood stories. 

This Baby Blue Cat tale is about a Mama Cat and her Baby Cats who love cookies. One day she bakes a whole batch of cookies. While she and the other cats are busy playing, Baby Blue Cat makes a few mistakes and ends up eating the whole batch! I love the soft, compassionate way the Mama cat responds to her baby making a mistake, and it's even Iris' favorite part, especially when Baby Blue cat falls asleep on her lap at the end.

So yesterday, she read the story to me and afterwards, we baked a whole batch of cookies together! She helped me pour in the ingredients and turn the mixer on. This was her very first time having milk and cookies - she loved it!

finger painting!

I've really been making an effort lately to expose Iris to new sensory experiences. In the past, anything sticky, gooey, mushy or slimy has caused displeasure at best, or even hysterical tears at worst. Experimenting with new projects for her has been fun, now that she can be reasoned with and seems much more open to new experiences. She has learned to push through her trepidation and accept sensory play on her own terms. About a month ago, her first highly successful project became finger painting. She now asks for paint all the time and is very deliberate about the way she paints. Here are a few pictures of her exploring it for the first time. I will post some of her paintings soon!

Poking at primary colors.

"Ehhhh I don't know about this!"

"Look what I can do!"

So proud of herself!

little creations.

Yesterday afternoon, as I was chopping vegetables, I decided to give Iris a handful of carrots, olives and celery to explore. I didn't suggest anything or show her what to do, just let her have a few minutes of completely open play. First, she squirted some juice over the veggies and took a few nibbles.

Then, she created...

I asked her, "would you tell me about what you're making?"

"Carrots," she replied.

drawing with chalk.

One of the best things about having a patio is chalk drawing! 

I take Iris outside to draw almost every day, assuming it's not raining out. 

My reflection. 

A little girl reflecting. 

Coloring the square.

I went online to buy her new sandals shortly after taking this picture...

Long lashes.

I am commanded to draw many kitties. 

Details. 

excitement for the park, and a very large t-rex.

I've been seriously terrible at posting on my blog lately. I've had a lot of things going on emotionally and needed some time to focus on myself and our family. Life has been wonderful, as always, and Iris has changed so much in the last week it astounds me. She has her first molar now and has grown at least an inch taller!





I had a doctor's appointment on Friday, so my friend Lena and her husband took Jane and Iris to the park nearby. Thank you to Lena for taking these pictures of Iris! I love how her zesty personality really shines through in these photos!