Model Shot

This is one of the few recent shots I've gotten of Jasmine where she's not laughing her head off. If she hadn't been talking a moment later, I would have thought she was sleeping. Wow, those glasses are going to be really useful when she hits high school.

Two years ago, when we started her in preschool, like Theo, I could hardly have imagined that she would be ready for the 2009-2010 kindergarten year. She could barely walk in 2006 (http://kai-rowan-jasmine.blogspot.com/2006/08/theos-gotcha-day-0802-letter-home.html), was in diapers, wasn't eating solid food and had a nearly non-existent speaking vocabulary. Now she runs around like a maniac, recently figured out the potty in two week's time (even wiping and hand washing -- those of you parents will understand what a huge and remarkable thing that is), can eat raw carrots (she'll spew them if she starts laughing, but then who doesn't?), and won't stop talking. She's also now in independence the stage of "mine", "I saw it first", "Jasmine do it", "I said 'No, Mama,", etc.

She's zooming through each stage of development Kai and Rowan did, but in slightly different orders and a massively different pace. I've noticed most recently is her enjoyment of books. She's enjoying dialog and plot, understanding (and even telling and making up jokes), as well as remembering books the we haven't read for months. Before books were really about shapes and sounds, identifying objects and people and their relationship to one another. Now she's venturing deeper. Interestingly, and very amusing to me, is listening to her make-believe play with her Barbies. (Barbies make me shudder, but she seems to really enjoy them and concentrate on their "relationships" to each other in a way I never did.) When there is a dialog between Melissa Barbie and Nikki Barbie, Jasmine will throw in bookisms just like Kai and Rowan used to. Here's a typical example:

"Then Melissa says, 'Hi, Nikki. It's nice to meet you.'" Nikki says, "I'm wearing a pink beautiful dress.' Melissa says, 'Knock knock'. 'Who's there?' 'Boo' 'Boo who?' 'Don't cry, it's only a knock knock joke.' Then Jasmine giggles for them both.

Jasmine is really a three through five year-old, but I think kindergarten will be great.