Assessment 2017--Lola

Next up is little miss Lola.

Oh!  What a character she is!!!!

The polar opposite of Baymax in every way I can think of, she's got amazing gross motor skills!  This little lady (and I do mean little because she's still not tipping the 24 pound mark on the scales) can open doors, open gates, dress and undress herself completely, climb cupboards, turn on water faucets, take off lids, build climbing apparatus with the purpose of opening more cupboards, gates, doors, locks, or other obstacles, and so very much more.

She can speak in 2-4 word sentences, but she rarely chooses to do so.  When she does, we just squeal with delight because she has the funniest deep-but-squeaky voice.  She's a singer.  Just yesterday she was singing the Veggie Tales theme song almost perfectly.  She's also partial to Jingle Bells.

Like her biological siblings, she's on the slower end of fine motor development, but I'm not worried about it because she has lots of opportunity to practice as she desires.  I feel confident she'll develop naturally on her own timeline.

Her social-emotional development is great.  She was well under a year old when she came to live with us, so her healing time seems to be solidly finished (though adoptive issues do come up again and again over the years), and she's totally Mommy's girl.  She loves Daddy and sisters, too, but when push comes to shove, she wants Mommy, and Mommy is quite happy about that!

She is utterly confident that the world revolves around her (appropriate for her 2-year-old self), and she marches through her days with seemingly no doubts about her place as a valued and valuable member of our family.

We totally need to potty train her.  She can take off her own clothes and climb up onto and off of the toilet.  When we think to remind her, she uses the toilet without any problem.  We just need to take the time to remind her until it becomes second nature to her.

Perhaps after our big summer trip.

I don't want to drive for 24 hours straight with a newly potty trained toddler!

She is not in love with books, though she will thumb through them occasionally on her own.   I have yet to witness her listen to even a whole board book.

She does love stringing beads on pipe cleaners, cutting with scissors, drawing (on herself) with pens, and cutting playdough with a plastic knife.

She's an animal lover.

It's funny to all of us that she is a "big" sister to Baymax because she's so tiny and feisty and such a busy baby.

But she's growing and learning in her own delightful way, and we're all terribly fond of her!