We are long overdue for an update, the lack of which directly corresponds with the beginning of my graduate school education at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota, where I plan to earn my Master of Public Affairs sometime before 2020 (maybe even by 2015). I'm enjoying the program very much, but it is a tricky balance with a full-time job and a little one. I'm taking two classes per semester during the 2011-12 year, but anticipate dropping down to one per semester beginning in the fall of 2012. One of the reasons for that is that after an amazing 7.5 years, I'm leaving College Possible (formerly Admission Possible) to become the Director of Growth Strategy and Development at Teach for America Twin Cities. Am I crazy? I just might be. But I'm thrilled to be given such an amazing leadership opportunity for an organization that is doing very important work to build a coalition of support that will help end the achievement gap in our country and in the world. I am so grateful for the many ways that my experiences at College Possible have prepared me for this new role, and I will miss the organization, its staff and students tremendously.
But enough about me...
Charlotte is now entirely mobile. While she has (still) never crawled, she started walking around while holding on to someone's hands at about 10 months, and took her first steps alone just about a week after her first birthday. She's been picking up speed and confidence ever since. She is now practicing getting up from sitting by herself, which is pretty much the only reason she'd sit in the first place. Mostly, she's on the move.
At her 15 month appointment she weighed 22 lbs and was 32" tall (which is 85th percentile for height). We also received official medical confirmation (though we had suspected all along) that she is a genius. She has an incredible vocabulary, particularly in terms of the number of words she understands. Officially, her first word was "Dada," but it was closely followed by "who'sthat?" and "what'sthat?" and she's been collecting the answers to those questions ever since. Other words she's saying: "num num" (for food, or anything she is about to put in her mouth); "mama" for me and also for grandma right now (but she's working on it); "boppa" for grandpa; "uck" (for things that aren't so good to put in her mouth); "wawa" (water); "up" or "bup" to be picked up (or lifted even higher); "ball" and "bowl" (which sound almost the same, but she's working on it); "moon" (she looks for the moon in all her books, in the sky and on her ceiling when her nightlight is on); and new today: "book". She makes a whole host of animal noises, including: cow, dog, cat (remarkably realistic thanks to her aunt Joanna), turkey, sheep, owl (which makes the same noise as "towel," of course), monkey, lion, tiger, chicken, pig, horse, bunny ("bop bop"), and Santa Claus. She knows the names and locations of many body parts, and she likes to tickle belly buttons and toes. She's starting to recognize letters of the alphabet, and will point them out if you ask her. She loves reading and books and has favorite pages and favorite responses to those pages. We are so in awe of her and so proud of her.
More soon...
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