End of another semester

It is so good, once again, to be on semester break. To have 3 weeks with no schoolwork to do is so amazing. Only in academics do you get such perks. These 3 weeks will involve taking a couple trips to visit family and friends for the holidays, relaxing, playing with my new iPod touch, drinking hot chocolate, just being Ally's mom, and doing whatever else we feel like doing to pass the time. Here are just a few accomplishments from this semester, as well as some reasons that I am particularly glad that this semester is over.

1. Passing my PhD comprehensive exams
2. Forming my dissertation committee
3. No more late-night teaching for Ben
4. No more late-night lecture writing sessions for either me or Ben
5. A break from the never-ending barage of emails in our inboxes

And now, to find some hot chocolate. . .

Ally's Presidential Campaign Slogan

Remember in the 2008 presidential election how Barack Obama had the slogan "Yes We Can!"? Well, here is Ally's version:

Developing skills and personality

Ally is now starting to talk in sentences with more than 2 words. She doesn't have a huge repetoire yet, but here are the recurring ones:

I do that. (when she wants to do something all by herself)
Sit down. (spoken as a command)
I love you.
I miss you.
I see you.
I read book.

We are also noticing that Ally is developing a long-term memory. Maybe she has had long-term memory for a while, but she is now able to express events or people from the past. For example, in my previous post about Ally's love for raw fish, she actually ate the sushi on a Tuesday night, but asked about eating sushi on Wednesday and Thursday nights too. Another example: Ben's whole family came to visit for Thanksgiving, and Ally got to play with her cousins. Almost every day since then, she mentions something about her big cousins Isaac and Ethan. I guess there is a lot of stuff going on in that little head of hers!

I must say that one thing I am very thankful for is Ally's personality. She is a very happy and easygoing toddler (for now anyways). I don't even remember the last time I had to put her in time-out. I feel like right now, most potential points of conflict can be handled either with giving her choices or giving her fair warning about order of events. "Do you want to eat cereal or oatmeal?" "Do you want to wear this dress or that dress for church?" "We're going to read 1 more book and then it's bathtime." She is not terribly keen on sharing (but what toddler is), and she does not appreciate it when another toddler tries to take something she is playing with. But honestly, I don't particularly like it when someone takes my stuff either, so that's understandable.

Who knew...?

that my 1.5 year old would like sushi. And I don't mean the california rolls; I mean the raw fish. Ben brought home some sushi on Tuesday for dinner for my birthday, and Ally asked about sushi again last night and tonight. Funny, isn't it?!