Taking off the cradle cap and dipping in the pool

Yesterday, I finally decided to try to comb off Johari's cradle cap. I had always thought that it was something that would eventually just go away. For those of you without babes, it is a scaly substance on their scalp, nothing disgusting just like brown flaky stuff. I couldn't really believe that she still had it on her scalp. I thought it was a baby thang! She's no baby anymore. But Ceci informed that you really have to oil it and comb it off their scalp or else it keeps perpetuating itself. So I guess she would have gone to college with cradle cap if it weren't for the grace of Ceci's info. :) I am sure she thanks you, Ceci!
Last evening, we got out of the house to go play at the mall playground. She seemed sleepy on the way there but had a nice time. She is more adventurous. She is getting better at climbing on the stuff on her own. She still one's a helping hand some of the time, but she seems to be getting more and more confident. She also said that any piece that she was on was "mine!". She didn't easily want to let other kids get on her space on any of the play sculptures. She is establishing the world as hers right now. It's Johari's world and we are all just living in it. :) She also shared. She has both sides of it going. The compassion and the autonomy. One older boy pushed her a little and called her 'stupid', but it didn't seem to phase her.
I have been reading this book called 'Raising Our Children, Raising Ourselves' by Naomi Aldort. I think it is a great book! It has taught me much about a child's psychology. About their need to be able to have autonomy and have a supported and guided outlet of strong emotions. And about how much of our trying to stop this outlet is our own discomfort with the feelings. It is a very powerful and compassionate perspective on parenting. I highly recommend the book to parents and teachers and those that interact with children and teenagers regularly.
This morning, we went to an indoor swimming pool. The place had a toddler section to their swimming poll which is awesome. Full of things to play with and a geyser and a sprinkler. Johari had a wonderful time. She fell under early on while chasing a ball and didn't get phased by it after I scooped her out. She enjoyed herself until she got too cold and we had to go. The water was relatively warm for about an hour and then she got chilly.