Over the weekend, my first baby quietly turned 20 months old. She seems so big! I can’t believe how quickly she is changing into a little kiddo.
In the past month or so, her vocabulary and understanding really seems to have exploded. She understands most of what we say and is constantly talking. She says simple sentences, such as “a big poop,” “come on, moon,” “rock, chalk, jayhawk” and “help please!” She also says “no” to most questions, which is so very toddler-ish of her. She is picking up new words almost daily, but it takes her a while to perfect them (“grandma” was a fun one.) She understands concepts like different colors, counting, and the ABCs, but cannot yet articulate much. For instance, every color she sees is “BLUE!” And her alphabet song is just a tune, at this point.
She has gotten all of her canine teeth and is currently working on her two-year-old molars way in the back. I can tell these are bothering her because she is constantly trying to put her fingers back there. And is generally pretty whiney. She also will go get the tube of Orajel from her room and bring it to us, if she wants it on. I hope these and the top ones come in soon, and we shall be done with teething for a while!
Food is still a day-to-day thing. Since she had the flu and her teething issues, the past week has been a struggle to get anything besides juice and crackers in her. But, when she’s healthy, she likes pancakes/waffles/french toast and is a huge fan of mac and cheese still. Green peas and corn are her fave veggies. And the kid never turns down a chocolate milkshake.
Rosemary is a little jealous of Anthea, but is doing great on the whole. Mostly, she doesn’t like it when Grandma Jane comes over and holds the baby. Grandma Jane, is apparently ONLY allowed to play with Rosie and do nothing else at our house.
Sleeping is going a lot better. She is learning to gradually put herself to sleep as we rock her for shorter and shorter periods (but again, teething and sickness have thrown a wrench in this, too).
This month she spent a lot of time playing on her new slide, coloring and stickering (she also did her first painting), building pillow forts, dancing, reading, watching Sesame Street and caring for her stuffed animals (Elmo and Curious George are her best buds). She will wrap her stuffed animals in blankets, feed them, put them in Anthea’s bouncer, etc. She also takes an arsenal of comfort objects to bed with her.
She wants to do everything herself these days. I’ve always known she was an independent little soul, but there’s something amazing about watching her learn to put socks on, or the insistence on brushing her own teeth and recognizing that she actually does it properly with no help at all.
Though it’s somewhat sad to watch her babyhood fade, I am so very excited for her to experience what’s next. I am looking forward to a summer full of playgrounds and outdoors for her to stretch her legs and imagination. The world is waiting.
