18/19 months....going on 18 years

Tantrum Town

It's truly amazing how such a little creature can be so small and yet hold such a big personality.  Despite the times (or days) when she is deep into her toddlerhood of Tantrum Town - she is really one sweet little lady.

Highlights of the 18-19 month window include:

• Uses, with enthusiasm, the word "no"
• says "ya" a lot in response to questions
• is working towards clarity in saying "thank you" and "good job"
• "cheers" is one of her favorite things to do while drinking
• has keen hearing and often hears airplanes from inside the house
• insists on dressing herself
• insists upon assisting others
• LOVES to clean, sweep, dust
• is fascinated by dogs and cats
• is always 5 seconds late saying 'hello' or 'goodbye' to people
• operates an iPhone 6 better than most adults and is enamored with watching videos of herself and her family
• the tickle machine "the roper" is a huge hit (especially after we say "gentle")
• likes to potty train!
• Favorite song is "barbara ann" by the Beach Boys

October 7, 2016

Grant and I (thanks to Lynn & Larry) were able to enjoy over a week long vacation to Hawaii, sans our little one.  It was the longest amount of time that we had spent away from her since she was born and the longest amount of uninterrupted sleep and conversation time we've had in the past 19 months.  It was lovely.  However, we did miss seeing our little one and were able to sneak in FaceTime nearly everyday to say a quick 'hello'.

More important than our trip, though, is the fact that our little one was such a big helper at grandma and grandpa's house while we were away.  She'd bring grandpa his water, his napkin, pat him on the head when he coughed and cuddle when needed.  She was such a good mini-caretaker - it made up proud of her newly developed care and concern for helping those around her.

A couple months ago, I bought a potty seat with no immediate intentions of putting it to use.  It doubles as a step stool in our bathroom so it was just another permanent fixture in the room.  Lucy, at around 18 months decided she wanted to point to her diaper when she had to go or was wet.  She had/has no interest in not being clean.  So we've gone quite a few times...nothing that would constitute the official process has begun but we try a few times a day, sometimes with success.  However, she insists the other person also practices at the same time.  Whatever works.

I felt a proud mom moment when our daycare provider told us that Lucy knew how to decorate sugar cookies during halloween.  I haven't explicitly sat down to teach her that skill and I don't really think she totally gets it.  But she's seen me do it and clearly something stuck.  Maybe she's beginning her own version of the Betty Crocker dynasty right before our eyes.

She is also very, very particular.  She likes things the way she likes them.  She insists on putting specific cups, in specific locations....or having you put things in a specific location.  And, she is not a fan of when you fail to listen to her.

Barbara Ann, presented by Lucy Girl.

She loves to sing along with Barbara Ann.  Mostly she sings "Bah. Bah. Bah" over and over again.
Sometimes, if we are really lucky, we also get to see her dance.  Maybe it's head hanging, sometimes it's wobbling and other times it's bouncing.

Halloween 2016!

For Halloween, since Lucy hasn't made any requests yet she went as a fish.  Luckily I was able to use some of G's old fishing gear to go as a fisherlady.  G, went as Dracula.  Lucy had pink eye so we went to a handful of houses and then jogged on home.  She was pretty good at saying "trick or trick" thanks for Grandpa Jeff working on it with her!

We've started to build forts.  Pillow and blanket forts in the middle of the living room.  She loves them - for about 5 minutes until it's more fun to tear down our hard work.  But she's gotten better - I figure by the time she's 2, we will have developed a great system for creating masterpieces!