20 Months (Plus a Few Extra Days)

My Little Love ~

Time marches forward while we sit by and watch you grow and change and learn before our eyes. There are days that your daddy and I are simply astounded by the things that you do or say and by the length of your legs. You are just getting so tall!!!

You're still working hard on your alphabet and your letters. You will now sing the ABC song (only leaving out a few letters here and there) all by yourself. You're also beginning to recognize some of the lower-case letters, thanks to many many readings of Chicka Chicka Boom Boom. You recognize all of the numbers 1-10 and can count to 14. Yesterday I listened to you counting as we drove home, "1...2...3...4...5...6...7...8...9...10...11...12...13...14...19...20" Really, who even needs 15-18!?

You still love reading and have really enjoyed some of the new books that we've picked up here and there. You have such a good memory and will occasionally reenact your favorite stories for us. I love hearing "Oh No! Boom boom!" coming from the back seat in the car. I know that you are thinking about Chicka Chicka Boom Boom. Your memory has also been working overtime storing up some of your favorite songs. It's so much fun to let you fill in little holes when we sing together. You just seem so proud and excited to sing along!

We think that we're starting to see the beginning of your "Terrible Twos" here lately. You can be mischievous and dramatic and will throw the occasional tantrum. Your daddy and I are working hard to set and enforce limits for you and help you identify those tough feelings. Really, though, so far things are not so bad. It's kind of fun to see you show such independence and personality.

There is so much else to say, but I just don't know where to start, or how to stop once I get started. We love you so very much and are so proud of you.

Your Momma

19 Months - 11 Days Later

My Little Love ~

I can't believe how easy it is to lose track of time these days! I was thinking that after 18 months, I would stop writing my monthly letters to you, but looking back, you have changed so much in the space of one month. I feel like I have to record the things that you're doing and learning, even if it is 11 days late.

Right now, you are an absolute sponge for new information. You now recognize all of the letters in the alphabet, and are trying so hard to sing the ABC Song. We sing along and help you out, but I just know you'll have it down on your own in no time. In the last month, you've gotten really interested in numbers as well. At first, you only knew the name for 8 and 9, but now you consistently name 2, 3, 7, 8, 9, and 10. You can count from 1 to 10 with a little bit of help. For some reason, 4 is hard for you. You want to count "1...2...3...2". You've started reading books on your own more often. We love hearing your interpretations of the stories we've read so so many times.

Your absolute favorite thing these days seems to be drawing. We spend lots of time at the table with markers, and we got you a magnetic drawing board. I love it when you draw a squiggle and then see a shape or letter in it. You also like to see me and Daddy write things for you. We've also started playing with blocks a little bit too. You've been able to build a tower 5 blocks high, but you do not like it when the stacks fall down.

You are getting better and better at eating with a spoon and fork. You still use your fingers a fair amount, but as long as you're doing it yourself, you're happy. As with many other things right now, independence is you top priority.

This month, we've also begun some potty training with you. While you've had several successes, we still have a long way to go. You like sitting on the potty and will request to do so from time to time, but you seem freaked out by the end result. We will continue to try and will always celebrate big when you do your job.

I just can't get over what a big girl you are. Sometimes I just look at you and you look so tall...I wonder where my little, snuggly baby has gone. Your daddy and I are so proud of you every single day.

I love you.

Your Momma

Leaps and Bounds

Yesterday Kaylee jumped for the first time. I could not be happier for her. As much as she's been growing and changing in the last (almost) nineteen months, this just seems like a really big deal to me. I think it's because she is so proud of herself.

I can't remember when she started trying to jump, but I know that it started with her Auntie Mir. Miriam would jump and Kaylee would giggle and try to do the same, just ending up in a little squat. The same thing happened at childcare...the big girls would jump and Kaylee would try so so hard to do it too.

I feel like this is the first milestone that Kaylee reached because she wanted it and she worked towards it. She wanted to jump so she tried and she tried and she tried until yesterday, she jumped. I wish I could even begin to describe the look of pure pride and joy on her face as we clapped and cheered for her. What a moment!

Right now I am thrilled for many more years of watching my little girl set and attain her own goals. It's her life and I'm so grateful that I get to watch it unfold.

Updated Vocabulary

I'm amazed at what Kaylee knows at just 18 months...

People/Names - Momma, Dada, Kaylee, Mike, Ma-maw (for grandmas), Papa, Auntie, Dylan (my nephew), Madeline (her bestie at childcare), Manda (her childcare provider), Lance (Amanda's husband), Bella (our dog)
Animals - dog, cat, bird, horse, cow, duck, pig, owl, mouse, goat, baa (sheep), spider, fish, bunny
Foods/Eating - milk, cereal, cracker, cookie, apple, juice, pear, banana, carrot, eat, water, please, more, thank you, spoon, help, cheese
Toys and things - Elmo, Big Bird, book, baby, doll, car, train, boat, girl, bath, ball, bubble, barn, bear, purse, bike
Body parts/Cloths - eyes, nose, mouth, ears, hair, cheeks, elbow, boobs (lol), feet, toes, head, coat, socks, shoes, pants, diaper, hat
Colors/shapes (she uses these appropriately about 80% of the time) - blue, pink, purple, green, orange, yellow, square, circle, star, moon, ellipse
Letter names (these are the ones that she names appropriately) - A, B, D, E, H, I, K, L, M, O, P, R, S, X, Y, Z
Randoms - up, down, cold, hot, go, stop, yes, okay, no, E I E I O, whoa, I don't know (together as a phrase), hi, bye, wait, jump, hop, day, night, wind, rain, tree, flower, nice

We're working on encouraging Kaylee to use more 2- and 3-word phrases, but she mostly sticks to just one at a time.

18 Months

My Darling Little Love ~

Has is really been a year and a half since we welcomed you into our little family? I cannot believe how quickly time goes by. It's a bittersweet thing to realize that my snuggly, dependent baby is becoming such a strong, bold, independent little girl. It seems like you are finding new ways to both amaze and frustrate me every single day. I'll take the amazing with the frustrating, though, because all in all, it's so so much fun to be your momma.

Eating and mealtimes fall on the frustrating side of the balance here lately. You want to do everything yourself and get so upset when your daddy and I try to help you. We've learned that you'll eat almost anything if we put it on the spoon and set it down within your reach. We've tried teaching you to spoon things out of a bowl yourself, but that's still a work in progress. As always, your favorite foods are fruits and vegetables, and you love your milk. As the weather gets warmer, we'll need to figure out how to get you to drink water. I just know you're not going to like it.

Also on the frustrating end of the spectrum is your little temper. We're seeing more and more little mini-tantrums all the time. These happen when you can't do what you want to do...either because you're not quite able to do something, or we won't let you do something. We try to give you space to try new things, but sometimes we have to stop you from doing something unsafe. There's just no way around it. I wish there was a good way of helping you understand. For now, though, we just wait out the pouting and the whining and the crying and move on. It's just part of life with a toddler...

Now for the amazing...you are just growing and learning in so many ways! Your little brain has just been working overtime. Right now, you can name about 13-14 different letters of the alphabet, point out most basic colors and even name a few, and pick out almost all of the shapes in your shape sorter...including ellipse and trapezoid! You can even name a few shapes...circle, star and ellipse. What a smart cookie!!! As always, you love your books. You're starting to pick out more little details in the pictures, and reading with you is so much fun.

You can be the sweetest little girl I know...when you want to be. You get so excited to see your friends every day and have started giving hugs before we leave to go home each day. You never get tired of looking at the pictures we have of our family members. I just love hearing how excited you get to see some of the pictures...especially those of your cousin Dylan and Auntie Mir. The other day, you gave me an extra long, snuggly hug when The Beatles "I Will" came on your iPod. Do you really know that that's your special song? It just meant so much to me.

We love you so so much!

Your Momma

Hunting Eggs

Kaylee really got the idea of hunting for Easter eggs this year. Here are a few pictures of my baby in action.

Kitty Love