20 Months

Dear Annie,

Oh, my little tiny one, you are closely approaching 2 years old and it is blowing my mind! Frequently these days, I go back and look at your ultrasound pictures and am just astounded that you went from that little blob to this real live person now. It's mind blowing. As a little side note, I think this was our most successful photo session yet. You looked. You smiled. You performed well! Way to go, bunk :)

Last month, I talked about how easy going you were and how you rarely seemed cranky. Well, you must have somehow read that and decided that this month, you'd get a little pissier :) In general you are in good spirits, but crying and crankiness is a bit more frequent this month than it was last month. You still REALLY hate the process of getting ready for bed, and sometimes in the mornings you've been upset too. I'm not sure what this is related to, as usual, because I am unfortunately not a mind reader. My only hope is that it will pass and you'll be back to being happy - and maybe, MAYBE someday get it through your noggin that YES, EVERY night we are going to put your pajamas on and brush your teeth. Every single night. It never wavers.

While you can go with the flow most of the time, you do love your routines! You now know when I'm going to be picking you up from daycare based on what kids are left and look for me up the stairs. You know that when Barry (Sue's husband) comes downstairs, that means it's time to go outside to play at daycare. You now finally seem to get that when you have a dirty diaper, you need it changed. We also started saying "say bye bye to your belly button!" before zipping up your PJs at night, and now regardless of if we say it or not, you'll say "bye bye bee bo!" which we learned because you did it when Grandma put on your PJs! If we say anything is going to happen, like a walk, going outside, or eating, we better be ready for it to happen IMMEDIATELY, because you go to the door, your chair, or wherever, saying "eat? eat? outside? walk?" and get upset if we aren't moving in about 2 seconds. You also always now want me to give you a kiss before leaving the house, and make the exact same face each time. I once forgot to kiss you (well I think I already had, but not immediately before leaving) and you just gave me your "kiss" face from the chair so I knew to return :)

As that indicates, you are understanding more and more, and even give us appropriate answers to questions. You know if you want or don't want something, and get this look on your face when saying no that is just hilarious. While it does get a bit trying to hear "nooooo" so often, it's hard to be annoyed at you for just telling us how you're feeling! You are a pro at your body parts, know tons of animals and animal noises, and are starting to identify letters and colors. When you find clothes now, you put them on yourself, or try to - even if you already have clothes on. Pants are especially fascinating to you.

You LOVE to sing songs with us (mostly me, since your Dad does not sing) and always sing along, but your songs sound very similar regardless of what the song is :) The ABCs and Old McDonald Had a Farm are big hits right now. Really any song I sing you gets a big smile, which I'm happy about despite my not so amazing singing voice.

In terms of milestones this month, you had your first tummy virus which disrupted your eating for a few days. You also are getting a few more teeth - I've seen the pointy ones come through on the top and you now have all 4 molars completely in. You don't have a ton of teeth still, but you're getting there. Luckily, teething doesn't seem to bother you too much.

You really are such a joyful little girl - you still love to SCREAM whenever you see someone you know - it can be heard from FAR away! You still have the best facial expressions and now will give us open armed hugs and kisses (upon request typically). You are typically pretty good about sharing toys and will still just wait for a opening to grab something rather than taking it directly from someone else. While you don't always give up things if someone else tries to take it, unless it's a real favorite, you don't get too upset about it. You actually are starting to play WITH other kids now, and play with your friends at daycare and with Mia, doing things like ring around the rosie, or both playing with the same toy together. You get a little shy with new kids, depending on your mood.

Things you love this month - still your tiny animals, laying down on dish towels that we lay on the floor, or being covered up by them while laying on the floor, getting stickers, picking up acorns, puppies of all kinds, except real ones in your face, playing ring around the rosie alone or with other people. You also seem to be more into ME this month which I love - you get so excited to see me at daycare, and actually want to be held, versus last month when you'd go hide in a plastic house when I'd arrive. You shout MOMMY!!! when you see me, which just warms my heart! You also have been allowing me more and more to read books to you, which is so fun for me!

Eating still continues to be pretty similar to last month, with the addition of "noooooo" when you don't want something, along with a look of pure disgust. You also have a very annoying habit of holding a mouthful of food at the end of a meal, and when you say you're done, you also remove any trace of food that is left in your mouth, as if you can't even stand to finish what you have. Hopefully you grow out of that one quick, because it is GROSS!

As I mentioned, you are TINY. I don't really get it. You eat A LOT of food - yes, some nights you choose to not eat dinner at all, but overall you eat VERY well, sometimes more than me. Where does it all go? You still easily fit into 12-18 month, and 18 month sizes are a bit baggy yet. I've gotten you some of the bigger size which you can wear, but they are definitely big yet. You are a size 4 shoe now, which is exciting to me because that means you are ALMOST to the point where I can buy you new shoes! I don't know your stats, but I'm doubting you've grown too much since your 18 month doc visit when you were 21lbs, 6oz and 31.25inches tall. Time will tell if you will always be a peanut or if you will someday have a huge growth spurt!

You make your Dad and I smile every day, little Annie. We love you!

Love, Mom

So many good pics this month - it was hard to choose!

your response to "make a funny face!"

"Where are your eyes?"

Still a fan of "so big" sometimes!

Your dad asked you where your belly button was

Found it!