Nineteen Months? No way!

Dear baby,

You are nineteen months old. And  you are still crazy. The end.

Love,

Mom

"Who, me?"

Yeah, right. Like I could ever be that brief. In fact I've got a lot to talk about this month. Too much to remember in fact. I'm gonna do my best. That's why I'm starting three days in advance to give me extra time to jog my memory. Speaking of jogging, that reminds me of something I want to share with you. You LOVE to "jog". I know this probably sounds very strange when talking about a wittle girl such as yourself....but you LOVE to "jog". Aunt Katie and Auntie Doodoo can attest to this. Last month I shared about your afternoon of jogging down the street in your new workout gear. Well just the other day I was all ready for a jog with you in the stroller. You had other plans though. You squiggled your body out of the seat before I could strap you in and took off toward the street. I followed with you and "jogged" down the street beside you. You made about four laps around the circle drive and your short stubby legs move surprisinly pretty quick. I was impressed baby girl. You know that momma would love it if you were a runner when you get older....but you can be whatever you want to be. But a runner would be nice....;) It would be swell to have my very own live-in jogging partner someday.

After reading that random tid bit you are probably pretty confused as to why I started out with a story like that instead of my usual run down about your eating habits. Simply put, you are bored with food. In turn, this mom is worn out when it comes to making meals for you. There has been no rhyme or reason. One day you like grilled cheese and the next it's the most offensive thing you've ever laid eyes on. Same goes for PB&J and any kind of pasta. One thing is for sure though...leaving you and your dad alone at dinner time is a pretty risky thing to do. This is precisely why....

Smorgasbord of junk

Yes, that's right. He gave you access to an entire bag of no bake chocolate cookies, a container of deli ham, crackers, a leftover container of potato salad and peaches. Well-balanced as can be, huh? He fessed up later and told me that it was all an evil plan you two had come up with while I was out on a bike ride...but something tells me that this is exactly what he usually feeds you when I leave. Scary. :/ I happened to hit the jackpot this week with a meal of grilled cheese, fruit and corn. This seemed to hit the spot and the cartoons playing in the other room seemed to boost your great dinner mood also...

"Scoot my chair over a bit to the right and I'll have a clear view"

You are very interested in Goldfish snacks as of late and any kind of berry is still your friend. Oh, and GRAPES! Grapes are your new obsession. They are also my new go to when I need to sneak a few seconds to get something accomplished around the house. Mickey mouse Clubhouse and grapes are the answer. You are still getting the hang of using a spoon. You will usually take two bites with it and then toss it to the wayside and use your hands to make a giant mess. I've been trying to prepare dinner earlier this past week so that we can all start getting into a routine of eating at the table together. Problem is you are usually very hungry right around 5:30 and your dad usually isn't home yet at that point and you and I have barely had time to take our shoes off let alone prepare a family dinner. But we definitely notice a difference in your eating habits when we eat together. You have eaten every bite of what we've offered you at the big person table. You've actually taken to pulling out a chair at the table at all times of the day. In the past few days I've found you just sitting in a chair that you've crawled up in. You have all of your life to grow up....my advice is to chill in your high chair with your mother waiting on you hand and foot as long as you can. That's what I would do anyway. ;)

"That's an interesting idea mom...."

Oh but don't get me wrong....you would take lounging on the couch or sitting at your little pink table over the big people table any day of the week.....

In quite a few of the pictures I've snapped of you this month it's not hard to notice that your attention is usually not on the camera. Your eyes happen to be fixed on the TV 90% of the time. Your Mickey Mouse intrigue has reached new heights these days. You love the "Hot Dog" song and dance along with it. You call it "da dog" when I ask you about the hot dog song. Gets me laughing everytime! Dora the Explorer is a close second behind Mickey and friends....I actually think you've learned to be bilingual. I'll elaborate. Your favorite word just so happens to be "NO"....and it's the same word in Spanish and English. My bilingual baby. ;) Ok, I kid. You are more like a parrot. You have repeated more words that I can even begin to remember. You've even humored your dad with a traditional Marine "ooh rah" greeting. Cup, bowl, spoon, backpack, boots...the list goes on and on. As far as voluntary words you are still sorting out how to pronounce certain things and usually use a combination of pointing and trying to say the word. Last weekend Papa asked you "where's momma?" and you pointed down at me and told him "right der". You can say "night night" as you wave goodbye while being put into bed. And "luv ew" still rolls off your tongue and is music to our ears. You are also good at telling me that you are a "good girl" when I ask you if you are bad or good. This always comes out very clear and makes me smile. But like I mentioned above, you are very partial to the word "no." Very partial. The funny part about it is that you say it with such thoughtfulness as if you wait a minute to truly consider your answer and then shake your head while giving a very clear "no." Other times you are less calm about saying your favorite word and you will very adamantly yell it at the dogs. Maybe mommy needs to take a few pointers from you on how to learn to say this word. ;) I'm still waiting on you to learn the word yes!

You still hate the car. The end.

This was one occasion where I had to partially undress you to keep you comfortable. Spoiled much?

So what do you find to do in all your spare baby time? You can often be found sitting in your playroom having jibberish conversations with your dolls or the dogs. You have begun to point to things and blurt out a few unrecognizable words in a row as if what you are saying is perfectly acceptable English. I need a baby decoder! You could spend hours each night on my lap reading books. You, my squirmy wormy, calm down the minute I pull out your favorite blanket and book. You make sure to have a cup full of milk and a binky handy and come and cuddle up in my lap and lay your head back. Aw, hands down best part of the day. I have made it a point lately to stop whatever I'm doing and read you a book when you bring it to me. So that means we can be seen sitting criss-cross apple sauce in the hallway, on the closet floor, next to the bathtub or anywhere for that matter...if you bring me a book, I read it to ya. Mommy thinks you might be taken advantage of this fact slightly. ;) Your favorite books this month are these right here......

You've become more interested in hide and go seek and funnier version of peek-a-boo...

"Where's Hallie?"

Puzzles, puzzles, puzzles. I found you at the table demolishing an edge of the puzzle I'd started at the table....

Pre-demolition. I let her have at it since I was over my puzzle kick anyway.

You enjoy tending to things. What do I mean by that? Well, the example that stands out the most is your end of the day daycare routine. Since you are usually the last kiddo to leave Miss Paula's at the end of the day that means that you bid farewell to all of your friends. You have taken to grabbing their coats for them when their parents arrive. You do not appreciate being picked up early from daycare. Your dad picked you up early a few weeks ago and you made him pay for it. Repeat occurrence today happened. I was thrilled to pick you up early but all I got was a "what are you doing here?!" look when I walked in. Good to see you too baby girl. Something tells me that you like to stay later and get some special attention from Miss Paula. Just a guess though. Or maybe you really do enjoy passing out coats each day. Either way, I think I'll stick to picking you up at your regular time to keep you on track. You are great for cleaning up messes and picking up toys at the end of the day (with a little bit of motivation of course).

Have I ever told you that you have a giant heart. There is a lot of love in that heart of yours. Your dad and I get some of this love....and the rest is reserved for your baby dolls....

Most of the time I'm trying desperately to keep you clean and looking somewhat put together. But of course there are times at the end of the day when you look like a hot mess. Notice the missing shoe, sticky hair and some substance running down your coat....

One of your favorite activities, besides playing the backyard and watching Mickey, is Play-Doh. You have really taken a liking to rolling it up and tearing it apart. We make pancakes and snakes most often. And somehow your control freak momma has managed to keep it out of the carpet in the playroom.....

You are silly. But that is something that stays constant. I don't see that changing anytime soon. You can be found spinning in circles staring up at the ceiling and falling down from being too dizzy, hopping from seat to seat on the couch and giggling as you bounce off of the back of the chair, doing your signature Sumo Hal move, rolling up like a pig in a blanket, bringing us a diaper and wipe just for the fun of it, trying to beg for snacks at the pantry and giving us that irresistable grin, giving us that breathy giggle when you think something is super funny...the list goes on and on. Bottom line is we are constantly laughing at you sweetheart.

You are fiesty. My my, you are a ball of fire. That head of hair that gets more red by the day has something to do with it I'm sure. Your fits have become less hard to contain and control when out in public. You are stronger therefore your squirminess is a lot more effective for you. The screaming is also a lot louder. You already have a case of the gimmies. The checkout line at Walmart is the devil I'm telling ya. You want everything from gum and candy to hand sanitizer bottles and kleenexes. Ha! You have become very good at letting us know when something isn't right. You are very picky when it comes to where to put your things. If something is out of place you usually stand and scream while pointing until we fix it. We call your mad face "the bulldog face" where you stick out your bottom lip and your eyebrows get really close to eachother and you squint your eyes. Scary, girl. Very scary....

A very mild version of "the bulldog face"

You are stealth and increasingly more elusive by the day. When you are quiet that generally means something bad is going on wherever you've disappeared to. I have examples of course. I found your silly behind in the horse trailer the other day. You vanished within the blink of eye and I discovered you stomping around in here....

You love to cuddle up with a good book. You love to give the dogs love. You love to climb. You love to holler. You love to laugh at yourself. You love to be tickled and tossed in the air. You love to bounce. You love to ring around the rosie. You love snacks. You love to "reorganize" my kitchen cabinets. You love to go get the mail with me and carry it back in the house. You love to wear your purse and hat. You love to drive your pink car. Sissy bear, you make us so proud. The way your dad's face lights up when he watches you do something new is incredible. Your energy is astounding and actually very contagious.....sitting just isn't an option when you are up and going. And that's fine by me. I live for those times you offer up a kiss while I'm holding you or the moments you just give in and lay your head on my shoulder. I'm in heaven.

Love,

Mom