22 MONTHS OLD

Dear 22 month old,

Really??

Seriously??

You are going to go ahead and keep growing despite my pleas for you to stop? You are going to force me to plan your 2nd birthday party?? You are going to keep learning how to put your thoughts into words???

You have your daily routine down to a 'T' and somedays I rely on you to keep me in line when my mind is a bit off (ok, that's almost everyday but we won't go there). When I do something out of order you are sure to tell me. One example off the top of my head is teeth brushing. If I walk past your bathroom in the morning without stopping to brush your teeth first you start leaning and reaching that way. Ask me how excited I am to have a baby that loves to brush her teefers?!?! VERY EXCITED! You've been known to bop your head to some pretty ridiculous songs that yours truly makes up as we are brushing away.....I won't share my secret lyrics though! (ok, maybe it's more like I can't remember them)

"Teef! Teef!"

You are great about checking the dog bowls first thing in the morning and are diligent about keeping them full overflowing with food and water. This usually results in a mess that takes extra time to clean up but I figure you have to learn motor control at some point so I let you underestimate how much the water cup weighs and spill it each morning. You ARE getting better though. And I appreciate the "help" more than you know. ;)

"Momma! Foo! Foo!"

You get a kick out of setting Emmi's bowl in places where it doesn't go. You sit and point at the bowl and holler "MEME!!!! Eeeee!" (Emmi, eat!)

Your silly antics have reached an all-time high this month. You love to tickle me, your dad, the dogs, your baby dolls, and anyone else who will let you have access to their belly. But you insist on tickling our bare bellies....I guess it makes the tickling effect multiply. Here comes the out of this world insanely cute part....the noise you make when you tickle. O.M.G. I die. It's this sweet little angelic sounding tickle noise that you say with a mischievous grin on your face. And those little hands....your little fingers wiggle around doing their tickle motion. When you aren't tickling everyone in sight, you enjoy running around with blankets on your head testing your x-ray vision. Ok, maybe that's not what you are doing but it seems as though you are pretty confident in your ability to navigate the house without actually seeing where you are headed. This activity has led to one too many boom boom bangs and I have a very hard time figuring out its appeal. But you must see something in it because I find you ghosting around the living room with your arms out in front of you to soften the blow when you inevitably run into the coffee table....

You've been a swimming fool lately and request to jump in the pool any chance you get. Or anytime you look out on the back porch for that matter. You have learned how to open the patio door on your own so we've been having to watch you like a hawk because once you lay eyes on that pink oasis you take off running. The reassuring part is that you are afraid to hop over the side of the pool at this point. You prefer to have a swimming partner and insist on your dad or I's presence in your pool at all times. It's hard to tell you no when you look at as shaking your head with intent saying "gen! gen!" (get in). You point to the water while you call for us to hop in showing no signs that the water is 50 below zero. Holy frostbite! Your chubby little leggies must be lacking hot/cold sensation. You make the freezing cold pool seem like a nice warm bath. Splishing, splashing, and plopping your bottom down are not things I'm willing to do with you just quite yet. Give me a few more warm days and I'll be a fish with you. ;)

"aw, come on. It's no fun without ya"

You have been spending some quality time with your future husband, Tank Rogers. You two were destined to be. You both enjoy pilfering around in the kitchen for food after dinner. When you share your fruit snacks freely then it's clearly meant to be. A match made in heaven if I've ever seen one....

"He's pretty cute mom....but I really like these fruit snacks...."

My favorite part about this month?? Your ever-expanding vocab! I just can't believe it. Some days I think I'm just hearing things. It just can't be that my little baby is able to TALK! In SENTENCES!!! Granted, most of these sentences are commanding me to do something....but I can usually get you to tack a "pease" on the end sometimes. ;) You can count to three when asked. It sounds something like this: "two, two, tee." We still skip the one and in its place is a "two." It's a phenomenon that I do not understand. I'm almost convinced that you have decided not to say "one" because you know how bad we want you to. You are able to point to your colors when asked and repeat them. You can distinguish between a circle, square and star. The color book is one of your favorites and you are able to point out 90% of the pictures when asked. You can name all of your favorite foods: "gape", "app-uh", "nana", "cheeeee", beh" (bread), "gee bee" (green bean)...and so on and so on. Your sentences usually consist of a name and a command. The one most commonly heard it "mama, NO!" Great, this is awesome. Not! I wish it was that simple....I'd be screaming "Hallie, NO!" quite often if that were the case. You said your first four-word sentence this past weekend which left me with my mouth hanging open from shock. Here are some more endearing sentences that I can recall (most of which begin with the word "mama")....

-"Gen" (Get in)
-"Baby dink" (Baby drink)
-"Mine backpack" (My backpack)
-"Mama! Eeeeee!" (Momma eat!)
-"Mama, bie" (Momma, bite!)
-"More Mo!" (More Mickey Mouse)
-"Nigh nigh Mo Min" (Night night Mickey Mouse and Minny"
-"Mama! Ooooo!" (Momma open!)

You have family names down pat. And they all get commands too. But don't get me wrong, most of your bossiness is reserved for your mommy dearest. You repeat anything and everything and will give any word a good attempt no matter how difficult. I have a feeling you will be able to chat it up with all of your party guests when your birthday rolls around in a couple of months.

I'm not sure about your weight and height right now but we will find out at your two-year checkup with McDreamy in August. I can tell you that you physique has slimmed up and grown taller. You are wearing a size 5 shoe, 2T pants, pajamas and tops...and surprise surprise, your head it too big for most of your hats. What little thin hairs you do have seem to grow redder by the day. You are well on your to being a blondish ginger for life. I love the way it glimmers in the sun!

Reading is still A-okay in your book (no pun intended). You've been so interested in reading and learning lately that you've taken to ingesting the words on the pages....literally. For a couple of months now you've been taking a book to bed with you every night. One morning I opened your door to find what appeared to be the work that only a woodchuck could've accomplished on your bedroom floor and in your crib. Pieces of your book pages had been chewed up and spit out (at least I hope you didn't swallow them) and you still had a few pieces of evidence on your nose and chin. I picked the paper off of your face and asked you what had happened. You picked up your book, handed it to me and shrugged your shoulders while saying a very matter-of-factly "dunno." Well you may "dunno" but this mama does know....and wonders why eating your book is appealing. Silly goose! You are able to flip through a book and read words to me while we are in the car.

Your favorite book this month is an old favorite that has re-emerged from the book bin. And much to my delight it is a book that I'm quite fond of as well. We could sit and read nursery rhymes all day long. You get pretty silly during "Pat a Cake" and "Itsy Bitsy Spider".....

Your hat = your favorite accessory. Gone are the days of needing your purse and your scarf. We've moved on to a more summery option. Your pink Nike hat goes everywhere with us. Even on Mother's Day to church. In your pretty dress. This ball cap obsession just provides more evidence that you are well on your way to being a tomboy-in-training.....

You had a very important duty this past month being the flower girl in Aunt B's wedding. It was an adventure...one that almost gave your momma stress attack....but in the end it was perfect...well, if you consider screaming all the way down the aisle with your ridiculously expensive and HUGE tulle dress down at your waist.....ok, maybe it was more like hilarious. Yes, yes. That's the word.

You aren't afraid to get your hands dirty in order to pitch in and help out around the house. You love to mimic your dad's outdoor chores. Most of all, you love to sweep....

A growth spurt must be upon us because you have been bonified sleeping and eating expert. You had a record morning as far as sleeping in goes on Memorial Day. Your dad and I rolled over to see our clocks reading 9:50. You could just sense the shock waves traveling through the room. You must've gotten the memo about sleeping in on a holiday. Thank you to whoever gave you that bit of advice. We sure did love you a little bit extra that morning as we went in to wake you up. After you record night of sleep you seemed famished all day long and stood at your high chair and requested to "eeeee" (eat) at least four times before your naptime rolled around. You grazed your way through the morning and then topped off your energy tank with a 3+ hour nap. Add all these obvious signs to your extra crankiness lately and what do ya get??? A growth spurt, I'm almost sure of it!!

Which brings me to the unavoidable: your attitude. Boy howdy. Your last week as a 21-month-old was by far the most trying week for your parents. We put on our detective hats and searched for clues as to why you decided to make things incredibly difficult. And I mean that in the most loving way darling sugar bear. But you did....you made things undeniably, insanely and unbearably difficult. You've been asserting yourself even more this month (I didn't know this was possible) by making your own choices and decisions very clear. Tantrums galore, throwing yourself on the floor, screaming bloody murder in public just because, wandering around the house aimlessly whilst whining (when there is clearly nothing to whine about). We've done some soul searching along with some major parenting discussions about how to handle these terrible twos that you are throwing our way.....and we've come to this conclusion.....ignore the tantrums. I'm sorry to tell you that you aren't always going to get your way and you can't always have what you want. Someday you will thank me. But for now you seem to want to make me pay. ;) That's alright. That's the great thing about moms I guess....they love you no matter what. And I do. I love you so much it hurts sometimes. I miss you when the sun rises and you are still sleeping in your bed. Some mornings I lie in bed wishing that you were old enough to jump out of your own bed and come crawl in mine. T'won't be long....you've already figured out how to escape from your bed....but just once....and I think it may have been a fluke. I am getting ready to batten down the hatches (if you will) in prep for this next phase of development. But that doesn't mean I'm not equally as excited as I am slightly terrified. I'll tell you this: being your mommy means never being lazy. You keep me on the go.

Love you like you love crackers,

Momma

P.S. - Fear not: your party is in the works. I know you were super worried, right? I've got it under control baby girl.

P.S.S.- Could you take it a lil bit easier on me this next month? Pretty please?