Grace is 20 months old. I have had a truly wonderful summer with her. She goes to daycare Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. And this time has been really wonderful for me. I can clean up the house, get gas, get groceries, do laundry, and she gets to play with her friends instead of accompanying me on errands etc.So, because she has daycare 3 times a week, my mom and I have really been trying to make the most of our Tuesdays/Thursdays and weekends. We've gone to the zoo, the petting farm, blueberry picking, the pool many times, the park many times, to friends' houses, and to gymnastics every week. But she still gets plenty of time in our beloved playroom so she can put her dolls and Bunny to bed!
Talking: Grace remembers so much and now can actually tell us about events. She can even answer correctly (sometimes) "who", "what" "where" type of questions. For example:Me: "Who was at the party Grace?"
Grace: "Bumpa, Gramma, Tondy, Sheeena, Aedan, Mommy, Daddy".
Me: "What does your shirt say?"
Grace: "Handlebar" or "Topsail Island" (depending on what shirt she's wearing).
This month's update would not be complete without her most talked about story: "Wolf! Wolf! Violin. Downtown. Stroller. Safe. Restaurant."
This link should explain that story.
She also has some really cute phrases: "I can't believe it!" "I think so." "I guess so." that she clearly picked up just by listening to me talk.
I love how random memories pop up in her head and she'll tell me about them. It's really interesting when she talks about a memory from over a month ago! "Guitar. Uncle Brian. Aunt Vidhya. Music. Singing." (Remembering when my brother played the guitar while we were in North Carolina).
Size: Grace is wearing size 18-24 months and also 2T. I will probably buy all 2T clothes for fall and maybe some 3T as well. It's a little bit sad, because she now she'll officially be in all toddler sizes, no more baby sizes. She's wearing size 5 diapers. She just outgrew her size 5 shoes a few months ago, and now is outgrowing her size 6 shoes.
Skills: Grace is really making progress with her jumping! She doesn't get any air really yet, but she knows to bend her knees and the general motion that jumping is supposed to be! I love watching her try to jump. Grace can now officially do the "big kid" slide at Allmendinger and Fritz Parks (and I'm sure at other parks too). At gymnastics, Grace can hang by herself on the bar and on the rings without her feet touching the ground! It's amazing!Food:
Yes, we're still nursing! I'm proud and shocked that we are still nursing at 20 months old. I'm ready to wean, but she doesn't seem quite ready herself. She eats plenty of solids (usually), and is drinking more daytime milk and water from a sippy cup. I would love if she "self-weaned", but that doesn't seem quite likely right now.
Sleep:
Yes, we're still waking up in the night. Sometimes once, sometimes twice, sometimes more but not usually. Something has to change, because when school starts again, I won't be napping while she naps, I'll be running around like crazy in a classroom of 26 high energy 6 year-olds. Hoping for a better sleep update next post.Likes:
- Bunny. Bunny is still #1 in her life and comes everywhere we go. Grace is such a sweet "mother" to Bunny. At the zoo, when she saw something special (the monkeys, the jellyfish), she said "Bunny! Get it!" to me, and then she held Bunny up to the cage/tank to see the monkeys and the jellyfish. She loves spreading blankets out for Bunny, and saying "Bunny night night". It melts my heart how gentle and loving she is with Bunny.
-Panera. Grace loves Panera. She can say both "restaurant" and "Panera". I give her half of my sandwich, which is chicken, cheese, tomato, and avocado, and she eats the whole thing!
- Daddy. Grace is loving her daddy the most these days. Which is wonderful, but also hard because he works long hours and every day of the week. But when he has a moment to be with her, he takes it.-Water Play. We take her to Vet's pool, and she loves splashing around. She loves splashing around in the sink (which she can now reach due to the step stool I put out). When we went to Ludington in July, she LOVED splashing around in Lake Michigan with Brian, despite the water being cold! One of her most favorite summer time activities right now though is playing in the hose!
Most water play (besides the sink), requires multiple outfit changes, diaper changes (into swim diaper), sunblock, sun hat, towels ready, snacks ready, etc. Overall a big effort. But to see her big smile, and to hear her happy shrieks, makes the effort all worth it. I just wish we had a splash pad closer to our house.-Books. She is our little reader, but still mostly preferring to have an adult read books to her, rather than just flipping through them on her own. That's okay by me though, I love reading to her. I want to show her how important books are, so I make sure to stop whatever I'm doing to read to her if she asks me to.
-The Park. Grace loves going to The Park (which really can mean any park). She loves slides, she loves swings, and she loves watching other people.-Animals (especially dogs and cats). She is still quite the little animal lover! We went to the zoo, which was so much fun for Grace, my parents, and me. In this picture, Grace had just fed the giraffe lettuce! She can say "Giraffe. Lettuce. Eat it. Hungry."
- Cousins. Grace loves all of her cousins! She had the best time playing with Dylan and Max when they came to visit us. She likes Aedan, even though she isn't always nice to him!
Dislikes: She doesn't like sitting very long for meals. She doesn't like other kids or other people touching her items unless she told them to. She doesn't like diaper changes usually (especially dirty ones). She doesn't like when strangers try to touch her or talk to her before she is ready for it. She doesn't like the dancing Elmo or the large costumed Elmo. She doesn't really like costumed people in general.
Here is a short list of things I am loving about Grace right now:
- I love her laugh. Oh how I love it. She loves when I say "I'm going to get you!" She'll shriek and sometimes run right into my arms, but sometimes run and lay flat on the floor giggling.
- I love her sweet words. She will say "I wuv you" if we say it to her first. She will say "pwease" when she wants something (usually another book before bedtime).
- I love her tender side, when she takes care of Bunny or her baby doll, or another random stuffed animal.
- I love her determination. If she wants something, she will ask for it, she will try to get it herself, she will make it happen (if possible). This can be exhausting and hard, but it's a great personality trait.
- Most of all, I love how she loves me. It's a love you've never experienced until you're a parent. She doesn't know yet that I'm an imperfect person. That my bedroom is always messy, that I procrastinate a lot, that I can only cook a few meals. All she knows is that I feed her, I comfort her, I nurse her, I take her places, I show her new things, I cuddle her, read to her, and play with her, and that's her whole world. I would do anything for her. Someday, I won't be her everything. But for now, this love that she has for me, it is truly the best thing I could ever imagine. She is my whole world and I wouldn't change it for anything.
