22 February 2012

months 20, 21 and 22


Wow, I was doing so well but these last 6 months have gone by so quickly that I have totally forgotten to keep up on my months.  



Here is a quick recap of months 20, 21 and 22.

the NOW (month 22) effective Feb 21st:
We are almost into full-fledged toddler-dum now!  My kid walks, talks, runs, eats, has tantrums, opinions, gives hugs, kisses, sings songs, takes care of babies, continues to love books and talks like no other.  Many people say my child is verbal and I couldn't agree more!  She can pretty much speak in almost full sentences (missing a few words).  Some of her favorites are: "Aven do it"   or  "Daddy here now?"  or "Give Ethel/Eleanor, help, please."  

Aven loves sounds: she especially loves music.  We started playing a CD that my Mom got us for Christmas, Elizabeth Mitchell's "you are my little bird" and Aven loves it.  She says, "more music?"  She has two different play pianos and she loves to "push the buttons."  I like to make silly sounds to get her distracted when she doesn't want to do something (like taking off jammies) and she loves to repeat them.  She loves singing her own songs or repeating versus of ones that she has heard or learned from daycare. She also knows lots of animals sounds like: fish, doggie, cat, and monkey.

Aven seems to be well rounded when it comes to "gender" specific toys: dolls, blocks, trucks, etc.  She loves wrapping up her babies and says "wrap up Emma" or "wrap up baby" and has us help her wrap them up.  Then she'll hold them and rock them, sing to them or pat their backs.  She loves playing with her snap together blocks and has just started getting interested in the medium sized legos.  

Aven still loves her books.  She will get really interested in one that we check out from the library and want to read it over and over again, one time after another without a break.  Right now she likes the Real Mother Goose stories (which include Pat-a-cake, Hickory Dickory Dock, Peter-Peter Pumpkin Eater and Humpty Dumpty).  She keeps saying "dumptyhadagreatfall" in all one word, so cute.

Months 20/21:
To be honest, once you go past something it is hard to remember the details, especially the intricacies.  I suppose that is why I have tried to write things down along the way because I know someday I won't remember all the cute little things that Aven used to do, said, sang, etc.  

Aven loves moving around like any other busy toddler.  She thinks it is so fun to put on our shoes and walk around the house, something she never really did before.  She can now put on her own boots and even a few of her Velcro shoes.  No promise that they will end up on the right feet but it is pretty cute.  She will get out her basket of shoes and have them strewn across her bedroom floor putting them all on and taking them off.
This girl has personality and is surely my daughter: stubborn, opinionated and testing her will to do things herself.  She tests her limits at everything which I realize is also the developmental stage she's in but often it can be a little testing on another stubborn person: me.  She likes to try to put on her clothes herself, diapers, drink her own glass of milk, open the door, walk, buckle her car seat, etc.

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This girl teaches me so much about life.  What is important, what to value, when to laugh, when to take a breath and when to be joyful and thankful.  She has created a whole new bond between Abe and I as we learn to be good parents to her and to each other.  She teaches us our limits and our reveals our strengths and weaknesses and she teaches us about love: it is simple but complicated, strong but easily cracks and forgiving.






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