Happy 21 months!

It is hard to believe, but here we are! In three short months Sarah will be two years old and, Lord willing, have a baby brother. She seems to be such a sponge at this stage. We see her understanding and communicating in new ways all the time. I love watching her play by herself. She sings and babbles and her imagination is really starting to shine through. I look forward to the months to come! 

(Weight, height, and head size will have to wait until the next visit to the doctor- I have no idea!)
Diaper: size 4/cloth
Clothes: 24 month is the best fit, but 2T is going to be what works through the warm months; shoe is still size 4 (I had her measured recently...she was not a fan), but definitely on her way to size 5 in closed toe shoes
 
Likes: books, walking with someone's finger (particularly choosing the path), taking bites of mom or dad's food (this is a rare treat), beep beep (her push cart), block towers, turning anything into a cell phone, playing "night night" or bouncing on the couch, walking laps around the outside of the house, picking up handfuls of things (rocks, dirt, sand, etc), lights on/lights off, making her hair bounce, making us laugh

Dislikes: shoe shopping, not getting her way (who would have guessed :)), when she says please but we don't know what she wants, went through a short lived diaper-changes-are-the-worst phase, a certain small alien toy (I can't blame her!), having her hair rinsed

Schedule: These days we are pretty flexible. Sarah has settled into one afternoon nap, but when it starts or ends is all based what happens in the morning. If she is really active, she gives me a really long nap. If we need to stay out late, it usually doesn't phase her too much. When we miss an entire nap, she usually sleeps better the next afternoon. She consistently wakes us around 7:30am, the nap happens around 1:00 and lasts 2-3 hours, and she goes back down around 7:00pm. 

Sleeping: This girl loves to sleep! And we love that she loves to sleep. On April 1st we moved her crib downstairs and gave the toddler bed a try. Sarah didn't even seem to notice a difference. She is still sleeping really well and, for the most part, doesn't even sit up until we are in the room. So far, she hasn't tried to get out of bed. We know this won't last forever, but we love it for now. She did have one tumble out just before the two week mark, but no harm was done. She was ready to play as soon as Dave helped her off her back!

Eating time: She still loves a good meal, but lately has been teething a bit and eating a little less predictably. While we continue to use basic toddler food caution, Sarah can eat pretty much anything. She has 11 teeth right now and is working on one more. This gives her a pretty full set and makes chewing all the more productive. Some current favorites are blueberries, peanut butter sandwiches, banana bread, and asparagus. We shoot for three meals a day, but sometimes she eats her dinner mid-afternoon, then sits with us again while we have dinner. Of course, our social eatter then eats again, because who watches other people eat without eating along?! She comes by it honestly :)

Talking: I love being able to talk with Sarah. She understands almost everything we say. Her vocabulary is slowly, but surely, expanding. Her latest trick is practicing two word sentences. We  hear lots of "bye bye, Daddy" and "night night, Mommy." She tries to say words along with some of her signs, as well. One of the most frequent is "meeeee" which she says most insistently while signing please. We aren't sure how she got "me" from "please," but are thankful that she is trying to ask nicely. She is really good at answering our "ready . . . freddy . . ." with a very emphatic "GO!" With the same vigor she also says "no." We are working on "no, thank you" or "no, ma'am" in an effort to sweeten up that particular word.

Walking: Sarah has taken steps- praise the Lord! The very first time was in the middle of a room full of people the afternoon of Easter Sunday. She really wanted a drink of someone's water, so she just walked right over, taking 3 or 4 good steps in the process. We all cheered- she isn't walking for lack of encouragement! The whole next week she didn't give us a thing. Then late in the day on Saturday, in similar fashion she suddenly took 3 steps to get to a friend who was helping paint the house. Since then we have seen her letting go and taking a step here or there to get from one place to another. Dave also saw her stand on her own, which was huge (and super cute, as she did it bottom up style). This shows her growing confidence and initiative. We have our visit with the physical therapist on April 25, so maybe she is waiting to take off in the next week and half.

Random, but fun:

* When I ask her who we see at church, she says "Bubby" (a little boy in nursery) and "Daddy," often in that order

* She "swims" on command in her ball tent and in the bath tub

* We started giving her baths in the big tub, she loves the toys and splashing

* We acquired a small backyard slide- big fun!

* When we ask her where Baby Brother is, she gently rubs my tummy. When she is in the shopping cart at the grocery store, she sometimes puts her head on my tummy. 

* She tried to give a "bite" to one of her baby pictures yesterday with a play spoon

* She loves handing me the diapers and inserts after they have dried on the drying rack

* She is getting really good on the magnadoddle and pretty good with crayons. She even left her mark in crayon on a wall at a church member's house on Easter :)

* Loves the lights on the sound board in the sanctuary. Sometimes they rival seeing Dave in her excitement level, which says a lot!

Next appointment: Her 2 year-old well baby visit is scheduled for Monday, July 23 at 10:45am.

For your viewing pleasure (from most recent to approximately three months ago):

Giving the baby a "bite" after breakfast.

There are so many ways to play with blocks.

Dave's shoes were under his night stand...she stepped right in.

Imitating Dave's "I'm so full" slouch :)

A neck full of beads and beep beep, what more does a girl need?!

There is more than one way to appreciate a pair of sunglasses, obviously.

Pig tails!

Kind of hard to see with the light, but she is resting her head on Dave's guitar while he plays. Super sweet!

Love these wild, long locks.

Hat, check. Beads, check. Bracelets, check. And she is ready to roll.

Loves helping!

Our one good snow day this year. While she looks impartial, she thought the snow was very tasty.