... finally calls her parents by name! Last month, she was playing around with "Daddy," sometimes hitting the second string of Ds, sometimes not, but now she nails it, and "Momma," too. It's a wonderful thing to hear your child call out for you, even when she uses it to play on our emotions. Just last night after twenty minutes of sporadic whining from her crib, she finally started asking for Luke, which had him climbing the stairs towards her bedroom with tears in his eyes. Not five minutes later, her plea changed to "Momma." Luke says she calls for me periodically throughout the day, which has me fretting about my business trip next week, a simple overnight that won't have me gone 24 hours, but already I can hear her voice calling for me, wondering where I've gone to, not understanding why I won't be there when she wakes up in the middle of the night.
... loves tortilla chips, tomato soup, cheese cubes, bites of Shredded Wheat and Banana Nut Crunch cereal, and twisty pretzels. French toast, scrambled eggs, and pancakes with the tiniest dollop of syrup continue to reign supreme.
... increases her vocabulary by leaps and bounds every day. Household favorites include "Oh, no!", "Hooray!," "apple," "Naynuh" (for Nathan), "airplane," "sorry" (without the "r" sound), "please," "thank you" (uck ooo), "yes" (YES!), "again," "done," "Max" (For Max and Ruby), and "okay" (oooooooKAY!). One day her language capabilities will fail to be newsworthy, so I'm eating it up now.
... can count numbers one through ten fairly consistently, with help. She likes to count the steps as she walks up and down our staircase and the various ornaments in Merry Christmas, Mouse! (one star, two angels, three snowflakes, etc.) Two nights ago she counted all four reindeer perfectly, no mistakes. Clearly, she is genius.
... can manage the staircase on her own while holding the railing, though one of us is always behind her because she's easily distracted (look, there's my bunny! socks! teddy! ah!) and sometmes loses her balance as a result.
... loves hats: holding them, wearing them, forcing them onto Nathan's head, and transforming ordinary non-hat items into fashionable noggin gear. Yesterday she took a nesting bowl and practically suctioned it to his crown for a good two minutes. Luckily, Nathan was cool with it.
... isn't above stealing her brother's pureed vegetables (as long as they're not green) but makes up for it by allowing him to play with one of her favorite toys (for a limited time).
... knows how to say "please" and "thank you" and does so correctly 70 percent of the time.
... melts down at the drop of a hat (hello, almost two!). Yesterday's tantrum was caused by Luke serving her applesauce in a bowl instead of the manufacturer's cup. I never did thank her for that.
... still adores Max and Ruby and never wants to watch anything else. She'll tolerate the last few minutes of the DVR recording, which usually includes a couple of Laurie Bertram videos and the opening credits to Dora, The Explorer, but if we start with a Dora show she shakes her head violently and shouts "No no!"
... is a big fan of hugs and kisses and showers them on us all day. She hugs my legs during pre-run jumping jacks and wraps her arms around my torso when I'm lying on the floor after I've come back, pressing her lips against mine before laying her head on my shoulder. Ah, bliss.
... has potty time as instituted by Luke once a day. There's a potty chair for downstairs and a potty seat for upstairs, the latter of which she will only sit on backwards, on the floor. As for the potty chair, well, did I mention her love for hats? At least she hasn't christened it yet.
... takes my ear warmer headband, pulls it around her knees, then walks around the house as if she's preparing for her runway debut.
... presses her face into books to share kisses with beloved animals, usually dogs, cats, and ducklings.
... is really digging The Little Red Hen.
... has a strong affinity for penguins, possibly indicating a future career as a marine biologist.
... has more fun with bathtub crayons than actual crayons.
... still wakes up at night a few times a week and has once again taken to finishing those nights out in bed with us. Her preferred spot is at the end of the mattress, so we keep a pillow for her near our feet. Sometimes she's relatively still, and others she thrashes about in a constant attempt to get comfortable. They are not the most restful nights in the world, but I still treasure that time with her, waking up to see her face snuggled in our covers.
... turns two in two weeks. TWO WEEKS. How did this happen? It feels like only yesterday we brought her home to our little two-bedroom apartment on the northwest side. Those memories aren't far from my mind these days, as I reflect on the baby she was and the little girl she's quickly turning into. More thoughts on that in approximately 14 days, when I'll probably skip the monthly newsletter format and instead spill my guts about how proud, in love, enamored I am with her.
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Since we're fresh on the heels of our last professional photo shoot, I thought this month I'd show off some of my favorite Kara shots. It wasn't exactly a stress-free time, and there may have been screaming, but we did get some frameworthy options; the last one's in an 8x10 frame in our living room and planted in a 5x7 at my desk (along with Nathan's, of course, which you'll see in the next couple of days as part of his ten-month (OH, GOD) update). It's not the most expressive of the bunch, but there's something about her outstretched hand and controlled, lady-like smile that tugs at my heart.
Working on the lady-like thing.
She found the football prop in a basket near the back drop and had to have it, despite having never picked up a football in her almost two years on Earth.
Wheee!
We didn't order this print because we wanted something more indicative of her everyday mannerisms. Now I'm kicking myself. We may ask for a few when we take Nathan for his one-year shots in January.
She's going to be TWO! (WAH.)
I hear ya, lady. Keaton is 2 today and I've been a puddle all day (well OK, if I'm being honest I've been a puddle the last 3 weeks, but who's counting).
Love the pictures!
Posted by: rkmama | December 04, 2009 at 10:10 AM
It's amazing how some kind of internal developmental clock means most kids do the same things at the same ages. Megan is also obsessed with hats - she will use her potty, a wool diaper cover, underwear, and Brad's and my toques on her head, her teddy bear's head, her doll...
And counting. Suddenly Megan counts out her blocks when she's building towers!
It's amazing to experience all this change in two short years isn't it?
Posted by: eva | December 04, 2009 at 01:33 PM
Dean hits 23 months tomorrow. I keep crying on his head. How did our babies grow up so fast? It's doubly bad for you because Nathan's hitting one so soon after Kara turns two. Cryyyyyyyy.
What is the deal with penguins? Dean loses his mind when he sees one! He calls them pingoos. We bought a whole coloring book of just penguins. Perhaps he and Kara can partner up.
She is so beautiful. I love watching her grow and change. And I have a similar reaction to Dora.
Posted by: Jen L. | December 04, 2009 at 01:41 PM
As I prepared our December calendar to mount on the pantry door the other day, I wrote "Kara, 2" in the appropriate box, and went, Whooooaaa.
I can't wait to see what's ahead for her this year, and how she grows. But also, how could you let this happen? All of this growing up?!
Posted by: Molly | December 04, 2009 at 04:51 PM
Jen-- the line, "crying on his head" cracked me up. I, too, have been crying on the head of a sprouting, noisy almost-four year old lately. (Wahhhh, goodbye final moments of toddlerhood...)
Posted by: Molly | December 04, 2009 at 04:54 PM
Awwww, SO CUTE! She looks so much like you in that last picture, lucky girl!
Posted by: Parsing Nonsense | December 04, 2009 at 05:38 PM
Wow, how time flys. Two years ago,number 17 became my NASCAR most liked number. She is doing so much each and everyday.
Posted by: daddyd | December 04, 2009 at 08:32 PM
adorable, my so is 20 months and its amazing, he is starting to master some of the things she is doing too, it all comes so naturally for them! where do you get bath tub crayons?i cant find them anywhere (well any where i have remembered to look, lol) and where do you get her pictures taken?
Posted by: Katie | December 05, 2009 at 09:58 PM
Katie, we found the bath tub crayons at Target. They are in the baby care section by the lotion, bath wash, and stuff like that rather than by the crayons and art supplies, though.
Posted by: Luke | December 07, 2009 at 12:53 PM