... loves television. LOVES IT. Loves it so much that I can't decide if it would have been better to introduce it earlier, thus eliminating its charm, or if keeping her away for so long is the only reason she'll tolerate a book. At first we were limiting her to one half-hour show a day, but when she was too sick to do anything but curl into a ball and cry, we let her watch as much as she wanted. Now that she's better, we're going back to the original plan, but she is not on board. She would sit on the couch and take in every Max and Ruby episode under the sun every day if we let her. Say the word "watch" in any context and two seconds later she's settled into position, a happy smile on her face in anticipation of reliving any one of the five gems saved on the DVR. If I sing any combination of words to the Max and Ruby theme song, she will shout "Off!" every time because she knows that the song comes from the show, the show comes from the TV, and the TV is the source of all cartoon goodness. (We are partial to those mischevious, oft-unsupervised bunnies around here, with Little Bear running a distant second.)
... still fits comfortably in 3T clothing, which is kind of a shame because Luke and I stocked up on 4T items assuming she would match her previous rate of growth.
... likes coloring and fooling around with these Crayola farm stampers she got for Christmas last year that we just recently pulled out. However, her true love is reserved for the washable bathtub crayons we bought last week in an effort to spice up bathtime. For the most part she's always been good about taking baths, but now if we haven't started running the water by about 7:30 p.m., she runs to the door and points until we get things moving. No putting anything past this one.
... if you ask her if she wants to sing a song, replies "la la la la la."
... understands the concept of using a blanket. A simple thing, really, one that other kids may have taken to much earlier, but in the past when we've tried to cover her up with one, she'd just shake her head and kick it off until we banished it to the closet again. She wouldn't even allow us to wrap her baby dolls in blankets, until one day when she was sick and obviously tired but wouldn't nap in her crib and ended up falling asleep in my arms. Since Luke and I have been talking a lot about the best time to introduce her to a big-girl bed (answer: not today), I laid her down in our bed with one the handmade blankets she received as a baby and waited to see her reaction. And amazingly, ever since that day, she has grown to love them, to the point that when she's going to bed she holds up her blanket until we tuck her in.
... has, speaking of bedtime, initiated the shortest routine we've ever had. We used to spend a good 15 minutes reading stories until it was time to put her down, but lately she's been wiggling out of Luke's or my lap after two books or sometimes even just one, walking over to her crib, and pointing to the mattress. So we turn on her music and hug her tight and place her in her crib, and she lays her head on her Taggies pillow and does the blanket thing and lays there quietly as we bid her good-night. Sometimes she fusses, for the last couple of nights she's made nary a peep. Meanwhile, Luke and I are the ones left wishing we could have read just one more story. The tables, they have officially turned.
... is finally getting her top two fangs. Bottom two are still MIA.
... decided she no longer eats toppings on pizza, only the crust and occasionally a piece of cheese.
... likes to eat from Luke's and my cereal bowls at breakfast. I wonder how she would manage with her own serving of Cheerios in milk, but my crappy laminate floor isn't ready to find out just yet.
... is fascinated with our broom and follows me around every time I sweep. We talk about how Mommy is getting yuck off the floor to put in the garbage and we don't touch the yuck with our hands and we have to be very careful with brooms so that we don't whack anybody in the head (read: eight-month-old brothers with a penchant for eating his socks) (read also: mommies and daddies).
... finally, after 22 months of maintaining a more affirmative-friendly lifestyle, at least on the verbal side of things, has added "no" to her ever-growing vocabulary. Only it sounds less like a statement and more like a person asking a question while simultaneously fighting a cold and imitating Homer Simpson. Kind of like "Doh!" except it's "Doooh?" You've never heard a cuter "no" in your life.
... continues her love affair for the various means of public transportation. We recently opened a set of Tonka cars gifted to Nathan when he was a newborn, and she gets a kick out of zooming them all over the carpet, the coffee table, and the dining room floor.
... coslept with Mommy and Daddy for the first time since she was days old last week, thanks to the persistent cough/cold that was waking her up around midnight the last four nights or so. She wouldn't tolerate pats on the back or even being rocked back to sleep, something we haven't done in ages, and in a last-ditch effort to salvage some shut-eye, Luke and I brought her into bed with us. At first she went down easily and it was very cozy and sweet, but then she started waking up, looking around, and freaking out, unsure of where she was, either kicking off the covers or scrambling to the opposite end by our feet, where we were afraid she might fall off. Last night after several thrashing wake-ups in beween us, Luke tried putting her back in her crib, but apparently she likes being with us more than she lets on because she cried so hard we may as well have tried pulling off her toenails without anesthesia. I'm not sure how much longer this will last--today she didn't cough once, so the odds of her stirring are low--but as difficult as it's been, accommodating her writhing, congested body in our bed these last few nights, I'd be lying if I didn't admit how much I love her there.
* (updated a little bit because these two nuggets are too precious to leave out)
... is big on greetings. Her standard yet quite random salutation involves a cheery "Hewwo!" (she says the letter "L" very deliberately but has trouble with it in words) followed a few seconds later by a big "Hi!" She loves doing this with our phone (or anything she can put to her ear and treat like a phone, really), so long as there isn't actually anyone on the line who wants to talk with her, like my sister Ryan did when she called from Germany last night. In those instances? Silence. Because why use the phone for its true purpose?
... is really into pretend play right now, especially with eating. She'll "take" imaginary apples from her Little People vegetable stand, put them in her mouth, and follow it up with a big "Mmmm!" She feeds apples to her baby dolls and also to me and Luke. She'll do the same thing with the grocery items from her shopping cart, happily gobbling down fake peas and carrots while Luke and I are just like, honey, you know you can eat these for real, right? It's called DINNER.
Alright. As you were with the admiring of the adorableness.
Our little helper.
Stamping away. We ended up turning this into a birthday card for my dad, who turned 49 last Friday.
If I assume the (eyeless, noseless, mouthless) head is on the left, it looks like a turtle. Head on the right and it resembles a fish with legs. Which is closer to the truth? More importantly, does it matter? Clearly my daughter has a flair for abstract bath art and will be enrolled in Chicago's Art Institute any day now.
Ah, bliss.
So cute, I love these updates. We were so limiting with Gabe when he was little, and now not so much. With two young kids running around, it's sometimes the only break I get in the evenings and on the weekends. Nick has just discovered TV in the car, and now every time he gets in he tells us "Mouse on", because Mickey Mouse Club House was the first show he noticed. He still doesn't say no, instead he say "uhuh" while shaking his head. And yes is "da".
It's nice to know that I'm not the only parent that has a child with delayed teeth. Nick is still missing a bunch of them, including the two incisors on the bottom. Our dentist is mildly concerned, but won't worry about it until his next check up.
Love the pictures, Kara is adorable! Also, odd, but your Dad is the same age as mine. He turned 49 in May.
Posted by: Cookie | October 20, 2009 at 07:54 AM
Holy crap, that's a good drawing!
Oh, Kara. How are you 22 months old already? (Says Jen in total denail that Dean will be there in a mere 2 weeks...)
Dean eats Cheerios with milk some mornings. I still have to help him guide the spoon to his mouth, or else they end up in his lap. We also use a bigger spoon for cereal, which makes it a little easier for him to shovel it into his mouth. And I put newspaper under his highchair pretty much every time he eats these days, lest my tile be splattered with ketchup, pasta sauce and the like.
The picture of Kara with the broom is priceless!
Posted by: Jen L. | October 20, 2009 at 09:54 AM
Kara and AJU5 would make a good pizza eating team. AJU5 loves the toppings (olives especially). Then she will eat maybe 2 bites of the crust and cheese!
And the TV thing - AJU5 is on 3 shows (about 20 minutes each) a day or less. This is mainly because I am too exhausted these days to fight her in the morning. Luckily, she also plays and eats and drinks while watching (and I dose off because there is only so much Curious George and Word World I can take).
Posted by: AJU5's Mom | October 20, 2009 at 09:54 AM
Kara & Dahlia are exactly on in so many ways! Well, I think they're only a couple days a part after all! I love these updates. I wish I was better about writing mine down!
Posted by: carrster | October 20, 2009 at 10:13 AM
Wow 22 months already!!! They are growing so fast, mine included :'(
Kara looks so adorable with the broom. Sarah does the exact same thing, but with the Swiffer.
Sarah is now watching 2-3 shows a day, distributed in 20 min each during the day, Dora the explorer, Curious George and The Backyardigans.
Posted by: Su | October 20, 2009 at 11:13 AM
I love to see these updates. Kara and Miriam are only a month apart and sometimes Kara does things that make me think - maybe I'll introduce Miri to that (this time: the vegetables). We also recently purchased bath crayons which were a big hit. Miriam's way of saying no (in her vocabulary since May) is "nokay!" which is hard not to laugh. I hope you have a healthy house soon! Any thoughts about potty training at your house? I could write another paragraph about where we are on that...
Posted by: Maggie | October 20, 2009 at 01:53 PM
With the head on the left, the bath drawing could also be a short horse or a pony. Or perhaps a rare breed of dog.
Posted by: Luke | October 20, 2009 at 08:54 PM
My 21 month old LOVES to sweep, but she is dangerous, swinging our broom around. I bought her a cute broom and dustpan set off Amazon for Christmas. http://www.amazon.com/Schylling-BROOM-Little-Helper-Broom/dp/B000BN8Y8G/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=toys-and-games&qid=1256089797&sr=8-1
Posted by: Joanne | October 20, 2009 at 09:50 PM
We got the kiddos brooms and they both LOVE helping me sweep out the garage (and by help I of course mean make a giant mess of the dirt I pile up). Keaton has had all his teeth (except his 2 year molars which he's working on now) for 6 months but Rowan didn't get ANY of her incisors until right before she turned 2.
I just LOVE Kara's hair. And that picture of her and Luke is too much. I can't believe how giant these babies of ours are getting!
Posted by: rkmama | October 21, 2009 at 08:41 PM
WHat is it about brooms and sweeping and toddlers? Megan too LOVES the whole process, the gear, everything. Getting her a small broom set didn't help - she just wants to use the big Oskar broom and dustpan and I end up crouched over using her wee little broom!
I am very impressed with Kara's stamping. WHenever Megan gets ahold of stamps all she wants to do is stamp her arms, legs, the table, chair, wall etc.
Also - I am awe of Kara's hair!
Finally - she can do cheerios! This is something I learned from daycare - they give them cheerios there in little bowls with milk for snack and even at 14 months old Megan was capable. I wouldn't have ever EVER tried. Some of the things that I've learned toddlers can do are all because they do it at daycare:)
Posted by: eva | October 22, 2009 at 12:00 AM
I am looking forward to seeing Kara do all these wonderful things at Grandma and Grandpa's house.
Posted by: Grandma Molly | October 22, 2009 at 07:01 AM
Just an idea--we give our 19-month-old daughter cheerios with milk often. I give her a straw to slurp up the milk and then she uses her spoon to eat the damp cheerios. It's one of her favorite foods and there's no mess really except for the errant cheerio or two.
Posted by: Lori | October 22, 2009 at 01:00 PM