21 months

Finally getting around to posting this. SO sorry! June was a blur.

Dear Hannah,

You are 21 months old. I can't believe two is just around the corner! This month has been interesting and you've tested us in many ways. You are little miss independent and you are FEARLESS! In early blog posts, I referred to you as serious and stoic. It once took a lot for us to get a smile out of you and get you to laugh. Now, quite the opposite is true. You are quite the comedian and you are personality plus. We've had to leave you with quite a number of new folks this month and upon return to pick you up, we hear phrases like "she kept us laughing the entire time," "she's such a character," "you have your hands full with this one," and "she loves to dance and move around" just to name a few.

This month you:

• are little miss independent. You have to do everything yourself and get terribly upset when we help out. In fact, you spent 30 minutes trying to put on your shoes one day. You got them on by yourself, but got upset when I went to buckle them. Oh my... fun times ahead. You have two bull headed parents, so this shouldn't shock us. 
• know about 75-80% of your A,B,C's by sight (but cannot say them in order yet) 
• are fearless! I should say cautiously fearless, you assess the situation before jumping in head first :) 
• are quite the tadpole. You love the water and have no fear when it comes to swimming. In fact, you will "swim" from daddy to me and back in the pool without us holding on to you. We bought you a "puddle jumper" life vest and you like it much better than your infant life jacket. You were doing so well floating on your tummy and kicking, that daddy and I started pushing you back and forth between us. You did great! and even cried when it was time to get out of the pool. You love it! 
• willingly jump off the side of the pool into our arms and laugh the entire time, even if your face gets wet. 
• will hang and swing from the bar above the slide before sliding down. You are so proud of yourself for doing this!
• had a bout of tantrums. To your defense, you'd just been with your grandparents for a week and probably had a tough time adjusting back to life at home. Regardless, it was a long week and I pretty much had wine every night to calm my nerves :) I am proud to say, you're doing much better these days and after some great advice from friends, so am I. 
• are about ready for potty training. You are showing a strong interest and even tell me when you have a "poopy" and that you need to be "change now."
• Favorite phrases:
• "gof ball"
• "I funny"
• "bess ew"
• "roll tide"
• "turn off"
• "come right back"
• "hi dada"
• "no, peese"
• are obsessed with the opening song to "The Music Class" and promptly say "cass" every time we get in the car. We've listened to it up to an hour at a time to keep you happy and calm on long car rides. 
• can sing many of the words to your favorite songs without prompt!
• love being around other children, especially those that are a few years older than you.
• rarely have a problem being dropped off in a day care setting (nursery, gym, etc)
• have traveled all over for daddy's summer regional meetings
• spent a full week at grandmommy and grandaddy's while mommy and daddy were in CA. All of us did better than expected :)
• are constantly on the go. You. Do. Not. Stop. 
• still love books... among your favorites this month: "Piggies," "The Care Bears ABC's," "The Care Bears Counting Book," "Goodnight Moon," and of course "Pout Pout Fish."
• are becoming a pickier eater. We are sticking to what the pediatrician said and hope it works for us! Your favorite foods include: yogurt, cheese, hummus, chicken, broccoli, potatoes, fish sticks, pop pop (pirates bootie), gold fish, "boosies" blueberries, "banay" bananas, and apples. To our surprise, you don't care for pizza, hot dogs, or pasta of any kind. 
• quite fond of: your pacies, mickey mouse, stickers, coloring, chalk, anything outside, swinging, balls, building blocks, rocks, playing golf (you have your own little golf set), and reading.
• you met a horse for the first time and loved it! you weren't afraid of him at all. The staff even helped you feed the horse an apple.