19 Months

Well, Kalaya is officially closer to two than one! (insert generic 'I can't believe how fast it's going!' comment, because it's still true!) She is a busy, active toddler, but is such a pleasure. I hear stories over and over again about how challenging this age can be and I feel just the opposite. (well, about 90% of the time I do) She is so easy going and does such a great job of entertaining herself. She is a curious kid, but not to the point where she is mischievous and devious. She listens so well when we ask her not to do something or to do something.

Her list of words grows every day, it just amazes me! Some recent new words are: house, home, Pippy, milk, Elena (her BFF), circle, baby, Elmo, orange, eyes, nose, apple, banana, mouth, auntie, pillow, down, coat, hat, lunch, breakfast, potty, thank you (sometimes), horse, fish, and more that I can't think of right now. She knows where many body parts are, including; eyes, ear, mouth, hair, nose, feet, tummy, hand, teeth and tongue. She knows different animal sounds, including; duck, bear, cow, cat, snake, horse and Elmo. (he says 'la la la', incase you didn't know. Look up 'Elmo's Song' on YouTube for proof) She will say almost anything back to you that you model for her, so we have to be VERY careful of the words we choose these days! : )

I think she's going through a growth spurt. She's eating and sleeping really well and her 18 month clothes are getting smaller and shorter. She has (finally) turned into a pretty good eater and is eating most of the things that we eat and put in front of her. She has started eating some fruit (it only took 18 months!!!), but still in small amounts. The nice thing is that if she doesn't want to eat something, 9 times out of 10 I can just blend it in the magic bullet and she'll down it, especially if it's spread on bread. She does a really good job of feeding herself these days, even with a fork and spoon. She's fairly neat about it, as far as toddlers go. : )

People keep telling me what a handful this age is, and I totally disagree. Yes, she's mobile and learning to be independent, but she is very easy going. Maybe it's because she was a high needs infant/newborn, but this seems really, really easy. (aaaand, I just jinxed myself : ) She listens so well, unless she is super hungry or tired, but even then, does better than most toddlers. We tend to only have to redirect her once or twice when we don't want her to do something and then the behavior changes. And, I just don't mean once or twice in that situation. I mean at all. For example, when she first became mobile, she was very interested in my parent's stairs. We had to tell her not to climb them a couple of times and had to do a few time outs, but it was only in the very beginning. Now, she knows not to go over there, even without baby gates, and without redirecting. (it's been several months now) Same with drawers and cupboards she's not supposed to get into and things she's not supposed to touch, such as breakables and the TV.

If redirecting doesn't work, a time out solves the problem. I'm convinced that toddler nursing is a contributing factor to her behavior. It calms, soothes and redirects her if she is frustrated, sad, mad, hurt, tired, hungry, etc. It's so convenient and such an easy way to solve any situation.

But, honestly, most of the time she just plays and explores calmly. She loves to sit and read her board books, try on dress ups, push her baby in the stroller, go for walks with the dogs, look through kitchen drawers, play with her trucks and hang out. We have very relaxed days together, sleeping in a bit, eating breakfast almost all on her own, usually a shower together (which she LOVES), play time, lunch, nap, playtime, walk the dogs, dinner, play time, bath (if she didn't join me in the morning), and bedtime. She really only throws fits if she's overly tired or hungry and those are fairly easy to prevent. Signing is still really helpful, since it helps distinguish between words that sound the same.

Her nighttime sleep habits are so pleasant now. She goes down for bed pretty easily and quickly, usually around 8 and sleeps all night until around 7 or 8. She often wakes up just to have a morning nurse and then will sleep another hour or so. Very nice for mom! She takes an afternoon nap of usually just over an hour or so, which she is starting to fall asleep for on her own, which wasn't planned, but has been a nice change, even if only temporary.

We are so blessed to be coming into our 2nd holiday season with our beautiful 19 month old girl!