21 Months

How am I ever going to remember to keep up blogs about 2 kids some day when I can't even get around to one?? (no, I'm not pregnant or trying, just thinking about my mom friends with multiple kids who manage to post every day!!)

Anyway, 21 months is a fun, fun age. Kalaya's language skills are beyond description. You really have to hang out with her to get the full effect. And, it has to be once she is comfortable. She is so much like her daddy in that way. At home, she has a running dialogue from morning until night. She talks to mommy, daddy, the doggies, her bear, her babies, the chairs, her kitchen, the bath tub, you name it!! She babbles and sings in the car, the stroller, the high chair, the play room and the pack and play. Her memory astounds me and it is so amazing to see her become this wonderful, adorable person, so curious and fascinated by the world around her. She loves so many things and gets so excited about so much!

Some favorites right now are pretending to cook, shopping with her shopping cart, taking care of babies, feeding babies in the Bumbo, eating crackers, cheese, apple sauce, oatmeal, broccoli or yogurt (and a lot more), taking baths and showers, reading, especially any book that contains, Elmo, Abby or bunnies, running around aimlessly, chasing the doggies, dragging the doggies leashes around, going for walks, going to the park, bubbles, coloring with crayons and on her magna doodle thingy, taking things out of the pantry, drinking milk, throwing tennis balls and toys for the doggies, playing with flashlights, chasing the doggies around with towels and blankets to make them go 'night night', putting babies, bears, any toys night night, looking at pictures of family and friends, saying night night to family members and friends, looking for birds, quack quacks, cats and doggies, singing about her tummy, tummy, tummy, reading books about and singing the ABCs, taking pictures, her Elmo slippers and Elmo washcloth, begging to go 'ouside', playing horsie with Daddy, looking at and smelling 'pitty fwowers' (flowers), riding in the car, going to church (which means we get to church and she exclaims TOYS! to go into the nursery), demanding music from the computer or Daddy's phone, sneaking off and figuring out how to call people on Mommy and Daddy's phones, sitting on the potty and immediately demanding a 'book', playdates with Elena, looking at the photo Christmas cards we will have to keep up until next December so we can talk about Connor, Chloe, Allie and Elena, wearing her 'anta' hat around and saying 'ho ho ho', taking every puzzle piece and small toy in the house and carrying them around in her pumpkin trick or treat bucket, looking at picture of herself and saying 'kalaya pitty', pillows, blankets, wearing lots of necklaces and bracelets, wearing 'pitty' tutus, washing her hands, talking to her cousin on Skype, helping mommy by closing the dryer, pushing to buttons on the dryer, dishwasher, and garage door, putting her dishes away from the dishwasher, taking clean dishes out of drawers and cupboards to put in the dishwasher and all over the house, and more things I can't think of off the top of my head. She's a busy girl!

Things we do not like right now: having time outs, not being able to go outside, eating a meal (we have to call it a 'nack' most days and then she'll eat no problem), and bed time.

:::sigh::: Bed time has become a real issue in our house. Nap time isn't a problem, as far as going to sleep, but, well, I guess I should look back a bit.

Kalaya has never been able to fall asleep on her own, other than in the car. We took the advice of many people and tried putting her down early, before she was exhausted and without soothing. That didn't work. At all stages of life, she'd either immediately scream (including in the hospital, as a newborn, ALWAYS), or lay and babble to herself until she got over tired on her own and then would then proceed to freak out. Even if she was nursed or rocked completely to sleep, she'd wake up much sooner than any other baby we knew.

Around one year old, she started sleeping through the night. Before that, went to sleep on her own (starting around 9 months. before that, she was nursed to sleep), by laying down with mommy or daddy. She'd wake once or twice at night to nurse and then go right back to sleep. At a year, she slept with Nelson only for a couple of nights to learn not to wake up to nurse, which she did so easily and without much complaint. She nurses now only before 9pm or after 6 am, unless she is sick. This has gone really well for months and then has changed in the last couple of weeks. Once she's asleep, she sleeps great, usually for about 10 straight hours, wakes up to nurse briefly and then for another 2-3 hours. She then takes a nap in the afternoon, usually 1-1 1/2 hours, which she goes down for in the pack n play on her own, with no soothing from anyone. She sometimes fusses for less than 5 minutes, usually talks to herself for a little bit and then goes to sleep on her own.

The problem is getting her to sleep at night.

She used to lay quietly for only 10-20 minutes next to one of us and drift quietly off to sleep. She'd then sleep through the night, as described above. She would go down around 8:30 or so, sleep until 6 (when Nelson gets up), nurse, and sleep until 8:30 or 9, often even later.

Now, on many nights, (though not all) bed time is a screaming battle. If one of us lays in there with her, she either talks and babbles to us or we have to pin her down screaming. If we leave her alone in the pack n play, she screams for 2-3 hours. She FORCES herself to stay awake. She bites her fingers, stares into the night light, keeps herself on her back (she really tends to only fall asleep on her tummy), makes herself keep sitting up or rolling over. We've tried the cry it out and yes, she falls asleep. For maybe 30 minutes. And, that's after 2 hours of crying. Then she cries for another hour. Night after night after night. She has been finally going to sleep around 11pm. Yes, she sleeps until late the next day, but she's so off. I've tried forcing her to get up earlier, but that's a disaster too. Then, she needs a morning nap and is still cranky the rest of the day.

The other detail that has to do with this is nap time. She still needs a nap. Every afternoon, she is definitely fussy and tired. Some days, nap time and bed time are no problem. We can't figure it out. Some afternoon, she takes an hour nap and then goes to bed without a hitch. But, some days, it's like she doesn't get tired until 4:30 or 5 and then it's too late for a nap. Yes, we've tried (eek!) assuming that she's outgrowing naps and just kept her up, but then she falls asleep in the early evening (usually in the high chair), we put her to bed and then she wakes up an hour or so later, wide awake, thinking she's had a nap and is ready to play and not tired in the least. We've tried keeping her up a little later, with no nap, which yes, means she goes to bed fine, but it is a miserable last couple of hours, because she's so tired. She has never been a kid that 'catching her before she's exhausted' works. I've seen those babies who just fall asleep while playing, go to sleep on their own after babbling, etc. She's only like that for nap time. NEVER for bedtime. The only way is in the car and we can't afford the gas to do that every night. : /

I know it will get better. It's just a phase. It always is. It's just making us dread every evening and question every nap. I know we'll get back to normal. IT'S JUST A PHASE. (I'm trying to convince myself)

Did I mention that in the middle of all this we're pretty sure those 2 year molars are trying to push their way through AND that she has a cough and stuffy nose?? Sigh again....

Other than that, she is a joy and a pleasant toddler. I (still!) love being a stay at home mom and being a part of each and every day of her life!