Goodness gracious.  Our little lady is officially just one month from her SECOND birthday.  I don’t know how that’s even possible.  All I know is that time is flying faster than ever and no matter how hard I try, there’s no slowing it down.  

Here’s what our little lady was up to from 22 to 23 months…

Gracen loves:

• Being outside
• Stickers (this is actually becoming a semi-problematic obsession)
• Going on bike rides
• Cooking with Mama
• Visiting our mail lady (mostly because she gives her stickers)
• Bella, Grandma Charlotte and Poppop’s dog
• Being with her cousins and Baby Tate (she talks about all of them constantly)
• Watching music videos on Papa’s iPad
• Listening to She’ll be Coming ‘Round the Mountain in the car (repeatedly)
• Eating goodies picked straight from the garden
• Being in water (she’s a brave little thing)
• Doing things on her own (“Grae Grae does it” is said multiple times a day)
• Helping with household tasks (especially putting away groceries and laundry)
• Being naked (this is new – perhaps heat driven?)
• Books and reading (this is what you’ll find her doing during her independent play times more often than not)
• Doing puzzles (and she’s good at them too!)
• Beading
• Looking at her own blog (she regularly says “See blog?” as soon as she wakes from her nap)
• Popsicles
• Going to the library to pick new books
• Streaking after her bath (she does laps around the house)
• Playing games (anything matching or colour based especially)
• Music (listening to it, watching it, and making it)
• Building and playing in forts
• Trying new/sensory activities and games
• Animals

She dislikes:

• Anyone singing along to songs she’s listening to (you’ll be reminded once nicely with a “no sank you singing, Mama” and then it turns into a “No, no, nooooo singing, Mama”
• When you do things for her (Miss Independent!)

She thinks it’s hilarious when:

• Papa sings ‘the towel song’ (You’ll have to ask Brad to show you how it goes)
• You throw things in the air and let them drop to the floor
• Papa does crazy dances
• You hang her upside down

Grae’s new foods include:

• zucchini fritters
• steel cut oats
• whole mint leaves (she loves them)
• two ingredient ice cream

After last month’s giant list of new words, I told myself I would no longer keep track, and thank goodness I did.  It would have been impossible.  From “breakable” to “pussy willow” to “octopus” to “library” and “rocking chair”, Gracen pretty much says everything now.  She uses little sentences all day long and she’s constantly surprising us with the new words she busts out in conversation.

One thing she really loves doing is giving play-by-plays while we’re on bike rides.  Riding on a bicycle with Grae sounds something like this: “Biking fun, Mama. Fun, fun, fun. See orange-y car! Haha – orangey car funny!  Ohhh… Biiiiiig flag. Big red white flag.  Clothes! Clean clothes hang-ing. See, Mama? See clothes hanging? People! People walking. Hiiiiiiiiii, people!  Hiiiiiii!  Ball!  Soccer ball!  Man plays ball.  Biking fun. Grae Grae – pink seat. Mama – black seat. Aqua bike. Biking fuuuuuuuun!” And it goes on and on and on. Certainly keeps me on my toes.

I can’t explain how great it is to be able to communicate with Grae and have her be able to express herself as well as she can.  We chat all day long day and I truly cherish the conversations we have {as crazy and repetitive as they sometimes are}.

She:

• Now announces that she has to go to the bathroom, runs there, gets herself up onto the potty, and does her business (she even attempts to wipe if you let her)
• Now counts up to 4 and loves having someone ask her how many objects she has (she counts them up and very proudly announces the number)
• Names and points out all of her colours (including basic rainbow colours and more complicated ones like white, black, grey, brown, baby blue, silver, and aqua)
• Sings Old MacDonald had a Farm
• Can now open doors on her own
• Is now much more comfortable around dogs and loves hugging and hanging on GC’s dog, Bella
• Immediately gives you a hug and a kiss if she thinks you’re sad, then asks “Mama/Papa happy?”
• Is a total fish and fearlessly bobs around in water that comes up past her chin – she even insists on us not catching her when she goes down the pool slide, which means she goes completely under water before we scoop her up
• Can do proper, both-feet-off-the-ground jumps
• Can answer basic questions like, “What is your name?”, “How old are you?”, “Who do you love?”, “What colour is our/Grandma’s/Uncle Brett’s car?”, “Where does Papa work?”, and “Who do you love?”
• Now “reads” aloud simple books that focus on one or two colours/objects per page

Funny / Cute things she’s been up to lately:

• She loves eating raw onions and herbs while Mama is cooking and begs for more
• We now wake up to a little sing-songy “Mama, Mamaaaa! Morning! No more sleeping!”
• Sings herself to sleep at night… Turn the monitor on and you’ll hear pieces of Twinkle Twinkle, Old MacDonald, Head and Shoulders Knees and Toes, and other favourites
• Sometimes she giggles so hard that she snorts, which makes her giggle more

Well, that’s been our month…  I can’t believe how in love I am with this little lady.  She is truly such a smart, kind, and special little girl.  I know I say this every month, but this stage is so much fun and our days together just seem to be getting better and better.  Now to wrap my head around the fact that I’ll soon be a mama of a two year old little girl….  Ugh.

♥