I will readily admit that filling Miss G’s room with balloons late last night while she was sleeping in a room / pack and play she doesn’t sleep well in in the first place was maybe not my best idea… However, watching her march through them with glee this morning as I sang her Happy Birthday cancels out the fact that I’ll be operating on very little sleep and a whole lot of coffee today.
Happy second birthday to my darling Gracen Audrey Marie.
Tonight, on the eve of my little angel’s second birthday, I did my best to savour the seemingly insignificant moments that make up our everyday lives together. The little things… The squeal of excitement she lets out when jumping into the bath. The fact that she insists on running around the house naked and giggling as soon as she exits the tub. The way she received her new footie jammies as though she was the luckiest little girl in the world. The delight she got out of bursting into Grandma’s backyard in her pajamas when it’d normally be bedtime. The little gallop she’s mastered and saves for times of excitement. The tight hug I got in exchange for a little playtime as the sun was going down… All of the little things that make our happy, sweet hearted little lady her.
With a camera full of photos and the grass sufficiently brushed off her pajamas, we headed inside, and slowly made our way through her usual bedtime routine. Tonight, when she asked for just one more story, I read it to her more than happily. We snuggled a little longer than usual, sang our normal bedtime songs twice, and when she asked for “More kiss!” each time I had almost closed the door, I went back, again and again… Because tonight is the last night my little girl is one and these little moments pass by all too quickly.
Tomorrow the shiny new world of two opens up, and if it’s anything like this last year’s been, I’ll continue to wear my heart outside of my body, a proud mama watching her baby grow up into the most wonderful, kind-hearted little girl imaginable… And for that, I’m so very lucky.
Brad and I are constantly blown away by how quickly Grae learns things. She just soaks up information and makes connections like crazy. Just a couple of days ago, she started showing interest in singing the alphabet song. At first she’d sing random strings of letters – “A B P C B D X” to the tune of the song, and now, depending on the time, she can pretty much sing it in its entirety.
Today, while at Grey’s Park surrounded by swings, climbing apparatuses, kids, and a wading pool, she wanted nothing more than to lay on our blanket and sing her ABCs again and again. Here’s a little video I managed to catch…
For a long while now, Grae could count to 2 and would just continue saying, “One, two, one, two, one, two…” for sets of objects larger than a pair. Just before we left on vacation, she added 3 into her repertoire, and while in the Okanagan she added 4 and 5. It’s really incredible to ask your firstborn baby how many blueberries she has or how many markers there are and watch her count them up and proudly announce her answer.
How she grew up and learned all of these things so quickly is beyond me, but she can now count sets of things up to 7 on her own, and up to 9 if you help her with the number 8…
Gracen has loved books and ‘reading’ or being read to ever since she was an itty bitty thing and will literally bring you one book after the next all day long if you continue to read them. Just recently though, she’s started letting us know that she’d like to be the reader and we can be the audience. I can’t explain how happy it makes me to listen to her stories and share in her love of books. This was this morning’s story…
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
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.
Well, our little lady is officially 22 months old… Just 2 months from her 2nd birthday – yikes. So hard to get my head wrapped around the fact that I will soon have a 2 year old little girl. And she’s definitely becoming a little girl. She’s communicating more than ever, expressing her preferences more than ever, and becoming more independent than ever.
Here’s what she was up to from 21 to 22 months…
Gracen loves:
Being outdoors
Being around other kids
Visiting the playground
Going down fast slides
Baking and cooking with Mama
Watching butterflies flitter around
Running laps around the house (one night this month she did 15 laps in a row)
Jumping, dancing, and spinning
Splashing in puddles
Helping with laundry
Riding the bus and sky train
Action songs
Tickling people
Giving ‘run hugs’
Watching Cullen’s ABC’s Youtube channel
Exploring new places
Drawing and colouring
Trying new games and activities
Having her nails painted (much to her Papa’s dismay)
She dislikes:
When she wants to go somewhere and you stop her from doing so
Having her bellybutton being covered by her nighttime diaper
Mama or Papa singing along with Cullen’s ABC’s songs
She thinks it’s hilarious when:
You spritz her with a spray bottle
You make silly noises
You chase her
Grae’s new foods include:
Bean sprouts
Hima melon
Unsweetened chocolate almond milk
Homemade kale chips
The new words/phrases she regularly uses include:
“lid”
“Milk please, Mama”
“peel”
“towel”
“Mommy” (so weird to be called that instead of ‘Mama’)
“new”
“doot” – do it
“good girl!”
“yellow”
“real”
“pop!”
“dump”
“drop”
“step”
“sleep”
“more muwah” (more kisses)
“wheel”
“mail”
“email”
“mirror”
“come”
“good job!”
“our car grey!” (our car is grey)
“uncle car red” (uncle’s car is red)
“stop”
“swing”
“sit”
“ice”
“apple sauce”
“apricot”
“feta”
“back”
“almond butter”
“high”
“higher”
“pick”
“idea”
“way”
“sock”
“wait”
“zoo”
“read”
“tail”
“beach”
“onesie”
“chicken”
“Apple store”
“mall”
“brella” (umbrella)
“stick”
“panties”
“hide-seek” (hide-and-seek)
“tickle tickle”
“whale”
“toot toot”
“roll”
“animal”
“come”
“money”
“red”
“arm”
“see”
“shoe”
“tea top” (tea pot)
“jamjams” (pajamas)
“black”
“fun”
“do”
“sweep”
“button”
“eyebrow”
“tock tick” (clock sound)
“truck”
“clean”
“school”
“pile”
“sun”
“train”
“snap”
“barn”
“egg”
“bead”
“pear”
“uncle” (yay! finally!)
“big”
“sock”
“Elmo”
“oopsie daiso!” (oopsie daisy!)
“tag”
“sticker”
“braid”
The new signs she’s using regularly include:
wait
wag
wheel
She:
Discovered shadows and loves making her shadow wave
Now points out A’s and O’s (as well as G’s)
Can now climb up the rock climbing wall on playgrounds
Now repeats almost anything you ask her to say
Is now pretty good at stopping and coming back when you ask her to do so (even when she’s desperately on a mission to go somewhere)
Automatically picks out a diaper, onesie, and pajamas on her own after bath time
Happily sits while her nails are cut (this hasn’t always been the case)
She doesn’t mind getting dirty, but likes to be cleaned as soon as she’s done with messy activites
Describes things by colour everywhere we go (“blue car!”, “red shoe!”, “yellow duck!”, “green tree!”)
Enjoyed potatoes for the first time EVER (baked on the BBQ)
Is still fairly easy to reason with (as long as you explain why she can’t have something / do something, she is normally pretty accepting of the situation)
Now does the actions to many songs (The Wheels on the Bus, Baby Bumble Bee, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, If You’re Happy and You Know It, The Hokey Pokey, and The Itsy Bitsy Spider are some of her favourites)
Can now point out and name almost all body parts
Continues to be extremely kind – she happily shares, greets little playmates with an enthusiastic “hiiii!”, and becomes incredibly concerned if someone is sad, hurt, or upset.
Funny / Cute things she’s been up to lately:
If we’re headed on the door and we haven’t yet put a hat on her, she reminds us that a hat is needed to go outside
She now signs wait Kuwaiti style – love it
She begs for raw red onion while Mama cooks and takes handful after handful, announces “Purple onion!” and then shoves them into her little mouth – weirdo
She calls Smart cars and VW Beetles “baby cars”
“Happy” is the opposite of all things bad (so if food is not hot – it’s happy, if something is not dirty – it’s happy, if a body part does not hurt – it’s happy)
Every time you mention going outside, Grae immediately exclaims, “Haaaaat! Flap flips!”
Well, that was our month. I can’t believe that our little lady will soon be two years old. Must get my head wrapped around that in the next couple of months…
Welp, our little lady turned 21 months old today, and apparently that’s just the motivation I needed to get my tush in gear and get her 20 month post done. Darn time. It’s not always my friend. My goal is to have her 21 month one done sometime this week, and my even bigger goal is to have her first year photo book completed by her second birthday. Wish me luck.
Anyways, that’s enough about me. Here’s what our darling little girl was up to between 19 and 20 months…
Gracen loves:
Digging in the dirt and finding worms
Being dragged around the house while laying on a blanket (still)
Stickers and stamps
Balloons
Reading while on the toilet
Her hoola hoop
Jumping on beds
Discussing the day’s highlights before bedtime
Visiting her blog and having you tell her about the photos
Snuggling
Helping others
Sharing her things
Going on adventures
Reading
Having someone ask her questions so that she can show what she knows
Helping with jobs around the house
Putting her laundry away
She dislikes:
When you don’t let her try something on her own first before helping
She thinks it’s hilarious when:
You throw grapes up in the air and catch them in your mouth
Grae’s new foods include:
No-sugar-added vacuum-fried banana chips
All-natural blueberry bran muffins
Arugula
Turkey bacon (not a regular food, but she did get to try it during a special celebratory dinner)
Wholewheat tortilla chip (not a regular food, but she did get to try one during Papa’s 30th birthday dinner)
The new words she regularly uses include:
“snap”
“wow”
“ya”
“dirt”
“baaaaa” (sheep sound)
“sssssss” (snake sound)
“ohhhh”
“quack”
“car”
“meow”
“treat”
“play”
“bird”
“Tate”
“poop”
“deer”
“meow”
“meh” (goat sound)
“cheep cheep”
“train”
“out”
“step”
“peepee”
“apple” – happy (strangest thing ever)
“rararararah” – read
“knee”
“dot”
“yay!”
“tape”
“ring”
“carrot”
“pocket”
“all-mo” – almond
“edmama” – edamame
“poop”
“milp” – milk
“cut”
“glue”
“flap flip” – flip flop
“hat”
“papta” – pasta
“melon”
“watermelon”
“Ornia” – California
“plap” – splash
“hole”
“flap”
“touch”
“oh dear!”
“cloth”
“babe”
“home”
“clothes”
“bra” (don’t ask)
“pay”
“hand”
“top”
“two”
“Lulu” (her nickname)
“draw”
“arm”
“dab”
“tight”
“down”
“door”
“tights”
“oh, Grae Grae!”
“oh, baby!”
“pull”
“please”
“chair”
“auntie”
“Quatchi”
“me”
“rawr!!!” (when asked what dinosaurs, lions, and tigers say)
The new signs she’s using regularly include:
Snake
Cereal
Want
Basketball
Family
Come here
Alligator
Right now, she:
Makes a chomping noise whenever she sees alligators and crocodiles
Points out dots whenever she sees them
Talks about her little friend, Tate, all the time
Lays all of her animals and dolls on their bellies for story times
Puts animals on the toilet and pretends they’re peeing
Does a crazy mad face where she holds her fists up in the air and shakes (but not when she’s mad – just randomly)
Announces she has to use the potty, runs to grab a book, and then heads to the bathroom
Leads you by the finger to wherever she needs help or wants to show you something
Walks up and down stairs without a railing or hand to hold on to
Is putting words together in simple phrases more and more (for example, I told her that we weren’t going to be seeing her friend Tate because his mom wasn’t feeling well, and for days she’d say, “Tate Mama Owah?”)
Is very into the emotions of story book characters
Puts away her own laundry {in the proper places}
Believes that everything can be fixed with tape (because that’s how I fix her ripped books)
Wants to do everything herself (Miss Independent!)
Funny / Cute things she’s been up to lately:
While shopping in the States this month, I announced that our blender was crap. Well guess what my little parrot took from that? “CRAP!”
If you ask her what her cousin Kinslee says, she’ll reply “Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeh!” in her loudest, screechiest voice
She constantly points to my {naturally dark} joints and says, “Owah. Mama owah.”
When she comes across a group of items, whether it be food on a plate, rocks in the garden, or poop in the toilet, she points to them and calls them “mamas”, “papas”, and “bubbas”, based on their size
Pretends she’s a baby and crawls around the house
When you ask her where her Apple onesie came from, she’ll respond with “Ornia” (it was bought at Apple Headquarters in Cupertino, California)
Well, that was our month. This little lady’s language is exploding and it’s becoming nearly impossible to keep up with her new words. She’s developing such a great little sense of humour and seriously keeps me laughing all day long. But more than anything, she’s got the BIGGEST heart. She wants nothing more than to make others happy. She’s kind to kids on the playground who aren’t so kind to her, she’s happy to share even the most special of treats, she shows genuine concern for others’ feelings, and she doles out hugs generously when they’re needed. I’m so proud of her that it’s sometimes a little overwhelming. She’s certainly a special little girl.
Today our baby girl turned 19 months old. Yeesh. I feel like we just celebrated her half birthday last week. Why do the days have to pass by so quickly?
Here’s what our little Lulu has been up to this month…
Gracen loves:
Going to story time sessions at our local libraries (she visits with the other babies, dances during the songs, and does the actions to the poems)
Cooking and baking with Mama (the instant you mention it, she runs to the kitchen and retrieves her little vintage apron)
Hiding things and having you find them (typically she hides them right in front of you, so it’s not an overly difficult game)
Cottage cheese, avocado, peanut butter and cooked carrots
Being outside (no matter how cold or rainy it is)
Wrapping herself in a blanket and rolling around in it
All animals
Looking for dogs while we drive in the car (which leads to some ridiculously slow driving and rolling our windows up and down a lot)
Having ice cubes in her water
Sweeping, helping with laundry, and “doing” the dishes
Teeny tiny babies (especially her wee friend, Tate)
“Talking” on the phone
Mothergooseclub.com (we’re pretty much done with the TV thing that started during her last bout of teething, but this is becoming its replacement… The teacher in me thinks, ‘at least it’s all nursery rhymes!’)
Having pretend tea parties
Likes “playing” Angry Birds on the iPhone (ugh…talk to her Papa about this one!)
Having her toe nails painted (like LOVES it so desperately that she signs ‘please! please! please!’ while smashing the nail polish bottle on her little toes)
She dislikes:
Having food stuck in her teeth
Having fuzz in her mouth
Laying on Mama’s shoulder if my hair has not been properly cleared away first
She thinks it’s hilarious when:
You get really silly and roll around or “wrestle” with her
You slowly creep towards her while saying, “I’m gonna get you…”
Grae’s new foods include:
Spinach smoothies of all sorts
Biscotti
French crepes
Pine nuts
Tomato salsa
The new words she regularly uses include:
“pool”
“hop”
“uh oh oh ohhh”
“shhhhhhh”
“tea”
“straw”
“run, run, run”
“rain, rain, rain”
“more”
“nin” (in)
“turtle”
“clip”
“bubble”
“beep”
“Grae Grae”
“mane”
“knee”
“bedroom”
“barrette”
The new signs she’s using regularly include:
Happy
Umbrella
Rock
Around
Right now, she:
Talks about her “manmaws” constantly
Sleeps with a pillow (stolen straight from Mama’s side of the bed)
Isn’t afraid to wander off on her own (and therefore we have to keep a really close eye on her)
Gives THE BEST out-of-the-blue leg hugs
Often gives herself an enthusiastic applause after a job well done
Pats Mama’s chest and declares “Mama!” very matter of factly when a stranger says ‘hello’ and she’s feeling shy
Says “uh oh oh” if she sees any sort of mess on the floor
Rushes to get cloths to wipe up real and imaginary spills/messes while saying, “uh oh oh…”
Can retrieve books from her shelf or bin by title
Is rapidly expanding her dance move repertoire
Is really getting into imaginary play (like sipping on pretend tea, having her dolls go potty, and pretending to be sad)
Can point out her chin, cheeks, neck, tongue, teeth, shoulders, bottom, and knees (in addition to the basic body parts she knew previously)
Is really into collecting (rocks, seashells, pinecones – you name it!)
Can do the actions to several of her favourite nursery rhymes and songs (like Where is Thumbkin?, Zoom Zoom, Zoom, and Peel Banana)
Enjoys walking backwards
Can put on her hats, underwear, pants, mittens, and gumboots by herself
Sometimes tells you that she wants to go to sleep in the middle of lunch or dinner
Can climb into her highchair on her own
Can do the buckles on her high chair and car seat
Immediately says “OW-AH!” every time she sees a knife or a pair of scissors and gets very worried if she sees you washing knives
Uses signs (and words) to tell you about places you mention (for example, if I say, Grae, do you want to go to the beach, she’ll sign/say ‘rock’, ‘birdie’, “pup pup”, “drink” because we always collect rocks, see birds and dogs, and stop at Starbucks for hot drinks while visiting the beach)
Gives proper kisses, complete with the ‘muwah!’ sound
Is very brave at playgrounds (she’ll climb up and slide down anything!)
Starting to use words in pairs (like “buh-bye Papa” and “no, no, Grae Grae”)
Refers to herself as “Grae Grae” more than “Bubba”, like she used to
Holds her pointer finger up to her mouth and says “shhh shhh shhhhh” if someone nearby is sleeping
She is very kind to her peers (and wants to hug, kiss, and share with other toddlers at our play groups)
Puts her shoes and hat away in the closet each time we come home
Funny / Cute things she’s been up to lately:
If you ask her to do something, like give you a kiss, and she doesn’t do it, she’ll ask you if you’re sad using her sad/cry sign… When you respond that you are in fact sad, she’ll immediately do what she was asked to do and give a big smile while signing ‘happy’
She’s now got a crazy silly “smile!” face that she pulls out when you’re taking her photo
After framing and hanging her first real finger painting, she now wants to hang all of her artwork on her bedroom walls
If we’re out in public and she hears or sees a baby crying or whining, she imitates the baby’s sounds and you can just tell that she’s feeling sympathetic
When she has to use the potty, she announces, “Poo poo!” (whether it’s number one or two) and then shouts, “Run, run, run!” as she hurries to the bathroom
Many times, she’ll announce, “Poo poo!”, stop to grab a favourite book, and then run to the toilet with her reading material
She likes to keep her pockets filled with “rarahs” (nuts) at all times
Before bedtime, she kisses her dolls, adjusts their blanket, and gives their cradle a rock
She is very affectionate and wants to kiss everything she likes (yes, including rocks)
She lip syncs to her favourite songs very passionately (eyes closed/squinty, body swaying, head bobbing – it’s hilarious!)
The basics:
Stats – Not too much new as we just had her 18 month wellness check up and won’t have another for a while, except for the fact that I measured her (twice – both standing and laying) out of curiosity after she jumped from the 95th percentile down to the 45th percentile for her height between her last two wellness appointments. Turns out she’s actually 84 centimetres (rather than 80), which puts her at the 85th percentile mark.
Teeth – Still 16 (thank goodness – we’re enjoying the teething break!)
Eating – She continues to be a great little eater, but has definitely begun to show preferences for certain things at certain times. Even though she loves Thai curry, it might not be what she wants for dinner the night that I’ve cooked it. We try really hard to not make a big deal of these situations because we know she’ll eat when she’s hungry, and she almost always ends up eating some or all of it. Things that she will never turn away are: tofu, cooked carrots, nuts, seeds, cottage cheese, blueberries, edamame beans, yogurt, anything with peanut butter or almond butter, miso soup, and watermelon.
Drinking – As of now, she continues to drink only water and whole organic milk. She has about 1/2 to 3/4 of a cup of milk with breakfast, after her nap, and with dinner, and drinks water the rest of the time (unless we’re on a special outing and she gets a mini steamed milk when Mama gets a coffee). She does have homemade smoothies for snacks sometimes, but they’re made with milk and naturally-sweet fruit only.
Sleeping – *Knock on wood*, but we continue to have a fantastic little sleeper on our hands. She goes to bed at 6:30 p.m. and sleeps through the night until about 6:30 a.m. (sometimes 7:00 if we’re really lucky). She has one midday nap around noon, and generally sleeps for 2 hours, but it can vary between 1.5 and 2.5 hours. She is definitely a routine little girl, and she does best if she stays on that routine. Having a short nap or going to bed too late can cause an early morning, which is why we almost never stray from her schedule. Although we have always made our very best effort to have her sleep at home in her crib for nap times and bedtimes, a few months ago we started being able to transfer her from her car seat to her crib if she had accidentally fallen asleep on the way home. We try not to be in the car driving right before nap time, but it’s nice to know that her nap won’t be ruined if she does fall asleep in the car.
Potty training – We’re pretty much back to business as usual in the potty department! When Grae and I got really sick at the end of January / beginning of February, we had Gracen in a diaper full-time for a week as she was spending most of her days sleeping. Of course, wearing a diaper after going 3 months without, caused a little bit of backtracking, but we’re back to no diapers at home and on short outings. I have been putting one on her for long outings (like a 10 km seawall walk or a day at Granville Island), but she’s been keeping those dry too. Looks like Mama has to man up, be brave, and let them go again.
Well, that’s been Miss G’s month. Like always, our little lady is a constant source of humour and joy and time seems to fly by faster than it did the month before. I’m excited for what next month will bring… I know that very soon she’ll be learning so quickly that I will no longer be able to keep track of all of this stuff, but hey – I’m up for the challenge! Here’s to another wonderful month with our Little Lulu. ♥
This afternoon we had Miss G’s 18 month wellness check up. Although I love knowing that she’s growing, gaining weight, and reaching her milestones as expected, I absolutely dread the vaccination part. I’ve always disliked it (especially in Kuwait at those terrifying government clinics), but now that she’s older, it’s worse. Afterwards, she looks up at me with these big tear-filled eyes with a ‘Mama, you knew that was going to happen’ expression. Break my mama heart. The good news is that this time around it was only one shot compared to the four she had to get at twelve months. And getting to choose an animal sticker and play with toys afterwards seemed to pretty much make up for the poke.
The other good news is that our nurse was really happy with all of her measurements, skills, and progress. This months measurements may be a little off because it was the first time she was weighed with clothes and shoes on, and it was the first time she was standing when her height was measured, but close enough. Here are her 18 month stats:
Weight – 25 pounds (up from 21 pounds at her 12 month visit, jumping her up from the 50th percentile to the 65th)
Height – 80 centimetres (up from 76 centimetres at her 12 month visit, moving her way down from the 95th percentile to the 45th!)
Head Circumference – 48 centimetres (up a half centimetre from her 12 month visit, moving her just a tiny bit from the 90th percentile down to the 87th)
When we originally pulled up to the clinic, my unsuspecting little lady saw the playground at the school across the street and started bouncing with excitement. Of course, little did she know, we weren’t there to play. I told her that we were going to visit the nurses, and afterwards, we’d go to a park. So that’s exactly what we did.
It was freezing cold and we were the only ones there, but she was pleased none the less.
We played, ran, slid, and hid and then headed home to have dinner and a warm bath!
My baby girl turned 18 months old today. Officially one and a half. As in… Tomorrow she’ll be closer to two years old than to one. Goodness gracious…
One thing I’ve noticed since becoming a mommy is that I now have an overwhelming urge to create traditions, make the holidays more special than ever, and create memories that our little lady will keep with her always. So today, we continued a little tradition we started last year. We celebrated Gracen’s half birthday. Nothing fancy. Just a day focused on Grae with a few special little things mixed in here and there.
Our day included a trip to Science World with friends, a Mama and munchkin date for hot drinks, picking up helium balloons on a whim, and a “cupcake” (a healthy banana nut muffin topped with fresh whipped cream) with a candle after dinner.
Here’s what our little lady has been up to this month…
Gracen loves:
Having dance parties in her crib
Wearing sunglasses (and actually keeps them on!)
All animals (she often chooses to read non-fiction animal books over story books)
Having painted toes (although Papa’s put the kibosh on that)
Playing hide-and-seek
Splashing in puddles
The “Papa Song”, a.k.a. ‘Howling for You’ by The Black Keys (and requests it multiple times a day)
Doing jobs (she actively seeks them out and sticks with them until they’re done)
Greek food (tzatziki especially)
The colour purple (she points out purple things everywhere we go and is in LOVE with her purple shoes, purple crayons, and purple clothes)
Cooking and baking
She doesn’t like:
Having things taken away from her if she’s enjoying them
Potatoes (still)
She thinks it’s hilarious when:
She’s laying on the floor and you lightly put your foot on her belly and wiggle it around
She sits on your belly and bounces up and down
She grasps on to the back of your shirt and follows you around like a little shadow
Grae’s new foods include:
Mexican lasagna
Fruit salsa
Quiche
Mustard
Larabars
Stovetop-popped popcorn
Mango popsicle (not that it’s a new food that she regularly eats, but she did get one when she was getting over last month’s sickness and had a dry cough and sore throat)
Also, my brother and sister-in-law will be very pleased to know that although Grae doesn’t get junk food (and won’t for a while!), she has had honey, pure maple syrup, and organic cane sugar (in tiny amounts) when they’ve been baked into things like homemade muffins or granola
The new words she regularly uses include:
“star”
“bedroom”
“dot”
“peep” (like a chick)
“blue”
“heart”
“bump!”
“G”
“Chay Chay” (her cousin’s name is Chayton and we often call him Chay or Chay Chay)
“straw”
The new signs she’s using regularly include:
Cry / sad
Hurt
Water
She now:
Mimics the emotions she sees characters displaying in books
Is very into shapes and can consistently point out circles, hearts, and stars
Can point out most basic colours
Points and calls out “purple!” and “blue!” when she sees objects of those colours
Has an amazing memory (sometimes I truly cannot believe the things she remembers)
Is great with locations and directions and can find her way to favourite places in stores we visit regularly (like to the fish tanks in the back corner of Superstore)
Points out the capital letter ‘G’ in books and in the environment (she finds them on posters tacked on power poles, on store signs, and in newspaper headlines)
Is great at cleaning up and has no issue with tidying one thing before you help her get something else out
Helps with laundry and is totally insulted if you try to do it without her
Remembers who bought things for her and regularly pats the items while announcing the name of the person who purchased them for her (we always hear about “manmaw” {Sue} when she puts on her raincoat, “manmaw” {Charlotte} when she wears her cream sweater, and Papa when she sits in her carseat)
Has 16 teeth! (all 8 front ones, four molars, and four canines)
Walks upright up and down stairs when she has a hand or railing for support
Does a funny gallop / skip sort of walk
Is experimenting with jumping
Funny / Cute things she’s been up to lately:
I’ve walked into her room twice recently and found her “nursing” her baby (just picture this – Grae sitting in her reading corner with her shirt off, her baby in cradle position near her chest, while making suckling noises… too cute!)
She dances in the car pretty much the entire time she’s in there
Regularly requests ‘Chay Chay videos’ (videos of her cousins) by saying ‘Chay Chay’ while holding my phone in one hand and putting her other palm up to the sky
She requests the “Papa song” (Jennifer Gasoi’s ‘Monsieur Glouton’) and “Mama song” (Jennifer Gasoi’s ‘The Pizza Man’) over and over again while in the car
She says “nomanomaneigh” if she accidentally bites you (she can get a little aggressive while giving kisses)
Big things that have happened this month:
She spent her first day away from Mama / spent her first full day with Papa
She met her new little friend, Baby Tate when he was less than 24 hours old
Well, another month and what feels like a hundred new little things learned by our doodlebug… Before we know it, it will be time to start planning her second birthday party. (Okay, who am I kidding? I’ve already given it some serious thought.)
If you want to see the difference 12 short months makes, you can see her last half birthday update here.
This post is late. BEYOND late. So late in fact, that Gracen will be 18 months old in just 2 days. But we were so sick when she turned 17 months that staying awake was nearly impossible… Let alone posting a monthly update. So here it is, short and sweet with one lousy picture of my very sick {at the time} little doodle.
Gracen loves:
Pillows (still)
Taking care of her babies (they get regular cuddles, kisses, and pats on the back, as well as snack and book deliveries)
Colouring in her colouring books
Drawing on her chalkboard
Moving objects from one place to another, and then moving them back again
Books (she carries them with her absolutely everywhere)
Hanging out in Mama and Papa’s bed (she dives into the pillows and then buries herself in the duvet)
Unwrapping presents
Milk
Raisins (so much so that she’s been known to try and sneak them out of the cupboard)
Doing puzzles
All animals
She thinks it’s hilarious when:
You hide from her, jump out, and shout “Boo!”
She runs and hides from you
Grae’s new foods include:
Radishes
Stovetop-popped popcorn
All kinds of Mexican foods
Pretzel crackers (we were on a 9 hour drive to the Okanagan in terrible weather and were desperate)
We also tried juicing an orange for her while she was sick, but she’d have absolutely nothing to do with orange juice
The new words she regularly uses include:
“Table”
“Manpaw” – grandpa
“Cock-a-doodle-doo”
“Bzzzzzz” (bee sound)
“Gido”
“Mango”
The new signs she’s using regularly include:
Frog
Puppy
Rabbit
Butterfly
She now:
Has a new big girl car seat (still rear facing)
Answers ‘yes’ and ‘no’ appropriately to almost all questions
Has 14 teeth (8 in the front, 4 molars, and 2 canines on top)
Is starting to walk up and down stairs upright
Funny / Cute things she’s been up to lately:
She is still ridiculously kissy and loves on you all day long
She instructs you on where to blow bubbles on her body and then giggles like mad when you do
No matter what’s going on or what’s she’s up to, if she sees the TV remotes somewhere, she immediately stops what she’s doing, retrieves them, and delivers them to her Papa
When taking a crayon from her jar or a cracker from the box, she stops, holds up one finger, and then carefully selects just one item
She loves doing jobs around the house and actively seeks them out
January was a bit of a crazy month for us… Between traveling home to the Okanagan for a week, our ‘Christmas in January’ celebration, another round of teething, and the sickness that hit our house just recently, things have been a little chaotic. Here’s to a low-key February!
Today our little self-feeding, yogurt-loving, mess-making monster turned 16 months old. I truly have loved every stage, but she just seems to be getting more and more fun as time goes on. Here’s what she’s been up to this past month…
Gracen loves:
Pillows (they automatically make her roll around and rub her face into them)
Being read to (she’ll often sit with you for 10 consecutive books if you’ll keep reading)
Being in the bath (splashing is her new thing)
Music and dancing (she often requests that music be turned on by doing an enthusiastic fist pump dance)
Oranges (especially the baby sugar mandarins that seem to be everywhere right now – by the time we check out at the grocery store, she’s normally already eaten 3)
Being a little helper (whether it’s making dinner, folding laundry, or unpacking groceries, she’s ready and willing!)
Putting random things in bags and carrying them around the house like a purse
Eating crunchy foods (crackers, seeds, and nuts are her favourite)
All shoes (especially her gumboots)
Lift-the-flap books (although we almost always have a couple “off limits” and in need of repairs)
Bowls (filling them, stacking them, emptying them, and just carrying them around)
Birds (despite her run in with one earlier this month)
Dancing (especially to Papa’s music)
Sitting at her table and drawing or colouring
Picking people out in photos
Delivering things to the garbage and compost bucket
Her Papa (everything is about Papa in this house – Grae wears her hat like Papa, dances like Papa, puts on her sweater like Papa, eats bars like Papa…)
Watching Baby TV (ugh.)
She doesn’t like:
Having to hold someone’s hand while walking
Being told that she’s not allowed to do something
Having her mouth pried open to brush her teeth
Potatoes (so weird…)
She thinks it’s hilarious when:
You put her in a plastic bin and zoom her along the tile floor
You bend down to do something and she sneaks up behind you, lifts the back of your shirt, and blows bubbles on your back
Someone is chasing her
You hide around a corner and pop out just as she’s about to walk by
Grae’s new foods include:
Baked yam fries
Homemade chicken tenders
Swiss chard
Mediterranean chili
Dill pickles
Homemade tortilla chips
Artichoke pesto
Garlic scape pesto
Homemade perogies
Cabbage rolls
All-natural turkey kolbassa
Sour cream
Red Thai curry
Yellow Thai curry
The new words she regularly uses include:
“No, no, no” (often while shaking her pointer finger)
“Pillow”
“Bowl”
“Diaper”
“Owah” – owie
“Ummmm…” (the sound she makes while making a decision)
“Dirty”
“Kitty”
“Owl”
“Man-ma” – grandma
“Pompost” – compost
“Moo”
“N-yeah” – thank you (I’m not sure how this one came about, but it’s been around for a long while now. She started off saying “n-yeah” as she signed ‘thank you’, but now she often leaves out the sign. If you say, “Grae, say thank you”, she immediately responds with “n-yeah”. Nobody else knows what she’s talking about, but I guess what really counts is that we do.)
The new signs she’s using regularly include:
Thank you
Pencil / Pen / Crayon
Mouse
Kitty
Bee
Airplane
Steam
Sleep
Pacifier
Phone
She now:
No longer wears diapers during the day (and has only had one accident in the past couple of weeks… Cross our fingers it continues this way because she is very sensitive if she does have one )
Does the actions to ‘If You’re Happy and You Know It’
Loves being asked to point out different objects in books
Regularly says/signs please and thank you
Regularly asks for help instead of getting frustrated and whining
Can follow multi-step instructions (like “go get your shoes and bring them to Mama” or “pick up your books and put them in the basket”)
Can be transferred from the car into her crib if she falls asleep while out
Chooses her pajamas and parts of her outfit everyday
Loves milk (this took a while for us, but she regularly asks for it now)
Is very sympathetic if she hurts you or makes you upset (immediate kisses to follow)
Runs
Has 12 teeth (8 in the front plus her 4 molars)
Blows her nose when asked
Blows on her food when it’s hot
Funny / Cute things she’s been up to lately:
She knows all about camels (thanks to our Kuwait Christmas ornaments) and can pick them out anywhere
She’ll also tell you that a camel says “t-puh, t-puh” (her sound for spitting)
She shouts “Mama!” when looking for me in a loud voice with a French-sounding accent
She acts like a little mommy to all of her dolls and makes sure each gets a turn being held, fed, burped, etc.
She tries to wear Mama’s earrings by hooking them inside her ears
She kisses random objects all around her bedroom before going to sleep
She can point out the location of a washroom in a public place in a matter of minutes (it’s like she has bathroom radar)
She loves to make choices and normally hums “ummmm…” while curling her hand below her chin while making them
She kisses any “owies” you may have
She’s ridiculously kissy and loves on you all day long
Big things that have happened this month:
She was bit by a giant seagull while visiting Granville Island
She visited the dentist for the very first time
She met Canadian Santa (too many times possibly)
Let’s hope things slow down soon because if they keep up at this rate, she’ll be moving out soon and her Mama will be sitting in a heap on the front porch watching her drive away…
I’m not quite sure what happened here, but today we went to Play Gym up at Sunset after missing it last week, and suddenly my little lady can do all kinds of things she couldn’t do last time we were there…
Today she was getting in and out of the little cars without any help…
Positioning herself in front of the slide and sending herself down all by herself…
And got down off of the trampoline on her own… How did this happen so quickly?
And yes, I am completely aware of the fact that my one year old looks like she dressed herself… In fact, she sort of did. Every morning when we get ready for the day, I pick out part of her outfit and she picks out the remaining items. I had already picked the striped leggings and teal cardigan this morning, but the problem was that there weren’t many viable t-shirt options. As much as I hoped she’d pick the plain white tee, she opted for the canary yellow one instead. And don’t even get me started on the purple dotted shoes. She’s in loooove with these shoes right now. Most days she wears them around the house too and cries when I tell her that they have to come off for nap time, so there was no convincing her that other shoes might better suit this outfit. :)
Well, today was G’s first day in big girl panties… And she did great! Other than one little piddle before making it all the way to the potty, she told us when she needed to go and used the toilet like it was something she’s always done.
Not to mention that she may be the only person on the planet that is able to baggy-bummed panties look this cute. :)