22 Months Old

Soooooooo....It's time to report on the latest Daisy happenings again.

I won't continue these uber long monthly updates after Daisy turns 2.  After that I'll probably join the crowd and do a 6 month update or so.  Honestly, I can't believe I've kept it up as long as I have! lol.   

Meanwhile, our little girl is now a mere 2 months shy of being 2 years old! I have decided to change her birthday theme from Elmo to a Woody from Toy Story with a cowgirl flair theme. Yah, that was a mouth full. She still likes Elmo but, over the past two months she has grown extremely fond of Woody and Buzz and asks to watch the movie daily. I am on an uber tight budget so this year won't be like last year but, I am trying to find creative ways to make the party cute without the price tag.  I know Daisy could care less but, I enjoy decorating and my rule is that as long as I don't get stressed out about it...it's worth it:).  I just can't believe my baby is not much of a baby anymore.

Sooooo...22 months... (This is Daisy with one of her buddies, Austin.  Aren't they so cute together:). Daisy's face cracks me up because she is making her kiss face and it looks so funny from the side.  Austin was a gentleman and kissed her on the forehead:). hehe  You love giving people hugs and kisses. 

*Generally wake up between 6-7 but, I don't get you until 7 and if you don't fall back to sleep you'll either chat or sing while you wait. lol  You have never been a solid sleeper and even now you will wake up at 5 or 5:30 some mornings but, you eventually fall back to sleep.  We put you to bed at 8PM and you usually chat happily and kick the bed rails for about 20-30 minutes before crashing.  I am so thankful for how well you sleep now overall.  I had a really rough 12+ months with you and it is such a blessing to be getting a full nights sleep (more or less:) now.

*Nap once a day from around 1PM-3 give or take. The past 2 weeks you have been taking crazy long naps from like 1-4 or later and I have even woken you up because you were sleeping too long! I think God is helping me to make up for the first year of your life when I didn't sleep a lick.  It's been HEAVENLY to say the least. Since writing this you a few days ago, are back to a 1.5 hour nap.  I guess I jinked it. lol

* You are obsessed with Buzz and Woody (and most recently Jessie) from Toy Story.  You only watch the first 20-30 minutes or so of the movies as I am not a big fan of the intense scenes for someone your age.  You don't care so it works out fine.  Readers, don't judge me...I have good reasons.:)  We swing down the toy aisle every time we are in Wal-Mart or Target just so you can play with the Toy Story characters. 

*You love to play outside.  It doesn't even matter what we do so long as I am close by and you can make a mess or play in the water.  Sometimes you color with me or we kick a ball around or push your baby in her stroller.  We have been blessed with a mild winter so far and you have gotten to go out back and play quite a bit lately.  I'm so thankful for that!

*You are always asking for a piece of my gum and for whatever reason you call it "gobble." It's the funniest thing!  You are chatting SO much now.   A lot of it is babble that I don't understand but, you are constantly asking for things....or yelling at me for things, "mommy millllkkk, mommy poppy, mommy snack, mommy potty, mommy up." It's non-stop and my ears feel like they are falling off most days..but, it's okay...I still love yah to pieces:). 

*You still have separation anxiety which is very normal for a child who is with her momma as much as you are with me.  You are terrified of ALL men.  You absolutely will not let them touch you or hold you and if we are in a store and one (a man...lol) comes near you, you ask me to pick you up so you can bury your face in my shoulder and then you get really shy.  I have some ideas as to why this might be so I am not making a big deal out of it and I am trying to gently help you to overcome this little fear.  I'm curious how long this will last.

*Baths are still a fave of yours. You get your own towel and washcloth out of the closet now and you love to play with your toys in the water...and splash of course!  You are good at helping me clean up your toys after bath time...so proud of you! (not so good at clean up your toys around the house yet). You love to help me cook now.  I pull up a chair to the counter and give you things to pretend cut and you are in baby heaven.  You love to stir things that are cooking on the stove...that has been tricky but we make it happen.  I love letting you help me!

*You are very polite and will say tank you and yo wewcome without being told to.  It's so cute to hear you say those words and to say them so frequently. You are very sweet little girl and I'm not just saying that because I'm your mommy.  You are so gentle with little babies and you are always taking in your surroundings and the people around you. 

*You love to pray and are starting to learn to squeeze your eyes closed when you pray.  You love to peak at us while we pray and it cracks me up.  You still love to shout ayyymeen and clap after every prayer.  I think that is a great way to end a prayer so I always join you! 

*You are getting pickier with food again.  You were doing really well for a little while but, you are back to being very cautious about what you will put in your mouth.  You love Daddy's salty grilled asparagus though and that makes me happy.  You also love chips and fresh salsa.  I sometimes make drinks with the juicer and combine spinach, broccoli, carrots and apples and you love the juice.  That also makes me happy! Faves are cheese, gogurt, applesauce, crackers, chips, fruit cups, oatmeal, meat (you love meats and had a lot of chuck roast today), pj & j, chicken nuggets, and little bites of just about whatever I am eating.  Still prefer juice to milk but, have started to drink a little more milk lately. You are so good at feeding yourself now! I give you a kiddie fork or spoon and you have gotten really accurate at getting food onto the spoon and into your mouth!  Don't get me wrong you spill a lot too but, it's not bad and you are so proud of yourself!! You sit at the big people table now with a booster seat.  I think the high chair has ran it's course.  I loved the high chair and still prefer it but, I want to encourage you to take on new milestones and to grow age appropriately. It's so fun to eat at the table as a family with you!

*You are shy!  I wasn't expecting this as you seemed to be such an outgoing little baby but, you are becoming more introverted and shy the older you get.  I don't ever want to force you to be something that you are not so I try never to push people or things on you.  People grow on you but, you just need time to warm up to them for a couple of hours usually. lol (jets were flying right over the house as we took the picture below.  You got good at covering your ears:)

*You love playing with my makeup much to my dismay.  You wanted to carry my make up bag around all day long for weeks on end and it was a messy ordeal.  You are also obsessed with emptying the contents of my purse and playing with everything in it..especially my chap sticks. Silly girl.  You even pretend to put contacts in your eyes and spray perfume on your shirt because you want to be just like mommy.  You are adorable!  These are some of our favorite kiddos on Earth L to R: of course Daisy almost 2 Austin almost 3, Everett almost 1 and Logan almost 5!  We have seen all of these boys grow up and they are very special to our family!  Daisy loves kissing baby Everett and she is so sweet with him.  She also seems very fond of the hugs and attention that she gets from Austin and Logan.  They call her a princess and tell her that she is beautiful.  They are being raised to be such gentleman!  Love these kids!

*You have gotten so much better about being in your car seat lately.  We used to have to give you tons of toys and do all sorts of things to keep you entertained and happy but, now we just give you your poppy and little blanket and maybe a baby doll and you chill really well so long as the drives aren't too long.  I am getting you an in car DVD player asap though and I know that will help even more:).  I'm all for happy kids, happy car ride! I'm so proud of you for all the progress you have made!

*Wear size 5 diapers - Target brand, size 24 month/2T clothes with plenty of room to spare (you'll be wearing this for a long time!) and size 5 shoes (getting tight).  You have begun to attempt putting on your own clothes but, you are still a ways off from actually accomplishing this:).  You like pretty dresses and skirts and you love when we ooo and aaahhh over you in your pretty things.  You like to brush and comb your own hair now too:).  You have all of your teeth now (for a while).  All 4 of your two year molars are in so I think you are done for a while and no one deserves a break from the non-stop teething more than you!

*You love Daddy and whenever you hear his truck pull up outside you get so excited to greet him.  You totally have him wrapped around your finger...no joke.   You love going in the garage and playing with all of Daddy's things.  You still call Daddy, "Joey" sometimes and you giggle when you say it.  It's pretty funny.

*You know the names of all of these shows, Elmo's World, Diego, Caillou, Word World, The Cat in the Hat, Bob the Builder, Dinosaur Train and Barney.  Of course the way you say them is SO much cuter and I wish I had them all on recording.  You still love sitting in your red chair with your poppy (pacifier) and bunky (blanket) in the morning when you first wake up.  You love rubbing the satin edge of your blanket between your fingers.  It is so cute to watch you snuggling.

*You are becoming more interested in book reading lately.  You have a super short attention span (yes, normal for a baby but, yours is especially short for anything other than TV) so reading books with you is a challenge but, we are making progress.  I try to read to you every night before bedtime to help you relax.  You love your good morning, good night book.

*You love candy (you ask for candy and cake all day long!!)
, coffee and soda...and yes, I try really hard to not let you have any of these things but, every once in a while I spoil you. lol.

*You say "cheese, smile" whenever someone is trying to take your picture.   lol.  And if you get a hold of a cell phone you hold it in front of your face and pretend to take your own picture while saying, "cheese, smile."  You are such a cutie.

*You love when I sing you Jesus love you this I know at bedtime every night.

*You love going to the pet store to look at the animals birds, fishies etc.  I can't wait until it warms up more and we will take you to the zoo again!

*You feed yourself all the time now.  You use your own fork and spoon and you have gotten really good at it!  You also drink out of a regular glass quite a bit now and you are really good at that too though spills are still inevitable so the sippy cup is still a first choice.

*You play really well with older kids and with babies...it's your peers that you have the most trouble with as their is more competition and less sharing:).  Totally normal. 

*You are happiest in your own home and space.  You behave best and are more relaxed.  I'd say you are a homebody like your Momma:).

I love being your mommy Daisy.   You love to give me hugs and kisses and you always tell me that you love me...what more could a Mom want? I know that every day is a gift and I cherish as much of life with you as I possibly can little one.  I pray that this year is a wonderful year of fun and adventure for us! xoxo