21-Months

This last month flew by! Kaylee amazes me every day. Let's see, what is new ...

Oh, Kaylee started off her 21st month by vomiting in the car.  Curtis had the lovely job of cleaning baby vomit out of our carseat again! Thankfully we were home and not in the middle of a road trip. And thankfully it was a one time occurrence. I will be a happy person if we have met our quota for car vomit. Especially with our 21+ hour drive to Montana this summer!


Things we can brag about Kaylee but don't:
* Understands the difference between big and small. She is always making comparisons.

* Makes weather observations. She says the word sky, will sign if it is raining or sunny, and seems to understand if it is cold and windy.

* ABCs almost mastered, upper & lower case. It appears she has an understanding of the ABCs. She'll identify letters on store signs and on tv. She doesn't quite have the reading from left to right concept down. And she doesn't know the ABC song, I just don't sing it much.

* Working on number recognition. She still loves the number 8, and will insist that the number 0 is the letter O. We are using the classic game of hop scotch to help with numbers, and counting is still a hit and miss concept. We just put up a large clock in the loft to use as a tool for learning numbers, and eventually learning how to tell time.

* Colors - seems to know them all, and her favorite color is blue.

* Dance and music - Kaylee loves to dance and bop to ANY catchy music she hears, and often gets upset when the music ends to soon.

* Videos - so due to recent health issues to May and Dad (stomach virus and all that goes with it) Kaylee has been watching tons of videos. Some educational such as Baby Einstein videos with accompanying flash cards. And some not as educational such as the Toy Story trilogy. So as a result Kaylee knows all about the ocean, and she also loves Woody from Toy Story. Although she wants nothing to do with any type of Toy Story merchandise.

* No swim lessons or gymnastics yet. But she sure can benefit from them. She loves to climb, hang, swing, and jump; anything physical.

* Teething - Kaylee appears to be getting her rear molars. She is handling the discomfort just fine, but she is sticking everything in her mouth again.

* Speech & Words - Kaylee's vocabulary is expanding daily. She does a good job at attempting any word you ask her to say. She is getting better at 2-syllable words, and we are working on sentences such as, "Mommy, more books please.", and "What is that?".  She has learned to put "please" at the end of a request, and her favorite sentence is "There it is.".

* Words frequently used:
- May, almost every other word is May or a version of it. She has now mastered Mommy.
- Up, with a please afterwards to ensure she gets picked up. And she is finally using the word 'down'.
- Help, a word we try to get her to say in order to avoid a meltdown.
- Dad or Daddy, and she likes to yell it.
- Cats, whenever she hears a noise while she is trying to fall asleep she says it is the cats, and she is usually right. Now she is calling them by their correct names, Kitty and Annie.
- Jump, whenever she jumps, and she jumps often, she will say jump.
- No, an obvious favorite word of any toddler. And she says it anytime something is not going how she likes, planned, or preferred.
- Sit, she like to tell you exactly where she wants you to sit.

* Same and Different - We started to play a simple matching game we got out of our Highlights High Five magazine. It has taught her what is the same and what is different, and the concept of taking turns.

* Babies Can Read - We have not viewed the videos in a while, and it has shown in her reduced ability to recognize words. So this post has reminded me to bring the books & flash cards back into our daily activities.

* Sign Language - As Kaylee's speech and communication abilities improve we have less need to introduce signs. Although we still quiz her on the signs she does know, and she does still uses them because words like elephant and giraffe are still challenging. A new thing Kaylee has started is to sign and say the word. We want to continue learning signs because it is something we'd like to continue as a lifelong family activity, but obviously it isn't the focus now that she is using more words to communicate.

* Craft Time - We recently introduced water color paints to Kaylee.  It is fun, but she spends maybe 3 minutes doing it and then she is ready to move on.  Play-doh is also a new activity, but she won't touch the stuff.  I play with it and she watches.  Previous "craft time" included crayons, sidewalk chalk, and markers (with supervision).

* Baking - Kaylee loves to be held.  In fact I think I hold her at least 50% of the day.  Holding her and baking, even though I am still learning the art of baking, is a very difficult thing to do.  So I pulled out some generic fruit loops, multiple containers, and measuring cups.  She really enjoyed "measuring" and pouring the contents into another bowl.    

* 2nd birthday - Birthday #2 is less than 3 months away. The party will be held on her actual birthday since it falls on a Saturday this year. So Saturday, May 28th we will be hosting the party here at the house. It will be very much like last year, a gathering of family and friends with lots of food, a jumpy, a pinata, and maybe a few kid themed activities. I suspect that Kaylee will love all the people and excitement, just like last year. As for presents, I will compile a list of present ideas and post it later. 


So a lot is happening and it is all amazing to watch.  Lately I've been feeling a bit nostalgic towards toys, characteristics, and preferences that Kaylee has outgrown.  It is just part of the adventure.  Okay, I think I covered everything and then some.