20 months!

Elise turned 20 months old last week. I started this post a while ago but since I'm up with allergies for the second night in a row I decided to finish it tonight (make that this morning?). Maybe next month I will actually finish the post on the 23rd.

She is at such a fun age right now. She is generally very happy and playful. She continues to talk and talk and talk. Most of the time, we can rationalize with her. She understands what is hers and what is not and accepts it. If she wants something that she can't have (or can't have at the moment), she generally accepts the "we'll have a snack when we get home" or "we'll have some more milk at home" or "that's daddy's food" or "we'll eat lunch in a little while" or "you already had an orange for breakfast, so we'll wait and have another orange tomorrow" or "we'll go to the park tomorrow" or "finish your ___ first, and then you can eat ___" or "we might see another ___ later" (if she sees a school bus, airplane, helicopter, etc and immediately wants to see "another one!"). If she gets upset about something, it is usually that she wants to be picked up while I am making dinner or doing something that requires both of my hands.

Highlights of this month:

*says a ton of 3-4 word subject-verb sentences (like "Mama peel orange", "Elise did it", "Mama go get it", "Mama pet Boss", etc

*counts to 10 (we like to count pieces of food in the high chair and she especially likes to alternate saying the numbers with us)

*often uses a fork at mealtimes, though not exclusively

*is starting to get a little bossy! She has been "ordering" Boss around for a few months (by saying "down here, Boss", "right here, Boss", or "come play, Boss" and now she is doing the same thing with us

*memorized a lot of her books and constantly surprises us by what she remembers. If you start reading and pause, she will fill in the next word, phrase, or sentence. Sometimes she will even turn to a page and tell you what it says without you saying anything at all. The other day, she opened "Moo, Baa, La La La" and read the first three pages without me doing anything.

*knows the name of her books by looking at the cover or looking at the spine (when the books are in the bookshelf)

*often plays with duplos, tea set/dishes, books, crayons, and purses

*loves to pray at mealtimes and before bed... sometimes will ask you to pray and always asks you to "pay again!" when you are finished

*often says "please mama" and "thank you mama" without being prompted

*likes to "sing" along with songs from her learning home or from the radio in the car

*immediately recognizes many places and says the name as soon as we drive past it or into the parking lot (like HEB, Walmart, Gap (the mall, haha), Starbucks, church, home, Mark and Ali's house, Mimi's house, Gram's house, etc)


Sleeping

Elise is still a GREAT sleeper. Right now she goes to bed around 7:30 and usually wakes up around 8:15 or 8:30. I usually let her talk happily in her crib for another 15-20 minutes. She has been going down for a nap between 12:45-1 and sleeping for 2-3 hours. If she wakes up crying (which rarely happens), I will go in there, read her a book, and tell her it is time to go back to sleep. She'll either fall back asleep or just lay there and eventually start talking to herself.

Nursery

She is doing very well in the church nursery for 2 services (from approximately 9:25-12:10). We weren't sure how this was going to work out since she used to eat lunch around 11:30 and take a nap around 12, but I slowly pushed all of this back and she has been doing great. Several of our friends have worked in her class and say that she is super quiet. Last week, the workers from 2nd hour said that she had been talking a lot and seemed surprised by all of the words that she says. I was excited to hear that she is getting more talkative in there. There are usually fewer kids in there for the second service so maybe she feels more comfortable in a smaller group. I am hoping to start a mother's day out program with her when we get settled in Alabama and I think she will love it.

Behavior

She is very good about not getting into things that she isn't supposed to. I have never walked into a room and found a big mess. She just doesn't get into things that aren't hers. She also does well at other houses that are not babyproofed. I think she's going to be a neat child. She is very bothered by seeing trash on the floor (or ground outside, etc) and hates having messy hands. She asks for us to wipe her hands several times during a meal. She still behaves very well in the car, in the stroller, in the high chair, and during errands.

Eating

She is still a good eater. I think she has been going through a growth spurt because she has been eating constantly for several days in a row. Last night, she claimed that she was hungry just before bedtime. I heated up some frozen peas and carrots and she devoured them and then asked for "more peas carrots?" What a yummy bedtime snack! Haha. She is very reluctant to try new things, especially things that are mixed together and cooked (for example, this week she has rejected spaghetti and enchiladas). However, she will eat most vegetables, all fruits, cheese, beans, and most meat.


A few funny things that she's done this month...

A few weeks ago, we were reading an alphabet book that pairs letters with animals. I got to the J page and said "J is for...." and she excitedly said "John John!" I'm not sure where she picked this up, but it was pretty funny. To this day, she still equates "J" with "John John".

One day, I was making dinner and she climbed up on the couch. She triumphantly shouted "Elise did it!" followed immediately by "Elise sit down! Elise sit down!" I guess she had heard that before :)

She looooves her grandparents and could care less if Mike and I leave while she is with any of them. Recently, my mom was playing with her and Mike and I walked into the room. She looked up and said "Bye Daddy! Bye Mommy!"

So, I know I promised pictures last month and it still hasn't happened... I do think it is highly likely that I will post some pictures as my next post. Please forgive me! In other news, it looks like we have a buyer for our house! We're still negotiating but we expect to go to the title company with the buyer next week to start the process. Please pray that God's hand would be on this process and that it would work out as He intends. We would love to close within the next few weeks and then rent the house back until mid-November. Have a great day!