2nd birthday disaster

I spent weeks of planning her awesome elmo birthday party and she spent the majority of the party crying.  The night started out well. We got some cute pictures of her and she was playing with her cousins. I don't remember exactly when the fussiness started but it just escalated. We ended up spending half the party outside walking with her. I even walked all the way to the nature center to see her favorite bunnies. On the way back she refused to sit in her car or walk so I had to carry 29 lbs and push the car with my hip.  Every time we tried to take her back in the house she would cry and scream again.  The singing happy birthday and blowing out candle part that I tried to prep her and get her excited about for the last several days was like ripping off a bandaid--did it quick and as painless as possible.  It wasn't until some people started leaving and I took her upstairs for a bath to just calm her down and get her away from the chaos that she became more like my sweet baby. We went back downstairs afterwards and she happily opened her presents but we did it oh so slowly to not overwhelm her.  So it took a failed birthday party for me to realize she doesn't like crowds and attention.  I would never have guessed it considering she likes to say hi to random strangers and strangers are always saying "she's so friendly!"  *sigh* I hope this is just a phase.

At 23 months...

• I cannot believe I have an almost 2 year old (!?!)
• She is saying LOTS of two word phrases such as "daddy car", "more cheese".  Everything is "right there" even if it's not.  She also said "teddy I love you" once and just this morning randomly said "I love elmo" (elmo wasn't anywhere in sight) but I'm glad she said this because little does she know, her birthday party is going to be elmo-themed!
• Had my second parent teacher conference this morning. Her teacher, Ms. Michelle is an amazing teacher and caretaker. Avi loves her so I love her too!  Ms. Michelle tells me how wonderful, intelligent, and sweet Avi is.  She's mastered everything that's been taught in her Orientation 1 class.  I learned that she knows all her shapes including obscure ones like hexagon and pentagon. She may not be able to say the word but she can recognize and match. She, along with Matthew and 4-5 other kids will be moving up to the next class in January!!
• Oh a very annoying thing she's been doing is she "beeps" you if you're in her way.  Yes, literally, pushes you with her hand and says "beeep!"  One time, I wanted to give her a taste of her own medicine so I did a hand in her face "beeeeeep!!" But I realize, I should not encourage this behavior...  #beingamatureadult. 
• She went to Chuck E. Cheeses for the first time for her aunt Justine's 5th birthday.  She was so afraid of Chuck E. that we had to sit as far away from the stage as possible. 
• She was Hello Kitty for Halloween.  I was Keroppi and dad was Batdz Maru.  Because of her fear of ppl in costumes, I was worried she would think Halloween a huge nightmare. It turned  out the night went smoothly. She  enjoyed roaming our street and grabbing candy (even though I don't think she knows what candy is yet, and I intend to keep her innocence for as long as possible!  There was a close call when she unwrapped a Dum-Dum but I got to it in time). She also liked to push her way into ppl's houses. 
• She loves animals. 
• After months and months of trying to get her to say "bird" and thinking it would be her first word, she finally says it instead of just "chirp chirp".  She also can say "elephant" instead of "boom boom".  
• Some conundrum phrases that only a parent could decipher: "dote side" = "it's dark outside", "like it" = "i don't like it"
• She loves eggs and will eat 3 eggs scrambled and likely more if we let her for breakfast. 
• When we go for walks in her red car, she always wants to go to the Nature Center to see thebunnies and turtle. The other option is to go see the train at the dead end of our street. 
• She refers to intangible things. For example, she may ask for the iPad even if she doesn't see it.
• She tries to sing along to songs. I was singing "The Wheels on the Bus" and she sang the "all around the town" part.  A few days after her birthday, she kept saying "appie to you". It took me two days to realize she was singing the happy birthday song!

At 22 months

• We went to Greece and left bambino at home with my parents for 9 days!  She was perfectly behaved (no surprise) but woke up around 4 or 5 every morning!  (Edit: turns out she refused to nap or sleep at night.  My mom didn't want to tell me this but I found out from my sister!  Every nap time and bedtime was a struggle.  She's been fighting with naps lately but surprisingly doesn't get too cranky when she doesn't nap.)  We missed her a lot and talked about her everyday. We would imitate words she says and laugh about how silly she sounds.  We meant to FaceTime everyday but the time difference made it difficult to arrange. When she saw us again, she stared at us for a good 5 sec before slowly smiling and came to give me a hug. Phew! I thought she didn't recognize us but now I think she was just shocked to see us.  After that she was attached to me and didn't want me to leave her side =\ poor baby, I think we traumatized her.  I'm not sure if I'll ever do that again--at least not at this age when they don't understand the concept of "I'll be back in a week".  Since we've been back, her tantrums have worsened and are a lot more defiant.  I feel like I have to walk on egg shells around her because I don't know if my next move or next response will cause madness.  I believe this is pay back for leaving her. 
• She stopped pooping (in her diaper) at school. She saves it all for home. Thanks Avi. Remember this when I'm old and incontinent. 
• She is imitating words really well and pronouncing words that she used to mispronounce a lot better. (She actually says "more" instead of "neh", "watuh" instead of "wa- wa", "milk" instead of "nelk")
• Every now and then she'll throw out a phrase like "green ball" or "right there"
• She only wants daddy in the morning (which would be great for me if only Daddy was still home when she wakes up). However in the evening she flips and only wants mommy. She screams and cries if daddy even looks like he might be taking her upstairs for a bath. 
• She feeds herself fairly well now and dinner time seems to go a lot more smoothly
• She plays well by herself. I was able to do dinner prepping for over an hour without her requiring much attention!  
• She plays with Violet, Panda, and Tigger all the time --puts them to sleep, puts them in her high  chair or sitting on the window sill, holds Violet pats her soothingly like she's a baby

At 21 months...

• She knows her colors very well! Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, white, and pink!
• She can feed herself with a spoon/ fork fairly well but doesn't like to use it all the time. 
• She recognizes "circle" and "triangle", and "heart"
• Her tantrums are back, with a vengeance :/
• She climbs up the stairs well
• She LOVES grapes--morning, day, and night
• She loves saying "hi" and "bye-bye" to everyone probably because she likes the response she gets
• She's been extra clingy.  Day care drop offs some days have been quite tearful. 
• She counts "two, three, four". Can't seem to get her to say "one"!
• She enjoys playing with her kitchen and stuffed animals (esp her pink Ralph Lauren bear and stuffed dog Violet)
• I've experimented with time outs with her a few times before and it was met with a lot of crying  however lately when I threaten " do you want time out?!" She says " yes".  Ok...."go over there and look at the wall". She walks over to the wall, sits down and plays.  Fail!
• She hits and kicks me a lot because she thinks it's funny and if I get mad she thinks it's even funnier =/
• I'm thinking she would love a baby doll to play with at this age. She would also love a tricycle. 
• She's loves Elmo (discovered him on her Pampers diapers Sesame Street characters)
• She also loves Hello Kitty ("kee-dee") because she has three hello kitty tshirts handed down from cousin Kate 
• She enjoys watching her "Patty Shukla" videos on my iPhone and iPad. She also knows how to use the touch screen to choose the different videos. 
• She can open doors (noooo!!)

At 20 months...

• She can say a few phrases! First phrase: "sit down"
• She's starting to be more interested in using a spoon/fork to feed herself and getting better at getting the food into her mouth
• bought her a potty, thinking about starting potty training but so far struggling with keeping her sitting on the toilet.  Most of the time she announces her poop after it's already done.  
• She can say her name! 
• She is interested in playing pretend with her stuffed animals i.e. Turn them tummy side down and pat them to sleep, brushing their teeth, or take them to the bath
• She can imitate a lot of words
• She kinda knows her colors. Sometimes she is spot on and other times, completely off. 
• The last four five days have been tantrum free (major ones at least). I hope this means she's turned a new leaf!!
• I feel like she's becoming less baby-like, more kid-like. Baby is growing up too fast!! 
• Went to Flemings for a prime rib steak dinner and she was so loud that the manager asked us to keep the baby quiet. How do you quiet a baby that's being loud because she's happy?!?
• Says "nak-now" for "yogurt"...(kinda sounds like "not now")
• She got an infection from a mosquito bite on her face.  It spread to her eye area.  She had to take Clindamycin 9ml, three times a day for 10 days!!  It was awful for her and for me.  I shortened it to 7 days, two times a day.  

At 19 months...

• She is using her words more often!  (like, "sit", "down", "cheerios")
• Please now finally sounds like "peas" instead of "buh", and Yes is actually "yes" instead of "da"
• Her kisses are more traditional kisses.  (No more open mouthed "buhs")
• She can give hugs
• She is difficult taking out to restaurants because she won't sit in her high chair for long and wants to wander everywhere
• She is getting pickier with what she eats--likely because all the other kids at school get junk for snacks
• She averages about 5 tantrums every morning getting ready for school 
• We're trying to get her to use a spoon but usually ends up banging the spoon and using her other hand to eat

At 18 months...

• She likes to lay down blankets/towels/fabric and lie down on it as if she's going to sleep
• Ironically, when it really comes down to bedtime, she's starting to resist--sometimes screaming as Dad takes her upstairs for a bath
• She fell sitting on the third step of the stairs, hit her right cheek on a step and gave herself a black eye and a small chipped tooth (#E)
• Her vocabulary is blooming...too many words to list.  However, she's still not utilizing her words very often.  
• She finally says mama all the time!
• She likes to point us out in pictures and say mama or daddy
• Tantrums, tantrums, and more tantrums!
• She likes sitting in my lap...turns her back towards me and backs in and plops herself down :)
• She gets very jealous if I hold another baby, or even pay any attention to another baby!
• She doesn't play nice...9 out of 10 times she will approach another kid and hit them on the head or touch their face or push herself in their way to play with what they're playing ( I notice this from taking her to the children's museum but teachers at school say she plays okay). 

The "terrible twos"--is this it?

I think two months ago I was saying, she's started her "terrible twos".  The tantrums and meltdowns for no apparent reason.  Two months later, add her refusing to sit in a shopping cart because she wants to get out and explore or push the shopping cart herself.  This means she doesn't like sitting in anything confining i.e. high chair, car seat, stroller because she wants to get out to explore.  For my birthday, we went out to eat and before entrees came out, we had to pack it to go as she was screaming to go out and explore.  This must be the terrible twos.  I'm sure next month I'll be saying, no, now this is the terrible twos.  This is a normal pattern, no?

17 months

At 17 months...

• She is starting to imitate words better. "Tuk" for truck, "ma" for Max, "buh" for bus 
• Throws tantrums i.e. Lies down screaming, banging head on ground (but oh so slowly and carefully)
• Likes to wipe things like the floor or hers or your mouth
• Likes walking around outside and lets go of my hand more often now
• Can say "no" but for the most part just shakes her head 
• Says "da" for yes ( I think bc I say yea? a lot )
• Transitioning to one nap a day
• Can say "bah!-boh" for bubbles 
• Went to uncle Hai and aunt Maisie's wedding and did great!
• Threw up for the first time, after the wedding, all over mommy. Had a little too much fun...(and she was sick). 
• Can stay up much later. Bedtime is now 8/830
• Can say "má-tewww" for Matthew, her long time nursery class buddy
• Can say "téd-deee" for Teddy and "dá-dee" for daddy

Her vocabulary has grown so much this whole 17th month!  We've had a lot of those, did she just imitate that word almost perfectly?? Apparently she knows the names of all her classmates and teachers (identify, not verbally).  Her teachers keep saying how smart she is but I hesitate to play into all the accolades. I don't want to have exceeding expectations and then have her fall short of them. Is that wrong??!  I've always believed in aiming just average, that way if you exceed that, you'll feel better about yourself.  I know it contradicts every motivational speaker out there, but it's a motto that's worked out pretty well for myself. 

Poop

She pooped!!--in the toilet!  It's funny how one can get so excited about something that normally would be so gross.  When it is coming from your baby, it's worth celebrating!  I wasn't really planning on any potty training but since it seemed like all my friends babies were starting already, I decided to try it this morning. I'm not sure if she was as excited about it as I was. When it occurred, her expression was an, omg, what just happened??

Look what I did!

Almost 17 months

At almost 17 months....

• She says 'buh' for please, 'na' for milk, 'nana' for banana
• She can point to the correct places when asked, "where are your ears, nose, mouth"
• She makes sounds "bzz" for bees, "bok bok" for chicken, "vvvv" for car
• She loves to try to brush her hair or your hair
• She sometimes is cooperative when I try to brush her teeth and other times it's struggle
• She likes to hold the phone on the side of her head (not at the ear) and say gibberish 
• She loves her shoes and is obsessed with going outside. I usually have to hang out with her a little bit outside before she will go in her car seat. 
• She likes to hold my hand to walk around outside 
• She likes to smell flowers
• She also likes to pull the petals off the rose bushes in the front yard 
• She loves to run (walk fast) towards me with a huge smile when I pick her up from school 
• She had her first ear infection at 16 months. We didn't know she had one and it festered for so long that it wasn't til it burst and started to smell that we realized something was wrong.  Poor baby!!
• She talks a lot of gibberish 
• She understands the majority of what I say to her
• She's been sleeping and waking up later (8pm - 630/745 am)!
• She loves to eat bananas.  She eats them every morning and sometimes for lunch and dinner too!  Sometimes I think she's a monkey because she also persistently makes a sound that resembles a monkey when she wants something.
• She is very impatient especially when it comes to being fed 
• She finally moved up to the toddler class at her school!  (April 7 official first full day) She cried a lot the first week when I dropped her off in the classroom but today I handed her over to the lead teacher and she held her arms out willingly!
• She enjoys the Children's Musuem and discovered how fun a slide can be
• She likes to say "uh-ooh" , just for fun
• She experienced her first snow in Colorado.  She liked the actual snow but didn't like walking in it...too unstable for a new walker I suppose.  She enjoyed sledding too!
• She had her first allergic reaction to what we still don't know but she broke out in a rash and her hands, feet, and face swelled up over the course of  2 days. It occurred on the day we left Colorado. 

Post bday

It's been 2 months since my last post and for babies development that's like 2 years!  After 6 months of trying to get A to sign, one week after her first birthday it finally clicked!  She can sign for "more" and eventually signed for "milk", and "all done".

• At 14 months she finally took her first few steps.  She's very cautious and prefers to just sit down and crawl
• Her first official word by 14 months is dog.  She can point to a dog and say "dog" (dah!) and when asked what sound does the dog make, she's says "woof woof" (heh heh).   Technically her first word was probably "dada" but "dog" is more unbiased.  (Why won't she say mama?!?  She prefers my arms over anyone else's anytime but she refuses to say mama!!)
• Started to get her first primary molars