21 Months

Every time I write one of these, I'm tempted to start out with the same, tired line.  "I can't believe it's been XX months".  But it's true.  In ways, I cannot remember a time without my baby.  But in others, I can't believe that she has changed from a baby to a toddler seemingly in the time it took me to take a breath. 

She is amazing.  In this past month, she has started exerting her independence more than ever.  Her favorite phrase of the last month has been "DOOWIT!!!!" or "Self!"  In other words, she wants to do it herself, whether it's get dressed, put on her shoes, eat, change her diaper, climb the stairs, brush her teeth...  You get the picture.  It's generally been okay except when she had a cold.  A toddler trying to blow her nose and hold the tissue gets a bit messy.

In the last couple of weeks, we've noticed a big push toward using phrases instead of single words to convey her thoughts.  She had been using two-word phrases some, but now it's almost always at least two words (even if they still sound like one word sentences because of the unnatural break in between them).   

Baby Girl is also becoming more reliable with her manners.  She says "Sank You" and "Peeease" and "Cue Me" on a regular basis.  And she says "Sorry" when she hurts herself.  I think this is because whenever we hit her head getting her into her car seat we'll tell her "sorry".

This month has also been one where Baby Girl learn to climb and descend the stairs standing up.  I don't know if her height was her previous limitation or if it was our hesitation, but she's getting to be a pro now.  As long as she has something to hold onto, she can go up and down any stairs.  Of course, this also means she wants to prove her abilities whenever we're around a set of stairs, so our baby gate has been getting a good amount of use.

The last, less pleasant development that we've experienced has been, as of this past Monday, a complete shift in attitude.  She's decided that Daddy isn't worthy of putting her to bed.  She now knows that brushing her teeth is very likely going to kill her.  She also now believes that booby milk is for babies. 

Yep, she's now weaned.  Look for another post all on its own about that.  It has been since Easter Sunday that she last nursed.

All of these changes have meant that bedtime has become an incredibly painful battle.  I think she's having a hard time winding down now that she's not nursing.  It could also be because she's throwing tantrums about brushing her teeth and about Daddy trying to change her diaper and put on her PJs.  Oh, and she's screams and cries if we even mention Daddy doing bedtime, even though he's done 98% of her bedtimes since she was born.  It's loads of fun.  I'm praying it's a phase and fearing it isn't. 

All of this means that she's becoming her own independent little person.  I have moments of loving it...and moments of not being so happy about it.  But it's inevitable, so I'm accepting it and trying to adjust to her ever-changing personality.  Only three more months until we hit age two!