Terrible Twos at 15 Months

Well, the terrible twos have officially begun at our house. Yep, it's early, but they have arrived.

I REALLY enjoyed months 12-14, but man, something happened last weekend and my child has a new attitude. For instance...yesterday when she grabbed the phone off the end table I said, "Lucy no. Give mommy the phone." Lucy proceeded to throw the phone on the ground, scream at the top of her lungs, then hurl herself towards the ground and kick and scream. It only lasted a few seconds, but holy crap! I cannot imagine another year of this.

On a lighter note, she continues to amaze me. I am pretty sure Mensa will be contacting Bryan and I shortly. Now, I know that most parents believe their children are quite gifted, but I think she truly IS! She knows most of her body parts, has an unbelievable vocabulary, knows A, B and C, knows red, yellow, and blue, and can dance like nobody's business. Yep, she's got rhythm. She eats like a pig (which doesn't make her a genius, but it makes me happy!), and sleeps pretty well now that she has the tubes. She also makes about 1010 animal noises if you ask her what a named animal says. She LOVES trains and says "CHOO CHOO" if you say the word. She also says it whenever we cross the railroad tracks by our house-completely on her own. She's getting better at running, and I'm pretty sure that she's going to get "Friendliest" in her senior yearbook. She waves and says "HI" to EVERYONE (including those next to us at stoplights). When you walk her into baby school, she says "Hi" to everyone she passes, just like an adult would. It is so cute! She is moving to the toddler 2 class next week with babies who are 18-24 months old (she is the baby, but I'm sure she's the smartest).

So yes, she's got a SHORT fuse, and pitches fits way more than I'd like, but she still has a lot of endearing qualities too. Did I mention that she already knows what time out is? Oh yeah. It is going to be some year!

Mother's Day #2

I cannot believe my little baby is 14 months old. I am about to have my SECOND Mother's Day. It is amazing the difference a year makes. She is so much fun now! (Not that she wasn't last year, but really, she wasn't.) She had Bryan and I laughing so hard we were crying last night in the car. Her little personality is just hilarious. Plus, she's sleeping through the night now, which makes me even more fond of her.

This kid is funny.

We went out to eat last night. We ate at tables outside the restaurant. She LOVED it. There were birds everywhere, people coming and going, and a delectable grilled cheese sandwich for her. She insisted on saying "hi" to all who were coming, and shouted "bye" to all who were leaving. Ahhh, our little socialite. I should interject here that she waves like Ms. America, not the typical backwards baby wave. She is in fact, a genius.

What else can she do? Well, let me list my top 10 most favorite...

1. Every time we pass a field of cows near our house, she "MOOS". She also quacks when you ask her what a duck says, makes monkey sounds (her favorite), barks, neighs (that's a new one), meows, clucks like a chicken, and we're working on the rooster.

2. When the car is stopped in traffic, she yells "GO!". NO clue where she got that one ;)

3. She sings constantly. Nothing really decipher-able, but lots of la las and da das. She loves to sing about da da!

4. She now can RUN. It's not great, and it usually results in a wobble and then crash, but she NEVER cries when she falls. This kid is tough!

5. Obviously if she's starting to run, she walks, but wow! After the tubes, almost overnight, her walking improved. Yay for ear tubes!

6. She laughs at a lot. Lucy is very ticklish. We use this against her a lot. I LOVE the sound of her cracking up. Sometimes if adults around her are laughing, she does this little fake laugh to join in. HILARIOUS.

7. Her vocabulary has increased ten-fold since the tubes as well. We think she's saying "I love you," and we know she says mama, dada, gandy (grandy-my dad), mum-mum (my mom), papa, mimi, car, birdie, sadie (the family dog), juice, abby (the kadabie variety from Sesame St), elmo, boo!, that, glasses, more, bow, yes, diaper, poo poo, duck, WOW! (just like that), go, hi, bye, and I know there is more I'm forgetting!

8. She shakes her head yes and no. If you put something in front of her she doesn't want, that little head shakes NO very rapidly. If she DOES want it, she shakes yes and either says "YES" or "MMMHMM". Too cute-and also helpful!

9. She LOVES to give hugs and kisses. She gives wonderful hugs around the neck, but also great leg hugs too. And those kisses! Mmmm, sloppy wet kisses. I LOVE EM!

10. She now throws her pacifier in the bed when you pick her up in the morning. She KNOWS she's not to have it any other time. You just say, "Lucy, where does paci go?" She HURLS it into the bed. Cracks me up!

There are obviously so many more reasons why we love this kid, but those are just some of my recent favorites. I can't imagine loving her more than I do today, but it seems that my love for her grows every day. I love 3:30 each day when I open her classroom door and watch her face light up. Being a mom is the best! Happy Mother's Day!!!!!