19 months old

Today, on Christmas Eve, Anna is 19 months old.  She is so talkative and is learning new words like crazy.  Anna can really communicate her wants now and what a bossy lady that can make her.  “I type” is what she is demanding right now.  She tells us to sit all the time by saying: “seat.”  Food demands have also gotten more specific, yogurt, blueberries, and raisins are her favorites.   Eating is completely independent for her and Jacob and I appreciate getting to (usually) eat ourselves when Anna eats with us.

She is so sweet.  An early gift of the new LOL Elmo startled her and made her sad because the toy falls down laughing but she thought it fell down crying.  She kept saying “oh no!”  Once, when I struggled to understand that she was asking for more water in her cup but finally figured it out, Anna clapped for me and exclaimed “yay!”  That is how I communicate with her so I’m not sure why I expected anything different.

Anna loves to color with crayons, stick stickers everywhere, dance and sing, and name all the sesame street characters whether on coloring pages, television, or her diapers.  She helps with the cleaning, and loves sweeping, wiping, and dusting.  Her new baby doll gets lots of love.  She rocks her, feeds her a bottle, and shushes anyone who is too loud when baby is napping.  

She goes to sleep with a little quilt (“blankie”), an Elmo, and a giraffe which is pronounced “dap” in Anna-speak.  The baby is a new addition to the night-time routine.  Anna has two teeth coming in, her canines I think.  So she has been a bit fussy but mostly cuddly and struggling to sleep but that could also be a loudish house.  

In her 19 months, Anna has now been to 21 states and 4 Canadian provinces.  She’s met her only cousin and all her aunts and uncles.  She loves all the pets she has ever met and is happy to dispense hugs, give and blow kisses, and wave bye bye.  She is a happy baby, er, toddler.  We are grateful she is ours.