LITTLE GYM (21 MONTH, 1 WK)

S is beginning to participate more at the Little Gym. She still wants momma to hold her in the beginning but she will now run or jump occassionally in the group activity.

She is also beginning to warm up Ms. Sarah, the instructor, and has let Ms. Sarah help her into the various flip positions. Maybe, this is a sign that S' separation anxiety is easing or maybe this is another social milestone for S as she approaches 24 months (2 YEARS OLD).

No matter what! She's showing great athletic prowress for a 21 month old and having fun!

POTTY TRAINING (21 MONTHS, 1 WK)

After 2 months of potty training, S has started using the potty regularly, with very few accidents (probably 2) each day. YIPPEE!! Somewhere around 6 weeks, S turned a corner. She's also getting better at communicating before the fact when she needs to pee-pee or poo-poo.

What helped S was two things: (1) momma and S using the potty together and momma making a game of it and (2) momma and S taking the pressure off of accidents. It helped that mom sings the song "Accidents are OK" from Elmo's Potty Time whenever S had an accident.

What helped momma was she lowered her expectations. Most books say it takes up to 6 weeks for toddlers to learn to control their bodies, and 6 months to a year (years really) to get to what adults view as potty-trained. What momma learned most from this experience is the wonderful power of praise.

Momma still cheers and claps for S and S still gets stickers and belly stamps, less so since momma forgets and S doesn't ask for them as much.

YEAH! S is on the road to being a potty trained little girl!

SINGING (20 MONTHS, 3 WKS)

S has started to sing (not just sign) songs. She often sings the song from Baby Signing Time. Her most favorite is "Eat, Eat, Eat." She will sing "Eat, Eat, Eat, All Done Now, Drink." (The song doesn't actually go like that. There's several verses that S is skipping). She often follows that up with either the words "milk" or "water." At first momma thought S was asking for food, but then she realized S would say "All Done Now" immediately after.

Sometimes, when mom sings something and stops before the last phrase or word, S will end it. Wow! We have singing monkey on our hands!

SEPARATION ANXIETY (20 MONTHS, 3 WKS)

S has been going through some separation anxiety. With big groups of people, like at the Little Gym, she wants to be held and is hesitant to participate. At first, momma and daddy thought it was because big groups of people were overwhelming, but she also wants to sit in momma's lap or have momma follow her at the Wednesday playgroup. She has had these friends since she was 3 months old. She often say their names at home over and over again but at the playgroup, refuses to go play. (Note: she actually does better on one-to-one playdates).

S has always been a momma's girl but having her more anxious for momma has been hard on both momma and daddy. S often says "no" to daddy. Momma has a hard time explaining to friends and family why S is so clingy and often other adults are not so understanding about S clingyness. But, both momma and daddy knows this is something that will pass. The doctor and textbooks say that toddlers get separation anxiety is normal and peaks around 18 months but can come and go anytime from 1 year to 3 yr. Some kids have more separation anxiety than others.

Being a toddler is hard! You're not a baby and you're not a little girl. Momma and daddy guesses that can be difficult and can make anyone want to run back to their momma!

S NAME (20 MONTHS, 3 WKS)

S has recently started saying her name when referring to herself. So now, it's S cup or momma cup. She's also starting to figure out the words, "mine" and "yours" but has it backwards. When referring to herself, she says "yours" and when referring to others, she says "mine." It's been hard for momma to try to explain the difference and when she says "yours" and "mine," it causes daddy and momma to laugh.

This is a big step forward in defining her identity.

CLIMBING & HANGING(20 MONTHS, 3 WKS)

S has been getting better at climbing. She can climb some of the "ladders-like-playscape" at the park and recently started going up and down her high chair. (She's been able to go up by herself since 16/17 months). She hangs off the outside of the crib now but hasn't climbed in or out of it yet.

Her favorite thing to do lately is to "hang." It's something she's learned from the Little Gym. She hangs from anything that allows hanging, such as the bar right at the top of the slide. Now, not only does she hang but she also pulls up her legs and swings. What a little monkey we have!

1ST HAIRCUT (February 10, 2007)

S had her first haircut yesterday. Her bangs have been so long that they block her view; however, she refuses to allow momma to put up her hair. Eventually, momma and daddy realized it was time to get her bangs cut.

Momma was really nervous about cutting S hair. Sadly, momma first cut was too high and crooked. Daddy took away the scissors and fix it because momma was laughing too hard. Now, he calls S "Wednesday" (in reference to the Adam's Family).

BROKE (20 MONTHS, 1 WK)

S is just noticing the (physical) difference between daddy and mommy. One morning while daddy was getting undressed, she pointed to daddy and said "uh oh." Later, she got momma and pointed to daddy and said "daddy broke." Lately, she's been trying to reach for where daddy is broken.

TWO WORDS & VOCABULARY (20 MONTHS, 1 WK)

S has started putting two word sentences together regulary. It started around Christmas time with "It broke," in reference to the inflatable snow man across the street. But now, it includes what daddy is doing, what momma is doing, and occassionally what S is doing.

In addition her vocabulary has increased enormously and the words that pop out of her mouth surprise both daddy and momma. On the swing, she'll say "stop" when she wants off. Other words include: oops, berries, broccoli, juice, yes, yours, you, me, phone, play, video, on/off, in/out... (maybe a couple hundred in all).

It seems like she has a new word every day.