Live. Laugh. Love.: Sophia is 21 Months!

I distinctly remember this day last year.

Sophie was turning nine months and I couldn't believe we were just three months away from her first birthday. Now, at 21 months, we can see her second birthday on the horizon. Wow!

Some of the highlights of Sophie's 21st month include:

lots and LOTS of Christmas celebrations, learning to play Ring-Around-the-Rosie with cousins (so fun!), practicing her motherly instincts with her new baby doll, a NOON Years Eve party at Mya & Stella's house, her first major cold and ear infections (boo!), building forts and reading new books, more sledding, and lots and lots of talking!

For Will, the big boom of new words came at 18 months. For Sophie, it has been at 20 months. She has gone from just a small list of understandable words to shocking us with new ones (and even 2-3 word sentences!) every single day this past month. It has been so exciting and her voice is soooooo cute. But I guess every parent thinks that of their child...

I try my best to jot down the new things as I hear them just because I think it's fun to keep a record. But I'm sure I missed some here and there. Anyway, here's what I managed to record since her 20 month birthday:

-"purple"

-"Sit down, Dora." (talking to her Dora doll while they play Sit 'n Spin)

-"I no know." (I don't know - she says this in the cutest tone)

-"bicycle"

-"broc-key" (broccoli), "ba-nan" (banana), "milk"

-"Baby seeping... shh!" (sleeping) and "Baby kying" (crying... referring to her baby doll)

-"Santa's hat, mommy!" (pointing to it)

-"Wait!" (holding out her hand like a traffic cop), "Hurry! Hurry, mommy!", "Go away"

-"Scoo me" (excuse me), "Bess you" (bless you - following anyone's cough or sneeze)

-"Go Comets!" and "Go Buckeyes!" (both very clear)

-"Up, down, up, down" (demonstrating standing up and squatting down with her Wheels on the Bus book when the people go 'up and down'), also says "beep, beep, beep" while making the motion of honking a horn

-"Mmm-cup. Mmm-cup. Mmm-cup. Peeeas!" (cup please)

-"Okay" or "Okay, mommy." (this one is sooo frequent and it's really cute... if you ask her if she wants something or wants to do something and the answer is 'yes' she might just say "okay!" instead - LOL)

-"Where are you?" or "Where are you, mommy?" (when looking for me or anyone)

-"Wake up, daddy!" or to Will after nap "Wake up, Will!"

-"See ya soon!" (this is another most frequent and IT IS ADORABLE! she got this from Diego - I think? - and she says it all together like one word)

-"O-right" (all right - another most frequent that I love)

-"bub-ohs" (bubbles - she finally decided that bubble baths are in fact not terrifying and that you should repeat that word over and over and over while taking said type of bath)

-"hold you, mommy. hold you." (awww - love!)

-{singing} "Monkey in-a min-oh" (monkey in the middle - a silly song we sing when they're balancing on the monkey balance board)

And here's a mini-convo with daddy in the early a.m. recently:

Craig is waking up. I'm in the kitchen with the kids. Soph starts to climb the stairs, perhaps in an effort to wake him. Craig hears her and says "Sophie, please don't try to climb the stairs by yourself." Sophie cheerfully responds "Okay!" and turns back around.

Craig: "Good job, Sophie. You're a good girl."

Sophie: "Dank you, daddy!" (laughs to herself)

Craig: "You're welcome, Sophie. I love you!"

Sophie: "I love you!"... (pauses)... "Wake up, daddy!"

Haha. I absolutely love this new burst of talking and conversation with her!

"I love you" is still not real clear but we know what she means. :)

Sophie is still a thumb-sucker as a method of self-soothing. Hmm... what to do about this? I know it's bad, but I still think it's cute. :)

Our girl has had a few bouts of red diaper area again and I feel SO BAD for her when I know she's hurting. It doesn't bother her just walking around, but when we have to change her, she closes/squints her eyes and covers her eyes with her hands. :( Poor baby. She gets baths daily because she seems to be prone to this, but baths have become a struggle too. Getting her dressed and undressed is almost always a challenge and she loves getting into the tub, but throws a fit when it's time to get out. She just seems to be very strong-willed with fighting every step of this process.

{Here, I asked her to smile and she cocked her head and gave me this "what are you doing?" look. LOL}

She's still an excellent eater and sleeper. Nothing new to report there.

Some of Sophie's favorite toys lately are her tiny kitchen and it's pieces, daddy's old wooden toy pick up truck from when he was a kid, her tunnel, first words flash cards, books, dolls and their feeding equipment (bottles, food bowl and spoon), and any non-toy item she can get her hands on (i.e. remotes, phones, papers, hair combs, etc.). She also loves climbing into the empty bath tub when the bathroom door gets left open and playing with her bath toys behind the shower curtain. LOL

Whenever she gets the chance to climb the stairs into mommy and daddy's room, her ultimate goal while up there is: DESTRUCTION. Climbing on everything, pulling vases and picture frames off dressers, pulling everything out of bathroom cupboards, unraveling the toilet paper, etc. Here is a rare moment of her satisfied with sitting still on the little rocking chair. Doesn't she look ornery?

And cute too?

Here's another random play toy: the white plastic tubs that Will stores some of his toy collections in (i.e. train sets, zoo animals, etc.). They usually sit on his closet shelves out of reach, but when he decides to play with something, she snatches the tub and pushes it around and sits in it.

After a bath, Sophia often gets her hair blown dry by mommy or daddy. Whenever daddy does it, she always comes out of the bathroom looking like Farrah Fawcett. Haha!