20 Month Update

Wow...writing that title was pretty weird.  I can't believe that Mackenzie is 20 months old.  We are only 4 months away from having to start referring to her as "2 years old".  No more "months."

As I write this, I am watching her sleep on the video monitor.  She woke up about 20 minutes ago crying and I'm pretty sure it's because of all of the teeth that are coming through - poor baby.  I rocked her longer than usual...kissing her forehead about every 45 seconds or so.  I sure am going to miss this.

Which is exactly why I decided to write this post before getting back into bed.  I want to remember this moment, this stage and this sweet little girl of mine who is 20 months and 4 days old.

Mackenzie, you are:

-in 18-24 month clothes and can fit into most of the 2T stuff that Nan & Aunt E got you the other day.  This makes me very sad - 2T....wow.

-in size 4 diapers, though I think we're about to move up to size 5.  You seem to have gone through a growth spurt recently!

-saying ALL kinds of words:  ball, no-no, bye-bye, I love you, Mommy, Daddy, Kenzie, Nonna, Ha-lie (Charlie) Poppa, Neh (Nan), Popssssss, Ehen or E (Erin), Izzy (plain as day), Reh (Red), Eepaw (Weepaw), Lea-Lee, JJ, Ethan, Aiky (Aikman), Isa (Lisa), please, thank you, sorry (when you're apologizing for hitting and biting which I hope you grow out of ASAP!), pa-y cake, toys, baby, Elmo, Mac, puppy, wok (work), see ya, tartoons (cartoons), yay-yos (cheerios), milk, more please, uh-oh, oh no, aw man, o-kaaay (my current favorite!), car, apple, boat, shoes, boots, scoo (school), knock knock, night night, dude, cheese (for pictures), yum yum, yuck, all gone/done, poppy (potty), tee-tee, poo-poo

-know your body parts and can say/point to these: eyes, ears, nose, mouth, teeth, neck, hair, fingers, hands, arms toes, feet, legs, belly, belly-button, bottom ("Sit on your bottom!")

-can point to each of the following animals and make their "noises": cat - meow (so cute to watch you say this!), puppy - woo woo (you want one of these really badly and get ridiculously excited any time that you see or hear one), horse - neigh, cow - moo, pig - oink, sheep - baa, chicken - bak bak, bear - roooar, lion/tiger - raaar, bird - teet teet, duck - qua qua, snake - ssss, monkey - ee ee

-love going to school and playing with your friends ("Mat-THEW")

-love, love, love playing with all of your babies.  Your favorite thing right now is to sit in an empty laundry basket or canvas bucket with ALL of your babies.  You also like to lay them all out on the floor and put them to sleep ("shhhh, baby sleepin") while patting their bottoms.

-very attached to your silkie - probably more now than ever.  You have started to keep a pretty close eye on it since Daddy has shown you how we put it in the washing machine to wash it.  And you know the difference between YOUR silkie (the big one) and the two small silkies which you think are for your babies.  There is no fooling you anymore.

-sleep with your silkies (all three), Mac & Puppy.  It is not an option for any of these things to be missing from your crib.  :)

-really enjoying dance class.  You have learned so much more than I ever imagined you would at this age - marching, tip-toeing, first position (at least part of it) and you know exactly where your "spot" is in class.

-singing a lot!  You don't have the exact words down, but you can sing a few songs and we can tell what they are.  Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, Rock-a-by Baby, You are my Sunshine, Hokey Pokey, ABCs

-trying to count to ten.  You can say all of the numbers (in English and Spanish with the help of Daddy) when we help you with each one.  Otherwise, you just say whatever you want while counting your cups or whatever you're playing with.

-an outside girl.  If you had the choice, you would be outside all of the time.  You love to help Mommy check the mail, ride in your wagon, or just be able to walk around outside by yourself.

-very independent.  You like to do stuff by yourself - feed yourself, brush your teeth, etc.  You still let me comb your hair and put your clothes and shoes on, but you really enjoy trying it yourself first.

-very outgoing.  You will say hi to anyone that we are passing by in the store and even try to talk to people in the cars next to us at stoplights.  I think school is a wonderful thing for you in this way!

-have stopped using the potty.  You will go sometimes, but for the most part you are not a fan anymore.  We are still offering though and hopefully you will be pottying full-time soon.  I'm not rushing anything though!  :)

-are still in your crib.  You have made half attempts to climb out, but I watch you closely on the monitor and you're not really interested.  You wake me up each morning yelling "Mommy!!!"  Usually when I go in to get you, you have thrown your babies and silkies onto the floor and exclaim "oh no!" when I walk in.

-have a GREAT night/bedtime routine!  We have this part down to a science and it's really gratifying!  We eat dinner at 6, do bath every-other-night at 6:30, jammies and quiet time at 7, book, prayers, and our song (You are my Sunshine) at 7:15.  You are almost always in bed by 7:30 and asleep by 7:45.  You normally wake up between 6:30 and 7.

-very happy!!!!

Mackenzie,

I cannot explain with words how much I love you.  It's impossible.  Every morning I wake up and can't wait to see you and every day at 5pm, I am so excited to get home and see you again.  You are so sweet and smart and every day I love you more than the last.  You really are the light of our lives.

I love you so much,
Mommy