Janie is 19 months old today!
This is a really fun age but it’s also pretty challenging. She’s clearly a toddler now with a fun-loving personality and a pretty strong opinion about things.
Here are some highlights from this past month:
- Her language has really blossomed and she’s trying to imitate the sounds and words around her. These are her new words: ice, cold, keys, car, more, elbow, shoes, go, snack, leche, abi (Karla’s nickname), bye, auntie, baa, moo (sound more like boo), poopoo.
- She also learned a couple new signs: please and eat. She also plays Peek-a-Boo with her hands over her eyes now.
- These are the new body parts that she’s added to her repertoire: elbow and chin. She’s almost gotten knee and cheek but they need some work.
- She’s definitely an active little motor monster this month. She’s learned how to ascend and descend stairs with a rail but we still don’t trust her judgement to let her go alone.
- Eating is still a favorite activity and she’s really into slurping soup this month. She’s also been eating raw carrots, apple with the skin on, and tried pomegranate. Spicy foods are also a hit with her.
- This month she also took a road trip with Daddy, Uncle Jason, and Auntie Jia. It was fun for her but Mommy really missed her.
- We also gained a new family member this month and Janie met Cousin Alice for the first time.
- Some of her favorite things: keys, “Wheels on the Bus”, ice, water bottles.
- Library time is more exciting for her lately (according to Mirian) and she has learned the motions to the song “Wheels on the Bus” and can tell you what a cow and sheep say.
- Overall, her imitation skills are pretty amazing to us. She picks up things without any of us actually teaching her anything. For example, she will wipe up water on the floor with a towel, pretend to type on the keyboard, uses the fob to get us into the building, and knows which key lets us into the house.
- She can identify family members in photos and gets really excited to see her Uncle Jason and Auntie Jia.
- She’s also been more affectionate to her Dada and I attribute it to their road trip together. Her funniest trick is that she will give Dada a “kiss kiss” and then run away yelling “Gracias!!” I still have yet to get that on video.
- She had another cold this month and appreciates the purpose of wiping her nose. She no longer cries when we wipe her nose and will also try to blow. In fact, she will even allow us to use the bulb syringe to suck out her boogers. It’s been SO nice for Mommy and Daddy.
- We’ve also experienced Janie’s first real “attachment phase”. She has been extra-clingy to Mommy around new or numerous people. She’ll also cling to Daddy when Mommy’s not around. I hope this phase doesn’t last too long.
- Tantrums are more frequent lately but it’s usually linked to something she wants that she’s not getting right away. I figured out that if I count to 10, she’s able to wait and cope for just long enough to learn what it means to wait. *sigh* It really only buys me enough time to obtain the item that she wants – like pouring the milk into the cup. I know this is only the beginning of the fits and tantrums we’re going to be getting from Little Miss Independent.
We love this little ball of personality and it’s so much fun seeing what she’ll do and learn next. It’s true when they say that little kids are sponges for knowledge. Little Janie is an observant and curious girl who knows what she needs and wants all the time.
Now if we can just figure out how to harness and shape this independent spirit…
Happy 19 months, Baby Girl!