Miriam Elayne, you have had a phenomenal 2nd quarter to your 2nd year!
Your 16th month brought huge additions to your ever-growing vocabulary – 75+ words now. Your first 4-syllable word was avocado, one of your favorite foods! We introduced you to “Finding Nemo” (the movie) and you LOVE it. It’s pretty entertaining to watch the movie with you, as you’ve seen it so much now, you predict the next scene coming 😉
We played outside a ton as it was a true fall this year; lots of cooler, sunny days in the transition from summer to winter. Even in early December, we were outside without a jacket some days!
During your 17th month, you pushed through 2 more molars – you’re up to 4 now. You started imitating every word you heard or were asked to say. You also started a 7-week stay with our friend, Ms. Michelle, because Mommy started a 7-week long-term sub position for a counselor on maternity leave at Barry School where she used to teach. You did very well each day; you would protest when Daddy would drop you off but only a little and then you would proceed to have fantastic days. You learned to love their cat, Elvis, and their baby, West. You also played very well with the other girls in care there, Adrienne and Sawyer.
You met with more success with the fork and spoon this month. You started putting 2- and 3-word sentences together such as “Wear it!”, “You got it!”, “Hold on”, “Love you”, “Mommy, sit” – or whatever other command you decide to give. Toddler bossiness is pretty hilarious 🙂
During your 18th month, you moved from speaking in separate words to saying two- to three-word sentences most of the time. You continued to spend time at Ms. Michelle’s as well as celebrated your 2nd Christmas. Here are some pics of Christmas with Mommy and Daddy:
We took a big trip this year over Christmas (24th- 29th) to New Mexico to visit Daddy’s side of the family. We took the train! Here are some pictures of our fun:
Your favorite color now seems to be yellow. You name ‘pink’, ‘yellow’, ‘purple’, ‘green’ and ‘orange’ with high accuracy; ‘red’ and ‘blue’ still trip you up a bit. “Brown Bear, Brown Bear” continues to be one of your favorite books; you’ve also added “Llama, Llama, Red Pajama” to your favorites list. You love to go to the library and protest when it’s time to leave. You are reading books to yourself now, ones you know and ones that are brand new. You added words like ‘dangerous’ and your own name to your vocabulary this month.
You are a sincerely sweet girl, Miriam. Recently, you were sitting at your small table in the kitchen eating a snack and saw Mommy putting away the groceries. You got up and helped me unload each sack until the job was done, and then you went back to your snack. It was a proud Mommy moment, for sure! You are such a natural helper! Here’s a picture of what I found you had done one day with your diaper laundry:
You are in the beginning stages of dressing yourself; you are fiercely independent as well as a cuddle-bug. You are saying about 1/4 of the ABC’s (random, not in order yet) as well as counting to ‘2’ on your own, and to ‘8’ with us.
Mimi came down from NE to spend New Year’s Eve with us; you had fun reading and playing with her as well as building “a fire!!” with Daddy!
Miriam Elayne, you are our joy and sunshine! Every day, Mommy and Daddy laugh out loud with you. We pray you will continue to discover who you were born to be; we’re proud of how hard you are working to learn and we can’t wait to see the impact you will make on the world!
Love,
Momma