21 Months

I find myself starting to lose track of the months a little bit...the other day one of my sisters-in-law asked me, "what does Lucy want for her birthday?" A mere three months away, I can't believe it!

So we're taking care to soak it all in. Here's what she's been up to this month.

Lucy:

• says "bless you" when hearing a sneeze, even to the dog.
• is very good at saying "I love you" and we love hearing it!
• is working on somersaults and jumping.
  
• gets a little shy around people for a few minutes, then turns on the charm.
• frequently asks for "tails" and actually leaves one, even two pigtails in!
• still loves to stack and is happy to make you a "tower" out of anything from cans of tuna to slices of cheese.
• can be heard exclaiming, "I like it!"
• starts many a whiny sentence with "I need..." or "I want..." (which can get old fast).
• had two ear infections this month (speaking of getting old fast!)
  
• loves bubbles.
• has started to drink a little juice aka "juicy.
• is obsessed with pockets.
  
• can identify extended family members and her daycare friends by name.
• still asks to sit on the potty and still hasn't gone in it yet...but has figured out how to pull her own pants down.
• loves to dress up and comes out of her room in some pretty interesting outfits (look for a blog on that topic very soon!)

Sugar Cookies

Lucy and I made some cut-out cookies last weekend, in hopes of giving some to her little daycare friends for Valentine's Day. The cookies didn't turn out so well (crummy shapes because of sticky dough, a little extra browning in the oven), but the little one sure had fun!

Lucy Says "I Love You"

Happy Valentine's Day!

Violet’s Great Toilet Adventure

Lucy has a favorite stuffed animal, which is a dog named Violet. She is programmed to say Lucy’s name and sing songs about her favorite food, color, and animal. Lucy is always in range of her blankey and Violet, and can often be heard shouting “Bi-let!” when she is out of sight. Bottom line, Violet is essential to the security of our 20-month-old, particularly at bedtime.

So a week or so ago I was getting Lucy ready for bed and she announces, “potty,” which means she wants to go sit on the toilet. She doesn’t do anything mind you, except sit there, perhaps grunt, and drop toilet paper in there and call it good. I am generally supportive of this practice and am poised to celebrate profusely if and when she actually manages a single drop of pee. Right now she doesn’t have her own potty chair, so I have to hold her on the big toilet so she doesn’t fall in.

Remember that last line - that’s important.

So we finish with the faux peeing, get clean PJs on, and then I let her play for a couple of minutes while I tend to something in our bedroom. Those couple of minutes go by and she runs in the bedroom with a big smile on her face, and throws her hands up in the air. She looks very proud of herself.

Her hands are wet.

Did I shut the bathroom door when we were done in there?

$#!+.

I started toward the door and she beat me to it, running down the hall and into the bathroom, where she proudly points to Violet, who is laying on the floor next to the toilet.

Also wet.

At which point I say, “Oh no, Lucy, VIOLET!!” which proceeds to freak her out, because now she has gone from being so proud of her peeing stuffed puppy, to thinking that something is wrong with her. She starts to cry.

I gave her calm assurances and hugs, and assessed the situation. I was afraid of total Violet saturation, but obviously Lucy had been holding her over the toilet (just like Mommy does for her), because only one of Violet’s paws and a little bit of her tail were wet. I proceeded to decontaminate the pooch to the best of my ability, then stripped Lucy down, soaped and hosed her off, and put on new PJs.

Of course, Violet was not excused from her nighttime duties just because she was wet. Oh, no. The three of us read books like always, and Violet went to bed with Lucy. Her lullaby-playing paw was activated, and all was right with the world again.


Somehow, though...I have a feeling this will not be the last of Violet's adventures. Or mine, for that matter. :)