phone photo friday

We have a blizzard starting up here this afternoon. It's partly exciting, but would be more exciting if we weren't going to lose power for an extended time...

This morning Henry woke up early because the iPod we use for his white noise turned off. So that was fun. I'm going to stop using the iPod because it keeps losing battery power, and he wakes up and sometimes doesn't fall back asleep. Anyway, I got up and got ready while he talked and made his little gremlin noises in his crib. Then we went downstairs and started the day.

I think maybe I don't post enough near-naked pictures of Henry. I want to eat those round cheeks and chunky legs.

When Celia got up I made breakfast for the kids and we got ready to go to Celia's 4 year check-up! Celia weighs 29 pounds and is 37 inches tall, both measurements being around the 8th percentile. She's still a tiny one, which we already knew. The doctor is happy with her size and growth, and thinks Celia will just always be petite. Pita also had two shots and did fine with them. She will have two more at her 5 year check-up, to have all the boosters she will need for kindergarten.

They have tiny hospital gowns. It that not the cutest thing? 

When we left the doctor's office I decided to swing by the Panera drive-through. I figured we might as well drive around and do something fun before we're snowed in for a few days. As we were leaving Panera, the first snowflakes were starting to fall.

When we got home, there were sticky notes all over the counter that Chris had made. All of our things to do to prepare for losing power. I think we need to spend the money to get a big generator and have it hooked up to our propane tank and main power panel. We lose power several times a year, and have no water, no heat in most of the house, no phone, and no cell phone service. It would be so nice not to worry about it, and especially to have water and heat.

The kids were a little wild before lunch. Rather, Celia was wild. She gets in these hyper moods that drive me nuts. (They were singing Itsy Bitsy Spider in this picture.)

Storms require forts to be made under the kitchen table, right?

After lunch, both kids were much more calm and played well for quite a while as I cleaned up the kitchen. Then Henry went up for his nap and Celia continued to drive me nuts. Ha! We went outside for a bit since it wasn't snowing too hard yet. We already had an inch or two. I think we're expected to get about 2 feet of snow in total.

Now time to hoard more well water and get Henry up from his nap.

4 years old

My sweet girl is four years old. I'm okay with it, as long as she doesn't get any older after this. Four is good. Five? Six? Seven? I can't even imagine. I might keep her like this forever if I could.

Stats: Celia is still very small for her age. She weighs just under 28 pounds, and is about 36 inches high. She wears size 3T clothes.

All About Pita:

- Celia is shy at first, but very friendly. She likes pretty much everyone she meets. Even when she doesn't really like someone, she doesn't like to say so. There are a couple boys at school who I can tell are kind of rough and crazy, and it sounds like that bothers Celia but she will still say she likes them.
- She wants to know everything about everything and everyone.
- She is, like me, an idealist. She has a vision of how people should behave with each other, and doesn't understand it when other children aren't nice or misbehave in public. Whenever we see something like that, she always asks me about it afterwards. Sometimes when she interacts with other kids, I can see she's expecting them to behave in a certain way (friendly, sharing toys, having full adult conversations like she does- ha!), and she seems a little concerned when another child doesn't reciprocate.
- Pita Girl has the sweetest little face. She just has cute little features and she's such a tiny little thing that  her face is so sweet looking.
- She is not sweet and kind all the time. She tends to give me a hard time. She gives Chris a hard time too, but I think I get the brunt of it because I spend the most time with her.
- She is very helpful. I've started having her help me clear the dinner table, and she is able to bring things over to me at the sink and put things away in the fridge. She's also great at getting things for me, especially helping take care of Henry.
- Pita is a very good big sister. She and Henry have their conflicts, of course. Usually they involve Celia climbing all over him or taking something he's playing with. But in general they have so much fun together, and she is wonderful with him. She has such a good understanding of the level he's at. She helps feed him and take care of him, and as long as they're in a safe area I can trust her to watch him if I have to go to the bathroom or run outside to start the car. She knows what kinds of things are and are not safe for him to play with, and makes sure he only has safe things. She makes him laugh. It's so cute listening to her talk to him. She talks in a high-pitched voice and talks to him like a little mommy.

Development:
- Celia knows the days of the week and their order. She knows the four seasons. She is starting to develop an understanding of months and weeks. She's also starting to develop a general sense of time, and is interested in clocks and learning about time.
- She is learning some things socially at school that make her seem too big for her britches. Perfectly normal and small things, but not necessarily things I want her to learn. I'd rather she stay more innocent for a while longer. I wonder where the other kids learn these things from. Probably older siblings? Or maybe they watch more tv and are exposed to things Celia isn't?
- She has started experimenting with calling me "Mom". I do not approve. I told her she has to call me Mommy at least until she's twelve. Ha!
- She is always asking questions. Constant, constant questions. Lately she asks a lot about what I do when I'm at work. She wants to know the names of my clients, what I do with them, what I do when I'm not with her. She's just generally really interested in what happens and what other people do when she isn't around. And she's developing her theory of mind further, always asking whether other people know things or see things. For example, for a while she would ask if her teacher knew what she was wearing when we hadn't been to school yet that day. And now she understands that someone can't have known or seen something they haven't seen yet, so she will ask if her teacher will be surprised when she sees what she's wearing.
- She talks nonstop. And by that, I mean literally nonstop. It is exhausting. And she not only talks constantly, but will ask the same question several times in a row even when it's already been answered. Drives. Me. Nuts. But is also completely normal for a preschool girl.
- She is developing all kinds of academic skills and is probably ready for kindergarten, except that she can't go for another year and a half. In fact she actually told me one day, "Mommy I'm ready to go to kindergarten, but I can't because I'm not old enough yet." I don't know how she thought of that! Next year she'll be in a pre-kindergarten class at school. I think she will love it. We had the option of keeping her in the same class next year, or moving her to the pre-kindergarten class. We love her teacher this year, but we all think she is ready to move on to new things.

Things She Likes:
- Reading books. She loves books.
- Pretending. Pita has quite an imagination and pretends different things all day long.
- Art and crafts. Painting, drawing, cutting, glueing, you name it.
- Writing. Celia is always asking how to spell things so she can write them.
- Active play. Riding her tricycle, scooter, or pillow racer all over the house, usually pretending something. Climbing, jumping, dancing, doing "tricks".
- Favorite tv shows: Daniel Tiger and Caillou. She also likes Sesame Street, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, and Cat in the Hat sometimes.
- Favorite foods: Pita is a great eater. Her favorite breakfasts are dry cereal, waffles, muffins, and berries. Her favorite lunches are nut butter sandwiches, pasta, veggie dogs, and tomato soup. For dinner, the vegetables are usually her favorite thing. Her favorite vegetables are green beans, broccoli, peas, carrots and sweet potato. She's sometimes picky about trying new things at dinner, but usually she ends up liking them.

This picture gets me. I don't know if I like it or not. There's something about her features and her expression that give a glimpse of what she will look like when she's older. 

A 4-Year-Old Interview with Celia:

What is your favorite color? "Pink and purple and red."

What is your favorite lunch? "Pasta."

Favorite dinner? "Rice and chickpeas and peas." (She said this because it's what we had last night and she liked it.)

What are your favorite fruit and vegetable? "Apple and broccoli."

What do you hope you never have to eat again? (She couldn't think of anything.)

What's your favorite thing about school? "Painting."

What makes you feel happy? "Cooking with Mumma."

What makes you excited about being four? "I'm gonna have a birthday."

What do you like to do with Mommy? "Bake."

What do you like to do with Daddy? "Play with Daddy."

What do you like to do with Henry? "Do what he's doing."

Where do you like to go? "I like to go to the grocery store. To the Shoppes. To Wegman's." (She likes grocery shopping with me every weekend. If it were summer, she would probably also say the park and playground.)

What would you like to be when you grow up? "A fire girl."

3 year check-up

Tiny Pita had her 3 year check-up this morning.

Everything was great. She is at the tenth percentile for both height and weight, still on the small side, but she eats well and is perfectly healthy. I mentioned that I've been a little concerned about her hearing lately, and since her language is so good the doctor thought she could manage a hearing screening. She did great and passed the screening. She was so cute raising her hand with the headphones on.

And that was it!

three years old

Celia turns three today. It took all week for me to write this. She's grown into such a complex little person that I don't think I can do her justice with this post. There aren't words to describe what a wonderful little girl she is, and how much we love her. Three seems like such a milestone. Celia is balancing on the line between baby and little girl. She is changing every day and becoming so independent and mature, but is still in many ways a toddler.

She has been looking forward to her birthday for months now! For the last couple weeks she's been asking almost every day if it's her birthday yet. We started crossing off days on the calendar so she could see how many days were left.

Stats: Celia weighs 25 1/2 pounds. She's stayed at that weight for a long time now. I looked back at her 2 1/2 year post, and she was 25 1/2 pounds then too. She is still quite small for her age, but she's been growing taller and leaner, looking more like a (tiny) little girl than a toddler. She wears size 2T clothes and size 7 or 7 1/2 shoes. 2T things are starting to get too short for her, but 3T is mostly still too big.

Schedule: Pita is still on a great schedule. She goes to bed at 8:00 each night, and gets up around 7 in the morning. When she wakes up in the morning, she just lies quietly in bed until someone comes to get her. She still takes a long nap most afternoons too, and she needs that nap because she gets tired and cranky without it. We're lucky she's such a great sleeper.

Speech and Language: Pita often talks very much like an adult. She says things that are so surprising to hear coming from a three-year-old. Her vocabulary and grammar are amazing. She is doing so much with language that I'm not even sure what to say about it. I did write down one thing she said the other day because it was so cute, and the way she phrased it was definitely not typical for an almost three-year-old. Celia wanted Chris to play trains with her, and she came up to me and said: "I was just sitting there and I thought to myself I was lonely because Daddy wasn't pushing the train." She is so funny sometimes, but I have to keep a straight face because to her she's just talking normally. She doesn't know it isn't normal for a tiny little kid to say things like "I thought to myself". She was also asking the other day if her friend Jack was coming to her party, and then she said "What do you think he'll wear? Maybe a dress or a suit!"

Cognitive/Play: Cognitively, Celia is developing a better sense of time, knows the four seasons, understands the days of the week and knows what we do on different days, and I have started to introduce the calendar to her. She knows her birthday and our address. She knows all upper and lowercase letters, words that start with some of them, and some of the sounds the letters make. She counts very well and is getting better at identifying numbers 1-10. She spends a lot of time asking "why". She has a great sense of humor and is always making up silly songs and funny words. We have a couple of family jokes that she really "gets", and she'll use them sometimes. Celia spends most of her play time coloring or doing art projects, or pretending. She hardly ever uses toys for what they were meant because she's busy coming up with new ways to use them or pretending they're other things. She likes playing school, hospital, shopping, and likes pretending to be the mommy and leaving me or Chris at daycare. When we're playing, she will say "I'm the Mommy and you're the Honey". She also really likes to build with her big bricks and Legos, and likes playing with her train set. She loves being read to, and we still spend about an hour a day reading to her- before her nap, and at bedtime. Celia also loves watching tv, and would definitely watch too much if we didn't limit it. The shows she watches are very limited though- only PBS shows that are appropriate for her. She loves Super Why and Caillou. She really enjoys fairy tales, and I think that this year we will slowly start introducing some Disney movies to her. I'm not crazy about her spending long periods of time in front of the tv, so I will watch them with her and we'll talk about them. Recently I let her watch her first movie, Mary Poppins. We made an event out of it, making popcorn and hot chocolate. She needed me to sit and explain parts of the movie to her, which was good because then she wasn't mindlessly watching television but really was understanding the story.

Social/Emotional/Behavioral: Celia does well playing with other children. She is very social and really enjoys her little friends. She's generally very easy going and plays well with friends, but there are times at daycare when I've seen her get frustrated with younger kids or kids her age who try to take toys or can't really play or communicate on Celia's level. There are younger kids who are bigger than she is, and she doesn't always understand that although they're bigger they're not quite at her level yet. I've noticed that she likes playing with older kids a lot. They're more responsive and social. Celia has also had her very first heartbreak, I think. She talks a lot about her friend Jack, who used to be her best friend at daycare, and how much she misses him because he doesn't come anymore.

Pita is still a very well-adjusted little girl. She takes almost everything in stride. I haven't written about it yet, but she had to go to the emergency room, rode in an ambulance, and spent the night in the hospital recently and she just accepted it all like it was no big deal! She was the same with her birthday party yesterday. It was her first "real" party with non-family members and there were quite a few people, but she wasn't overwhelmed at all. She had the best time. She is still having a hard time with me, misbehaving and getting wild when I have to take care of Henry and can't give her enough attention. I think she has a bit of a love/hate relationship with me right now. She gives me a really hard time, but only because she loves me and wants me to herself. At least that's what I tell myself... There have been rough days when I've said to Chris "She hates me!" Otherwise, she's very well behaved. She's very easy to take places because she always behaves well in public. Even on a difficult day at home, I know I can just take her out for a while and her behavior will improve.

Motor Skills: Celia can use scissors correctly with a little help. She loves coloring and drawing. She can write some letters. She is good at jumping and climbing. Pita likes to do "tricks"that involve climbing on furniture, jumping, balancing, etcetera. The climbing is getting a little out of control because Celia also likes to do things by herself and has taken to moving chairs and other objects around to climb on so she can reach things. I've started removing sharp objects, medications, and the like from places she can now climb to and reach.

Self Help: Celia can dress and undress herself, needing a little help with her shirts and socks. Each night she likes to pick out her clothes for the next day. She can use the bathroom and wash her hands independently, but I like to help her because getting on and off the big toilet is tricky even with her potty seat on top. She still wears a pull-up at night time. I think I'll probably have to just put her in underwear and expect some accidents in order to get her out of them. I have a feeling she goes in the pull-up just because she can, and that if we took them away she might be able to stay dry all night. For now we'll keep things as they are, until Henry is in his crib and sleeping through the night. I don't need more than one child up at night right now!

I can't believe I have a three-year-old! It's so much fun to watch her grow and change, but also bittersweet. I wish she could always be my baby, but the next three years will be just as fun as the last and I can't wait to see what kind of girl she grows into.

2 1/2 years

Celia is 2 1/2 years old today. She has been changing so much, so quickly. It seems that every day I notice something new that makes her seem even less like a baby and more like a little girl.

Stats: Pita wears size 2T clothes, but still fits some 24 month things too. She's in size 7 toddler shoes. She weighs 25 1/2 pounds, still on the small side.

Schedule: We've always kept Celia on a consistent schedule and it does wonders. It keeps us all happy. Celia goes to bed around 8:00 at night. She usually does very well and we don't hear a peep from her until she wakes up in the morning. Sometimes she gets into the habit of calling for me during the night, but I remind her that she doesn't need me, she isn't to be calling for me in the night, and she can just go back to sleep if she wakes up, and that usually works. She usually wakes up between 6:30 and 7:00 in the morning, sometimes earlier. We have breakfast and she gets to watch Caillou or Sesame Street, and I get her dressed. Lunch time is usually around 12, and nap is around 1:00- sometimes a little later. Celia has been skipping naps on occasion, and although it could be worse she does tend to get cranky and very tired by late afternoon. It takes some effort to keep her happy and entertained if she hasn't slept. She really does still need a nap. If only she could figure that out herself :).

Speech and Language: I don't know where to start with this. Celia's language skills are around the level of a preschooler's. She's pretty close to the typically developing preschoolers I see at work. She understands absolutely everything, and doesn't miss a thing. She uses long and complex sentences- all types- and uses all kinds of descriptive, spatial, and temporal concepts. She recently started using the words "also" and "actually" in sentences. We also do a lot of oral storytelling with her (in addition to reading a lot of books) and she has started being able to make up her own little stories.

Cognitive/Play: Celia is very imaginative and is always pretending. It's all she does and she's very creative. She has also started getting bossy with us, insisting that we play along with whatever she's pretending and telling us what we're supposed to do and say. She comes up with the funniest things when she's playing. She even makes up different voices for her little people and animals. The other day she was pretending with her little people and I just started writing down some of what she said:

"Can I go in the water, Mommy?"
"Sure, just be careful so you don't slip and fall down."
"Okay Mommy!"
"You know, when I was a little girl I used to go swimming."

"Mommy! Mommy! Mommy! Look what I did on the potty!"
"Ooooh, nice!"  (HAHAHA!)

Having two of her little people introduce themselves: "What's your name?" "I'm Sarah." "Oh, you're Sarah?" "Yes, what's your name?" "I'm Chris."

Having a picnic breakfast.

One thing I love is that Celia likes all kinds of play. She isn't restricted to one type of play, or to certain types of toys, or just to "girl" toys. She likes dolls, her dollhouses, pretending and playing dress up, cars, trains, blocks, balls, you name it.

Celia can be shy and very quiet around people she doesn't know or see often, but once she warms up she has nice social skills with other kids. She loves watching and playing with older kids especially. She can have conversations with them and is generally good at keeping up with them. She has a lot of social language and it's so cute to see her little friendships. 

Motor Skills: Pita can jump with both feet together. She can move her Cozy Coupe and another little car forward and all around when driving them. She has started being able to pedal her tricycle just a tiny bit by herself. I think her small size holds her back on that. Her fine motor skills are amazing, and she is beginning to draw actual pictures. She loves playing with outdoor chalk, and today she drew a rudimentary tree- a circle with two lines for a trunk. She has also started copying some letters with her chalk when I write them first (not precisely, but she has the idea), and she always wants me to show her how to write different words.

With her letter "T" that she copied from mine.

Self Help: Celia likes to undress and dress herself (with a little help). She eats and drinks independently. She has gotten more picky with her eating, but sometimes she surprises us and tries something new that she likes. I think part of the problem is stubbornness, and that she doesn't like admitting when she likes something new. Sometimes she'll take several bites of something and then tell us she doesn't want any more because she supposedly doesn't like it. Her vegetable eating has become very limited. The biggest self help news is soon to be potty training. We're planning to start training tomorrow and will hopefully make a lot of progress quickly. She loves to be independent and do "big girl" things. She likes to pretend that she's a "grown up", and she will tell me "I'm a grown up now. I don't need my Mommy and Daddy anymore." I got her a step stool yesterday for using the big toilet and so she can wash her hands at the sink by herself. As soon as we got it home, she washed her hands about fifteen times in a row.

And after I took that picture, she said "Mommy, can you go away now?" Ha! Little Miss Independence.

Behavior: Pita continues to be, generally, a very happy and easy going little girl. She adapts to changes very quickly (though we also help her along by preparing her well for new things) and is happy no matter where she is if she has family members with her. She is so lucky (and so are we) that all of her grandparents have been such a big part of her life and have helped so much with her. Although she is generally happy and well-behaved, Celia does of course have her terrible toddler moments. There are days and times of the day when everything seems to be a battle, but we are usually able to coax her out of those moods by distracting her with something new or doing something that she finds especially fun and exciting. We use timeouts as punishment when she is being particularly disobedient, but timeouts are mainly used when she has done something dangerous or has hit or kicked on purpose. They are quick and effective, and I give timeouts wherever they're needed- even if we're out in public. Luckily we don't need them too often.

With potty training looming ahead, it's become especially evident lately that Celia is not a baby anymore. Those diapers are one of the last vestiges of her babyhood, and I will truly miss them. Putting the diapers away for good will be a lot harder for me than for her. She's getting so big and wants to do things herself, and I already miss lying her down in the morning, having her pull me to the floor to hug her, changing her diaper and pretending to eat her sweet little belly, and holding her on my lap to get dressed. Even without the diapers, I'm going to hold onto that routine as long as she'll let me. I know she's only two and that I'll have her for a long, long time, but I miss her. I miss the part of her that she's already growing out of. The chubby cheeks and fine curly hair, the sweet baby Celia smell, those chunky elephant legs I've always loved so much, and all the times of the day when I get to pick her up to carry her or help her. She still wants hugs and is very affectionate. But she doesn't need, or want me to pick her up and help her anymore. She knows she's a big girl. I just can't quite accept it.

As always, though being her mother is the most difficult thing I've ever been or done, it's also the most wonderful thing. It's funny how mothers and children are everywhere, but it's not always evident what our relationships are really like. It's not as if we spend all our time discussing how amazing it all is. We're usually caught up in the daily grind. Did they nap? Did they poop yet? Are we exhausted? Like always? It's almost like a secret. Underneath the daily routine, the hard work, the trials, is the truth that what we're going through is actually the most wonderful thing that could possibly be.

I will, eventually, accept that Celia's baby days are gone and that even her toddler days are numbered. I know there's an awful lot ahead of us to look forward to. She will keep changing daily and we're really just along for the ride and trying to keep up. Celia loves life. She wakes up happy every morning and asks me "Mommy, what are we doing today?" She's the same sweet, smart, happy little girl she's always been and I hope that's one thing that will never change.

celia's second birthday

Celia is two years old today. When we told her it was her birthday and that she was two now, she laughed and clapped her hands. She was very excited! A birthday card had come in the mail for her so we gave it to her and she carried it around all morning. It's fun that she now understands what a birthday means.

This post probably contains more pictures than any I've ever written. What can I say? She's had a long and illustrious life to document.

Two whole years have passed since this tiny pepita was born.

To get some perspective on just how tiny she was:

I don't have big hands. She was just that small.

Soothie binkies are also not very big. They dwarfed Pita's head.

How life has changed since those newborn days. She is a little girl now.

Stats: We've just moved into 24-month clothes and size 6 shoes. Her 2-year check up is next week, so we'll find out her weight and height then. She has been so healthy that we haven't been to the doctor since her 18 month appointment.

Schedule: The sleep schedule is a bit of a mess these days. Naps are sometimes very easy and she goes to sleep right away. Other days, she doesn't fall asleep for a long time and then doesn't want to get up when nap time is over. Celia has also been waking up for long periods in the night some of the time, and telling me she's "all done sleeping". Luckily she at least tries and doesn't complain when I tell her it's still night time and she needs to try going back to sleep. It still makes us all lose sleep though.

Speech and Language: Celia's speech still sounds like a toddler's speech, but it's also amazing how she can say multisyllable words clearly. She also says unexpected things that most kids her age wouldn't say, so it's hard for people to understand her because they're not expecting her to say what she is. Yesterday during lunch she started saying "Incognito! Incognito!" I really did a double take on that one. Pita is also understanding more complex language. We've started reading her real story books, rather than toddler level books, and it's amazing how much she understands. Her new favorite book is "Blueberries for Sal". She gets very concerned when Sal and her mother are separated. Also, we found out yesterday that Pita has more understanding of time concepts than we thought. Celia said something about time and I asked her if she knew what time it was. She said "Afternoon!" We were amazed that she knew the word "time" and that "afternoon" was a time of day she could answer with. Expressively, Pita's still using all kinds of words and long sentences. She's doing great.

Cognitive/Play: Celia pretends all day long. She always has a doll or stuffed animal with her. She loves to dress up, play in her kitchen, play with the dollhouse, and will dress up to take her dolls to the store with her. She takes a certain route around the house when she's pretending to go to the store. Recently she was getting ready to go to the store, and said "Oh no! Can't go store!" I asked her why, and she said "My car broken." Ha!

All dressed up and taking her baby to the store.

Pita also likes pretending to be animals, especially a cat. She really loves when I make her dolls talk to her, and she has little conversations with them. She now brings them up to me and tells me to make them talk. This is interesting because it turns out that I've enslaved myself to the job of following Celia around and making a Maisy doll walk around the house talking all day. Pita sleeps with Maisy now and wants to do everything with her.

Pretending it's raining outside and wearing a "hat".

Pretending to be a kitty.

She also likes to use objects as other things. This morning I was picking up her room and put away a book that was on the floor. Celia said "No Mommy, that's my ladder!"

Motor Skills: Celia's very good on stairs now, even going down. She's also getting better at jumping and getting both feet off the ground.

Self Help: Pita's newest self help trick is that she can lay her coat on the floor, put her hands in and flip it over her head to put it on by herself. She can also take off her clothes and can almost get her shirt and pants on by herself. Pita has been eating fairly well, though she goes through phases when it seems like she hardly eats anything. When she is eating well she likes all kinds of healthy foods, which is great. It's not often that you see a 2-year-old double fisting raw carrots or sugar snap peas.

Celia has also started enjoying baths again, in her little blue tub. And guess what? Last night she decided to take a bath in the big bathtub! Somehow her fear seems to have passed.

Behavior: This is similar to last month. Celia has her terrible toddler moments, but overall she's still a sweet, happy, easy going little critter.

In the last month we've seen Celia turn into a little girl. She's still small for her age and looks more babyish than other two-year-olds, but she has matured so much with her personality and behavior. There's a boy at daycare that Celia has been playing a lot with lately, and I heard that they're like little grown ups together. They're both so mature and serious when they play with each other. Celia talks about him all the time.

As it turns out every month, we love her more and more all the time. It's amazing to have created this little person and to have seen her grow from that tiny newborn into a real live little girl. There's nothing better than watching her, hugging her, and smelling her sweet little Pita smell. I probably won't continue with monthly updates now that she's two. That makes me feel like she's really getting old! There will probably be a post at 2 1/2, and then when she turns 3.

23 months

Celia is 23 months old today. Time to start thinking about a birthday party! 

Here is Celia at this time last year, 11 months:

And today:

Stats: Still fitting well in 18-month clothes, although some of her pants are starting to get short. I think we'll finally be moving on to some 24-month things soon. We won't know Celia's height and weight until her 2-year appointment, but she's definitely growing. She still wears size 4 diapers and size 5 1/2 shoes. I think she'll be moving up to size 6 shoes soon.

Schedule: Still exactly the same as last month. Pita thrives on a regular schedule. She knows when it's time to sleep, wake up, and even knows when it's time for me to pick her up on days she goes to daycare. At 4:00 sharp she wants to get her backpack ready and start's asking "Where's Mommy?" We never have trouble getting her to bed, which makes us very fortunate.


Speech and Language: Celia's sentences are getting more complex. She has started asking more questions. She will ask if somebody wants or likes something. She loves talking to our cats, and to her stuffed animals and dolls. She understands what sharing means, and will offer to share something or ask if I'll share my food with her. She can use "what" and "who" to ask questions. She also started using "why" in the last week, but she doesn't quite know how to use it. Instead of asking an actual question she will just say "Why, Mommy? Why?" She knows how to take turns and will say "My turn" and "Your turn". She has also started using the word "either", like "Celia don't want it either". Sometimes she doesn't use it in the right contexts, though. And the cutest thing is that Pita has picked up on some new little sayings that she uses all the time. If she drops something or makes a mess, she might say "Don't worry Mommy. No problem. I clean up." She loves to say "don't worry" and "no problem"!

Cognitive/Play: Celia is developing a very strong sense of self, which is right on target for a 2-year-old! It's funny how without it being taught or emphasized to her, she has become possessive of her things and wants to have her own of everything. When somebody has something that interests her, she asks where hers is. When we bought her friend Jack a Christmas present the other day, Celia was very concerned that we didn't get her a present too. She kept asking if she would get one! And she is still very independent, wanting to do things herself ("No Mommy. Do it self!"). She still loves to help me around the house and tries to help me clean and vacuum.

Pita's pretend play has continued to become more complex. When playing with dolls, she talks for them and has little conversations with them. She imitates her life experiences in her play, so I see a lot of how I mother Celia reflected in the way she takes care of her dolls. She talks to them in the same tone of voice that I use with her, uses some of my expressions, and is always hugging and kissing them. She likes to put her dolls and animals in chairs around the table, and bring them things to eat and drink from her kitchen. She gets them all set up and then bustles around in her kitchen, talking to them, asking if they want other things, bringing them more food- just like I do with her. It's a good thing I like what I see when she's pretending, because it's all a reflection of my behavior as her mom!

Motor Skills: Still not much is new this month, although I have noticed that Pita's fine motor skills have gotten better. She still loves to jump, and sometimes gets both feet off the ground at once for a split second now.

Self Help: Does nose picking count as a self help skill? If so, it's certainly Celia's biggest self help accomplishment this month.

Well gosh darn it, she's even cute when picking her nose!

Other than that, Celia is still very independent with eating and uses a napkin by herself. She still likes to "help" wipe herself when I change her diaper. She can use a zipper when dressing and undressing, puts her shoes on by herself, and does all kinds of things by herself in the daily routine.

Behavior: Celia is very well-behaved overall, but of course she has her moments. She does have meltdowns and little mini tantrums when things don't go her way sometimes. She also likes to see what will happen when she does things like throw or kick a toy, push the buttons on the stereo, or climb on something she shouldn't. She sometimes thinks it's funny to hit Mommy or Daddy when she's being silly. Pretty typical toddler stuff! We have our rough times, but overall Pita is still pretty easy going and well behaved. She also tends to act up more when she isn't getting undivided attention, so sometimes just changing how I'm interacting with her makes a difference.

She loves going "under covers" in our bed, and always wants us to lie with her.

It's crazy that we'll have a 2-year-old a month from now, and I know how much more she'll have grown up in another year. I was thinking today that compared to having an infant, having a toddler isn't much easier :D. The thing that really makes a difference is that I get good sleep now! I don't think a day goes by, though, that Chris and I don't catch each others' eyes over Celia's head and smile at each other because we love her so much. If she would allow it I'd carry her everywhere with me, hugging her constantly and smelling her sweet little head (is that weird? Everyone smells their babies' heads, right?).

Big 2-year update next month!