20 months

Celia is 20 months old today!

Stats: We were at the pediatrician last week and Celia weighed 22 lbs 4 oz. Still on the small side. I'm well aware that there are 12-month-olds out there who could eat her for breakfast :D. The best thing about her small size is that people think she's so much younger than she is. When they hear her talking they think she's a genius! Pita still wears size 5 shoes and will probably be in 18 month clothes at least through the fall.

Daily Routine: This hasn't really changed since last month. Celia has a great schedule, and sticking with her routine keeps her pretty happy.

Speech and Language: This is an area that has really blossomed this month. When I read what I wrote for Celia's 19 month post, I can't believe the difference. She still uses plenty of 1-2 word utterances, but now uses 3 and 4 word sentences too. A few of my recent favorites:
- "Mommy Daddy together." Awwwww!
- When asked if she wants something, she sometimes says "Yeah, I do!"
- "Daddy drive car. Mommy drive car too."
- "Daddy blue car work." (Daddy's blue car is at work)

Celia's now using all kinds of adjectives. She will describe the weather ("Windy!"), identify things by color, and use a variety of other descriptive words. The other day I was taking tags off of shirts I got her, and she pointed and said "New shirt". What a smarty pants. Celia's speech has also continued to get clearer, and she learns how to pronounce words very quickly once I give her a little help. Her language comprehension is about the same as last month. She understands absolutely everything. Even when you don't think she's even listening, she is.

Cognitive: Celia's pretend play is growing and growing. She spends so much time playing with her doll and stuffed animals, having them participate in play with her. She also plays a lot with Little People toys, and she loves the mommy and daddy that came with the dollhouse. The other day I was in the kitchen and heard her jabbering away, and kept hearing her say "Mommy" and "Daddy". So I peeked into the living room and she was walking the mommy and daddy across the living room and having them talk to each other in the cutest little voice.

Celia has continued learning more letters this month. Whenever someone's wearing a shirt with writing on it, she names the letters she can identify. She has also developed an interest in the sounds letters make, and in knowing the first letters of various words. This started innocently enough when Celia was playing with her letter magnets and I picked out the C, M, and D for Celia, Mommy, and Daddy. I sort of mentioned the connection in passing, but she remembered it! And now she will walk around saying "M. Mommy. D. Daddy" and will start asking me about the letters for other words.

Motor: Celia's getting better at putting pieces in her puzzles. She still loves to run around and climb things. At daycare she can use all the toddler climbing structures and slides by herself. She runs around like a little maniac, shrieking in delight, as she does. She also loves to "jump". She can't really jump, but does sort of leap with one foot in front of the other.

Self Help: Pita can put her shoes on all by herself. Sometimes she gets the wrong foot, but if I tell her to put the shoe on the other foot she does. She still helps with dressing and undressing herself. When I change her diaper, she wants to pull the old diaper away herself, tries to wipe herself, and tries to put a new diaper down between her legs. So cute. Last month I wrote that Celia had started using the potty but then decided she wasn't interested. She's now changed her mind again. Some days she has no interest, but there are other days when she requests to use the potty (Potty! Diaper off!) and actually pees in it. She gets very excited about this and loves the whole process.

Behavior: Unless she's unusually tired or not feeling well, Celia is still very well behaved. Her little tantrums have actually lessened already (though perhaps they'll return at some point). She still has her moments of frustration or anger when she doesn't get what she wants. Yesterday she was mad that I turned off her music to get out of the car, and she spent a few seconds yelling in a very angry voice. I had to turn away a little so she wouldn't see me chuckling. She was totally testing her boundaries and experimenting with different ways to display her anger.

In general, Celia is still a very happy and easy going little girl. I love getting compliments about her behavior and her disposition. In the last month she has also turned into a true toddler- busy all the time! She is constantly active and on the move. She would spend all day running, climbing, and playing outside if she could, which makes me want a house with a yard even more. We are in a bit of a holding pattern right now- in a good way. We have a nice schedule and Celia's just at a fun age where pretty much everything we do is enjoyable. Now that it's fall, I'm really looking forward to holidays coming up. Celia will have a lot of fun at Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas this year!