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!