What a speedy and fast month it has been. At 23 months of age, you are such an individual with so many talents and such a huge personality. It really is a lot of fun watching you become the person you are. Every day you discover a new thing or notice something that is interesting to you. Whenever this happens you spend a good week or two talking about it non-stop. You talk a lot, often copying the words we say. You not only copy words but you copy gestures, faces we pull, and dance moves. You are also beginning to form your own opinions about things - no longer agreeing whole-heartedly with everything mommy thinks - and it has been a bit of a suprise for me. I am trying to respect your ideas and opinions about things because I know this is just the beginning. Right now we are talking about where to sit at lunch or what to wear or when it's time to get your diaper changed... not boys, college, or a career or anything like that yet. But at times you seem like a small opinionated adult.
You are very good at communicating your feelings, usually. There are those rare times when you either just don't want to try or you can't quite figure out how to tell us something and you will result to tantrums and flailing about on the floor, but not always. As far as words are concerned you are speaking well. I believe you are advanced for your age when it comes to talking among many other things. You have a hard time with words that start with "t" or "s" and will often replace those letters with "f" - for example: truck = fruck or Shrek = frek or ice cream = kah-kyoom.
You enjoy teasing me and your dad when you sit on our bed. A cute thing you always do is sit on my side of the bed and say, "Mommy's pot! Moooot Manyin" (translation: Mommy's Spot! Move Madeline") and then you laugh and run over to Daddy's side and do the same thing. In the mornings if I have not woken up before you, which unfortunately is rare, you will pull on my arm or leg and say, "Gig up mom, gig up!" (get up).
You love to sing, and even when you don't quite know the words to a song you will hum along and sing the beginning or ending words to each statement. You're getting better at your ABC's and you can count to 7 now. You love counting and will count anything that there is more than one of. For a little while you were saying, "one, two, four, free" but your dad helped you with that and now they are in the correct order. You are also doing well with your colors and shapes. The shape you love the most is the star and whenever you see one anywhere you point it out. You love colors and have a good time at stop lights. You get blue and red mixed up a lot and will say "booo, top!" (blue, stop!) when we pull up to a red light. You've got "green, go!" down though.
You love to sing, and even when you don't quite know the words to a song you will hum along and sing the beginning or ending words to each statement. You're getting better at your ABC's and you can count to 7 now. You love counting and will count anything that there is more than one of. For a little while you were saying, "one, two, four, free" but your dad helped you with that and now they are in the correct order. You are also doing well with your colors and shapes. The shape you love the most is the star and whenever you see one anywhere you point it out. You love colors and have a good time at stop lights. You get blue and red mixed up a lot and will say "booo, top!" (blue, stop!) when we pull up to a red light. You've got "green, go!" down though.
As of July 31st, 2010, you are no longer breastfeeding. Sometimes you still put your hand down my shirt or you will ask for some "boom boom," but I no longer get kicked when I tell you no. I will usually say something like, "Oh, we don't do that anymore, remember? You're a big girl now!" And then I will offer you some milk or juice. It is really nice to know you are finally, successfully weaned. I do miss it though because now when you are crying or hurt or tired I can't just whip out the ol' teet - the perfect and immediate answer to your past problems! I actually have to use other reasoning to help you with your dilemmas, and it takes a little more time.
You are healthy and full of energy, so I assume you are getting enough nutrition to meet your needs. Sometimes you will not eat a thing and other times you will eat everything on your plate and then ask for more. You are quite picky and I am hoping (praying with great devotion) that this is just a toddler phase and not something that will stick like it did with your father. I am realizing though that the more I accomodate his pickyness, the more you are only being exposed to certain foods. I need to expose you to more foods. You actually like broccoli when I give it to you! You love to help me cook and you are very involved in the kitchen. You know where the silverware, the pots and pans, and the mixing bowls are. You like to pull up a chair and watch me cook and you understand that the stove it hot so you don't touch it. You also like to help mix things in bowls and stir juice.
When you are bored at meals and not hungry you play with your food. It is hilarious to watch but I have to admit it gets annoying sometimes. You like grapes so you have them a lot. You enjoy rolling your grapes down your pancakes like it's a slide; you sing row, row, row your boat while sliding food across your tray; you like to lift up your plates and cups and hold them high in the air as if you are giving a food sacrifice; and you love to mix things together, particularly your drinks and bread because you have discovered the spongey capabilities of bread. You have also realized that some of your bibs have little pockets on the front of them and you will hide your food in the bib sometimes.
Last Christmas we bought you some fake food to go with your shopping cart and you have a very good time playing with it. You know what most of the foods are and enjoy taking orders from me and preparing a nice fake meal for me. You love ice cream and if it were up to you we would have it every day. So on the days I don't want to give it to you, we will come upstairs and have fake ice cream. It doesn't always satisfy you, but it has worked most of the time.
A really cute example of your imagination: Last week we went to a friends house for a playdate and she had a fake tea set with a tea pot, tea cups, plates, and some fake desserts. You spent most of our time there pouring imaginary tea into the cups and offering it to everyone in the room. I couldn't get over you and how freakin' adorable you were!!
You love to play with your toys and dollies. You talk to your dollies regularly and ask them questions. You drop them on purpose also and tell me they are "hurt" and need a bandaid because you love putting bandaids on everything. I love listening to you when you don't know I am listening. You ask the cutest questions and say the cutest things to your toys. You also really enjoy dressing up - wearing hats, tutu's, mommy's shoes, etc.
You love talking on the phone, especially to your dad when he is at work. If he is not too busy he calls around lunch time and you have a nice long chat with him about Shrek, Harry Potter, tea pots and ice makers, among other things. You are also starting to talk more on the phone with your grandma's and other family in America, which makes them and us very happy. We enjoy sharing the cute. You love to skype with your cousin Toshie and talk about him a lot whenever I talk about going for a visit.
You love to read and we try to read every night before bed. You enjoy picking 5 or 6 books off your bookshelf and bringing them over to your bed. Sometimes you like mommy to read and sometimes you like daddy to read. We don't usually get through and entire story though. When you are distracted or get bored you usually close the book and say, "end!" Your favorite books this month are "Kitty Up!" and "Are You Ticklish?"
We invested in a bed for you. I sort of wish we had gotten you a real toddler bed with rails, but instead we got you a nice twin mattress and box springs from the serta store here in Saudi because your Dad wants you to be comfortable. The problem with that though is that you have rolled out of bed a couple times. We have it up against the wall and I usually prop a pillow or two under the mattress on the open side to assist in inhibiting the rolling, but it doesn't always work if you go a different direction. The first few nights were pretty good and then you took a really late nap one day and weren't tired at bedtime so we made the mistake of letting you sleep with us again, and honestly it has been that way since. So we are still working on getting you to sleep in your room in your own bed.
You love to read and we try to read every night before bed. You enjoy picking 5 or 6 books off your bookshelf and bringing them over to your bed. Sometimes you like mommy to read and sometimes you like daddy to read. We don't usually get through and entire story though. When you are distracted or get bored you usually close the book and say, "end!" Your favorite books this month are "Kitty Up!" and "Are You Ticklish?"
We invested in a bed for you. I sort of wish we had gotten you a real toddler bed with rails, but instead we got you a nice twin mattress and box springs from the serta store here in Saudi because your Dad wants you to be comfortable. The problem with that though is that you have rolled out of bed a couple times. We have it up against the wall and I usually prop a pillow or two under the mattress on the open side to assist in inhibiting the rolling, but it doesn't always work if you go a different direction. The first few nights were pretty good and then you took a really late nap one day and weren't tired at bedtime so we made the mistake of letting you sleep with us again, and honestly it has been that way since. So we are still working on getting you to sleep in your room in your own bed.
You have TONS of energy but sometimes it is hard to get it all out because it is so hot and humid this time of year I keep you inside a lot. So you figured out how to get your own exercise. Every night, usually before or after dinner, you and your dad (sometimes I join in) will run, you say, "Run Dad!". You run through the kitchen into the front room down the hall into the dining room and back into the kitchen over and over and over in a big circle. We have had to focus on mentioning to you that it is important to look straight forward when you run because you run into walls or cupboards sometimes when you get really excited and want me to look... "yook mom... BAM!"
This month we set up your training potty. You don't use it regularly yet, but when you remember it or see it you want to sit on it. You will fake-wipe and waste a lot of toilet paper, and you love to empty the little bucket inside the potty into the big toilet and flush it. You have pooped and pee'd in the potty several times this month and I honestly don't believe it will be hard to get you trained soon.
This month we found out you are having a baby sister! You got to come in and see the baby on the ultra sound and you were very cute and excited about it when you saw the baby moving around. I have told you many times that there is a baby in my tummy and sometimes you come up and kiss my belly - a very precious and awwww moment for me.
You love other little kids and babies still and whenever you see a baby you will run up to it and point and say, "baby! baby!" But you also enjoy roaring at babies and children, and adults actually, like Shrek does. You tell people you are an ogre and then you raise your hands up and scrunch up your face and say, "RRrrraaaaaarrrrrr!" You do it to Mohammed, our house boy, every time he comes to clean.
You like Mohammed and know his name. You say, "hello, hammed" and "bye bye, hammed" when he comes and goes. You also say his name whenever you see any type of cleaning supplies in the store or here at the house. You like to give him five and will regularly help him with the cleaning. He gets a kick out of it and laughs a lot when he is here.
You like Mohammed and know his name. You say, "hello, hammed" and "bye bye, hammed" when he comes and goes. You also say his name whenever you see any type of cleaning supplies in the store or here at the house. You like to give him five and will regularly help him with the cleaning. He gets a kick out of it and laughs a lot when he is here.
This month we also celebrated your Dad's birthday. You had a really good time with the balloons, singing happy birthday (we probably did it a hundred times), blowing out the candles, and having ice cream cake! That was a big deal and you talked about how it was Dad's birthday and you wanted ice cream cake for several days after. Your birthday promises to be even more fun.
I am cherrishing these last few months I have alone with you because I am beginning to understand how truly important these days are. I know it will never again be the same. I am so grateful that I have the opportunity to be at home with you each day, to watch you grow and learn. You are so much fun and I love you so humongously much Madeline. You will always be my number one and my sweet, funny, talented little friend.
Love,
Momma
Love,
Momma
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