23 Months

This week we hit the 23 month mark! Here's the monthly highlight list. 

• Singing! It so sweet when she breaks out in songs like her abc's, or twinkle twinkle little star, she can now sing all of those songs and today for the first time she sang a along in church when they sang Jesus loves me. I've tried to get video of her singing solos but she always stops when the camera comes out. Her other favorite song lately is if you're happy and you know it, she loves to do the stomping your feet part and frequently asks me to sing "happy feet".
• We have frequented the play ground in our neighborhood several times now and almost daily she will ask "go to park?" She just started being brave enough to go down slides on her own and she loves it!
• She knows several shapes, is counting to 5ish in order, and can sing her ABCs.
• Baby dolls are still her favorite, especially putting them down for naps. I can already see that one of her spiritual gifts is being a nurturer. It is natural to her like breathing. When babies or other kids are crying,  she says to me "they sad" and often tries to think of someway she can offer comfort. In the church nursery the attendants tell me she is making sure other babies have their toys and goes around giving pats on the back. 
• She loves to ask me "what doing mama?" Here's a frequent conversation we have these days: "What doing mama?" "I'm driving" "What doing mama?" I'm driving" to break this cycle I say "What are you doing" "I readin' book". pause for a moment. "Mama are you drivin'?".
• She loves the zoo and as soon as you enter often she starts saying "elephant" - by far her favorite animal (which is what I came up for her birthday theme this year). Our elephants are at the very back of the zoo so its a trek back there but hard to say no to that enthusiasm. 
• She loves to brush her teeth, sometimes asks in the middle of the day. I'm not sure how long she would keep going. I always have to stop the brushing after a while, often to her disappointment. 
• She's started testing limits more, When I have to put her in time out she immediately starts saying "listen and mind", this is the language I use when I put her in time out and get her out to try link that not listening and minding means time out. I think it's interesting when I give the 1 timeout warning she usually always still has to go to timeout but when I get her out of timeout and have her repeat whatever I told her to do, she always does it right way? So I feel like she's making some connections with it but its still a work in progress. Luckily she usually does listen and mind and this makes both our lives easier. 

This girl will be 2 next month! Seems like her birth wasn't that long ago. I am loving this stage too, she's so fun, funny, curious, affectionate and active!