20 Months

How did that happen? My baby is 20 months?

• We went to the Doctor a week or so ago because Eliza had a nasty sore on the end of her nose that wouldn't heal. She acted like a nut when I put her on the scale, but fully clothed she weighs somewhere around 24 lbs...give or take due to her flailing about. I can tell she has grown. I suddenly feel like I'm stretching the last of my size 3 diapers over her cute little buns. We are definitely ready for a bigger size.


• Eliza amazes me daily. I swear I'm not making this up...she knows all of the letters in the alphabet by sight and sign. It's really amazing. She loves to flip through books and yell out the letters she sees. The other day we were driving to my mom's house. We passed through Provo and Eliza started yelling, "Y!!! Y!!!!" I was very confused until I looked to my left and saw the big 'Y' on the mountain (for BYU). She has also recently started counting. She can count to five by herself.


• Eliza has an uncanny ability to remember names. She will meet a person once, ask to have their name repeated a few times and then proceed to talk about them for the rest of the week. It is truly amazing. The teachers at daycare are stunned that she knows ALL of the kids names including the preschoolers (who she only sees for a brief part of the day).


• Sesame Street is a big hit around here! Out with the old (Signing Time) and in with the new! She LOVES Mr. Noodle (AKA: Noo Noo). For the longest time I thought the girl was starving...she was always asking for Noo Noo. Being the sucker that I am, I would make her noodles quite frequently trying to satisfy her craving. One day she finally told me, "Noo Noo. Elmo, Noo". Ah, I get it. Yes, Noo Noo comes on during Elmo's world. Dense Mommy!


• Favorite song: John Denver's Sunshine on my Shoulders.


• Favorite food: Changes daily. Quesadillas and oranges were a big hit a couple nights ago.


• Daycare. Not bad. In fact it's mostly good. She sleeps for about 30-45 min. on average. I've had to turn my brain off regarding nap time. She loves the kids. She loves art time. I love to see her creations. She loves to play outside on the playgroud at school. We are forever talking about the cool slide!


• Over the last 3 years I have collected the Madame Alexander dolls that came in Happy Meals. I brought the box full of dolls (there must be about 25 or so) out the other day and Eliza has been carrying the "babies" around. She LOVES the tin man doll.


• My mom told me to write down everything Eliza can say. I could never write a list. She can literally say anything you ask her to. She is putting 2 and 3 word sentences together all the time. There are some things I don't understand, but for the most part, I know what she is saying. The other day I was in the basement. I yelled up the stairs, "are you coming?" She yelled back, "I coming!" So cute!


• Sweet baby girl isn't always so sweet (and niether is her mother!). The girl can throw a fit! And her screaming...I tell her she is going to make my ears bleed...and Beau's for that matter. She screams when she is happy, mad, excited, frustrated. She can always find occasion to scream!


• She LOVES Beau and the feeling is mutual. He is the first thing she looks for in the morning. She sticks her face right in front of his and says, "kisses". Beau does just as she says! We tell Beau the same thing every morning, "Bye Beau. We're going to school. We'll be back later.". I do this for 2 reasons.. 1) I've always done it and 2) I think it helps Eliza know that she goes to school and she always come home later (and her buddy is waiting for her). She gets it. As we get close to home she says, "Beau?".


• Eliza still HATES the car. It takes us about 15 minutes to get home from work/school and it is the longest 15 minutes of the day. Our frequent car conversation goes something like this:

Eliza: All done.

Me: All done with what?

Eliza: Car.

Me: That's really good because we are almost home!

She then carries on for the last part of the drive home. Sounds pleasant, doesn't it?

• Eliza loves to color, but only with a pen please. With her pen in hand she will tell me, "A. A. A." Until I help her write the letter A. She will make a scribble in the shape of a J or Y or some other letter and yell out whatever letter she has written. She wrote on my shirt a while ago and it looked like a 'J'. It was hard to be irritated when she was so proud of herself!


• She loves buses. We are constantly on the look out for buses. I feel myself get really excited during the day when I see a bus and then feel sad that she isn't with me.


• She loves to have her back tickled. When she is in bed beside me she will suddenly request, "more". When I say, "more what?" She says, "tickle." If it's the middle of the night and I fall asleep while on tickle duty she softly says, "more." Sometimes her wish is granted and sometimes mommy needs her beauty rest!


• I love this kid. I love this age. I am amazed every day. Having a child is the best way to relive childhood. I get to see life through her eyes and everything is brighter and happier!