Lila-isms

Dear Lila,

You are 21 months old now (Wait, what? How are you almost 2 years old already?!) and I love all of the adorable "Lila-isms" you have:

-When I say we have to be quiet, you put your finger to your lips and whisper, "Shhh."

-When you pee in your diaper, you say "pee pee" and tap your crotch.
-You make all of the animal sounds at the right time when we read Moo Baa La La La.

-You are very into climbing things and, though you were initially afraid of them, you now love the swings and slides at the playground.

-When you stumble and fall (not hard), you laugh and think it's hilarious. 

-When I ask you a question--like "Which book do you want to read?"--you tap your chin with your index finger as you think it over.

-You love to dance and when you hear a song that you like, you run over to me to pull me up to dance with you. When you dance, you throw both arms up in the air and sometimes flap one arm like a bird. And when you hear a fast-paced song you really like, you do this adorable bounce-and-squat dance move that cracks me up!

-You are actually very musically inclined and often try to sing along to songs you hear on the radio or that I sing to you. And like other girls (and boys, including GuhGaw) everywhere, you love the Frozen soundtrack!

-You are very independent. If I try to feed you a spoonful of food, you often push my hand away, grab the spoon and feed yourself. You can also take your shirt off and pull your pants and leggings on by yourself.

-You are very neat and conscientious about wiping your face and hands and keeping them clean if you're eating something messy.

-You are growing so fast that you are already wearing size 4T clothing and size 6 diapers and no longer fit into your high chair. Feel free to slow down--I won't mind!

-When you're not happy about something, you pout by tipping your head to the side, sticking out your bottom lip, crossing your arms and turning your body away. I shouldn't encourage it, but I always smile when you do this because you look so cute!
-I do not, however, smile when you bite your brother, which you do--and sometimes with quite a lot of viciousness--when he makes you angry by not sharing a toy or food with you. Not okay, lady.
-Like your brother before you, you are very possessive of me. The other night, Daddy, you and I were in bed and every time Daddy tried to touch me, you pushed him away from me and hugged me tightly.

-When you're sleepy, you like to twirl your hair or mine when I hold you before bedtime.

-When I put you in your crib at night, you sometimes roll over onto your side, look up at me and pat your back to tell me that you want me to rub your back as you fall asleep.

-You are saying many more new words, including bye, up, down, oh (when something is wrong), bao bao (Chinese for bread), rub rub rub (when you are standing at the sink and washing your hands), whoooa/wooow (when you see something impressive), boobie (you can't say that many words and among the few that you can say, one of them has to be boobie?!), bo bo (elbow) and--this is a big one--Dada! You said it for the first time yesterday when you saw a photo of Daddy on the digital picture frame and again when he came home from work. Daddy was so happy!

Love,

Mom

Moms & Tots

Dear Lila,

You started a new Moms & Tots class today and even though it takes place during your usual nap time, you managed to stay awake during the entire hour and a half class--and you loved it! You made an art project with shape stickers, played with Play-doh and especially enjoyed scooping up sand at the sand table (I eventually had to drag you away so you would try out the other activity centers). You had fun riding in the toy cars when we went outside to the playground and, of course, also liked snack time, during which you ate your own animal cookies and then helped yourself to your classmate's cookies, too!

We've taken other classes before, but those were located in dance studios and church basements. Your Moms & Tots class is in an actual school in an actual classroom with cubbies, toddler-sized tables and chairs and a big rug in the corner for circle time. And it was bittersweet to see you in a "real" classroom setting because it made me realize that you will be starting nursery school not too long from now and leaving me (*sniff*). I think you are going to do really well once you do start school. In class today, you were so good, sitting down and paying attention during circle time, putting away toys when it was time to clean up and even pushing your chair back under the table when you got up from coloring. My big girl!

Love,
Mom

Bottomless Pit

Dear Lila,

Oh man, you and your food. Last week, you were snacking on a plate of cheese cubes and animal crackers when it was time to leave the house and pick up your brother from school. I tried to take your plate away but you wouldn't let me take it. I told you that there was no time for you to finish your food because we had to go and you then quickly stuffed all eight cubes of cheese and two animal crackers into your mouth. Whoa. I asked you if you were going to be able to swallow all of that and you opened your mouth wide to show me the masticated food. Lovely!

At dinner yesterday, you ate your bowl of pad thai, plus your brother's bowl of pad thai (he didn't like it), plus several slices of apples and cantaloupe. And when I sat down to eat my dinner, you opened your mouth wide at me to ask for even more food. Seriously?

At dinner tonight, you had eight ounces of milk, a quarter of a pear, an ounce of cheddar cheese, two slices of turkey AND half of your brother's bowl of broccoli, steak and rice (he is obviously not the voracious eater you are). Everyone, meet Lila, she of the hollow leg!

Love,

Mom