19 months

another month has gone by and this darling little girl just makes me smile more and more.  it is amazing to me how much changes over the course of a month!  what a big personality this little one has!  here's what she's been up to lately: - words are pouring out like a storm.  pretty much anything that we say is repeated.  and, she's putting a couple of words together.  mostly "bye bye dadda" and "hi riley".

- she LOVES her music.  Jack's Big Music Show is a big hit.  she knows all of the characters names and loves to stomp around and sway back and forth as they sing.

- we have a wooden flute and a bird whistle, which she has learned to blow on both correctly and giggles like mad when she gets a good sound out of them.

- luc brought home a mini drum set yesterday and she is absolutely smitten with it.

- sleeping has been really great this month.  in bed by around 7:30 and sleeping until 6:30 and sometimes a little later!

- apples and saying the word apple are very popular right now.

- "good night moon" has become her favorite book and she loves the part about the mush.

- still no potty training in effect although i got her to sit on the potty, sans diaper, for the first time last night....progress?

- skyping with nanna and pappa is a very happy time for her, a couple of days a week.  she loves seeing pappa right now!

- it's been rainy this week so, our daily walks include lots of "splashing" through the pudddles.

- we are singing a lot.  at night, when i rock her before bed, we sing.  if i start a song she doesn't want to hear i get a "nooy" and then a word from the song she wants... row = row row row your boat, star = twinkle twinkle, lamb = mary had a little lamb,  pop = pop goes the weasle, doe = doe a deer

- channing is recognizing lots of things and getting the names right.  we have animal magnets and she can point out and say farmer, pig, sheep, etc.  she's also pretty good at most of the sounds the animals make.

- we visit the playground several times a week and her favorite thing is stomping around on the different materials to see how they feel under foot.  from the pavement to the rock to the weeds to the grass.

- channing took her first ride, all by herself, on the two big slides at the playground this week!

- she likes to hang on the bars at the playground too.  luc lifts her up and she likes to just hold on, like a little monkey, and hang out.

- she's putting her hats on all by herself and got one shoe on the other day too!  her jacket zippers are very interesting and she is trying her best to figure out how to make them "zip".

- we still spend a lot of time out on our tiny deck, the weather has been perfect.  we especially love when our neighbor sits outside side and plays his "mannoyn" (mandolin).

- my favorite thing is channing's almost always present smile.  she is a happy girl and rarely fusses or puts up a fight.  she is so much fun and joyful to be around.