Twenty-Seven Months

Well, this month Punky reached a milestone I thought she never would: size 4 diapers.  I figured she'd be potty trained before ever needing those.  She's still a little runt and, truth be told, the size 3 ones still fit her fine in the waist and legs but we needed the extra height on her abdomen.  Her new bed prompted the switch.  Most of the time she wakes up dry; for the rare occasion when she doesn't, we need that bit of extra protection.  Changing crib sheets was a pain, but I've discovered it was much less of one than stripping, washing, drying, and making her big-girl bed three days in a row.  So, size 4 it is.

And despite yet another spontaneous success a few weeks ago, she has once again turned her nose up to the whole concept of potty training.  She doesn't want to do it, see it, or hear about it.  She's completely ignoring it.  She just has no time for it yet, I guess.  At least I knew better than to get excited this time.  

Also new this month: counting in spanish and italian.  A few months ago, it was becoming more and more difficult to get through the bedtime teeth-brushing so I started counting and it worked like a charm.  She already knew how to count to ten, thus she knew exactly how long she had to sit still with her mouth open.  Ten on the top, ten on the bottom, and ten for her beautiful smile.  When she started to grow tired of that routine, I had to get more creative.  I started counting in other languages and she quickly caught on and began to repeat them.  On the heels of that success, I started teaching her the colors and a few simple phrases in spanish.  It's been quite a refresher for me, too.  Despite the college degree, I found myself needing to look up a few words I had forgotten over the years.

Her mouth still runs non-stop, her vocabulary is growing and growing, and she makes me chuckle every day.  I have no idea where she hears some of the things she says, but she manages to say them in the correct context... like the day her brother was ignoring her and she told us he must have lost his hearing.  She carries on full conversations with her toys and I can't help but giggle when I overhear her chatter. 

"Do you want to sit on the floor with me, Elmo?"

"You do? Great!"

"Do you want to share my blankie?"

"Awesome!"

"Do you like it?"

"Yes, you're right! It is very soft!"

"Who got (bought) it?  Hmmm... I don't know, Elmo."

"Let's go ask Mommy!"

She has really taken to singing lately and knows many kids' songs word for word.  She'll be playing quietly and suddenly burst into random verses.  It's adorable...and funny.  My favorite so far is her rendition of "There's a hole in the bucket, dear Liza, dear Liza..."  That one made me snort and coffee came out my nose.  

She is definitely suffering a bout of cabin fever, especially since we made that first trip to the playground last weekend.  She loves going, well, anywhere we are willing to take her.  She has a fascination with restaurants and asks to go almost every day.  Thankfully I can't blame my poor cooking skills since her dad does most of it.  I think she just loves to people-watch and be out of the house for a bit.  I can't wait until we can take walks again in the evening, and kick the ball around the yard, and play in the dirt.  I don't know where I'll get the energy to keep up with her in the coming months.