This Girl

Sydney is 19 months old, and growing every day. In fact, our little 4 yr. old neighbor Macie keeps telling me, "You baby is growing up!"

I've been trying to think of all the things she can do now, and the list is certainly much longer than what I would expect anyone would actually want to read. But here it goes:

• talk- She continues to be a great repeater, but she uses a lot of words on her own. She has even been putting short phrases together to make requests like, "I want hold you," or "I want eat," and "I want kitchen."

• play- Her favorite thing to do play with her kitchen, and she thinks I'm funny when I pretend to eat food that's not there. But she joins in and feeds her baby or grabs a few "be beans" (green beans) for herself. Like most kids, Sydney loves to be outside too! I think we go knock on Addie's door every time we walk by her house. Sometimes we take Sydney's dog Stella for a walk around the block, and she'll usually have her baby in one hand and Stella's leash in the other. She loves going down the slide, but has become a little more timid after falling off the steps several times. She really likes to dance and spin, and she loves reading books. Her favorite book right now is a book of Mother Goose nursery rhymes, and she loves it when we sing the songs that go with the poems.

• manners- She's pretty good at either saying or signing please, but sometimes needs to be reminded how to ask nicely. We also love that when we give something to her, she'll sometimes say "You're welcome." She has also started being much naughtier, including pinching, hitting, and biting (only once). I put her on a little seat in the corner for time-out, but I still don't know if she understands all of that yet. I've also noticed that she is BY FAR the whiniest when she's with me. During Spencer's break when I'd go to work, he said she would be totally happy all day, and then just cry and cry once I got home. No me gusta.

• help- She loves to sweep the floor with the swiffer duster, help me throw clothes into the washer or dryer, take things out of the dishwasher, help me water my plants, and pour ingredients into whatever I'm cooking.

• food- She continues to be a pig! I swear Sydney could eat a 4 course dinner and then still ask for a "nack" (snack) like 10 minutes later. Her most common food requests are berries (loves blueberries and strawberries), pretzels, and "bishies" (Goldfish). She rarely drinks milk, and since we've never introduced juice or anything else, she just gulps down plenty of water every day.

• potty- She has used the potty once so far- a fluke last Tuesday. I bought a potty chair that fits over the regular toilet seat, and she loves to sit on it. I put her on it that night while I was filling up the tub, and she totally started peeing! It was just good timing on my part, but now she is always telling me when she goes "pee-pee" in her diaper. I'm hoping to potty train her this summer!

Love this girl.