Elsa is Twenty Months

 

 

 

 

Apparently this is the outfit for monthly updates. I did not even realize until I started taking pictures this morning that she was wearing this exact same ice cream cone outfit on her nineteen-month birthday. But today her hair is in pigtails, which makes it even better.

Twenty months. Wow. I had a little freakout the other day when I realized, while talking with Jarrett, that by the time we get home from our big trip at the end of June, Elsa's second birthday will basically be just two months away. How is that possible. I mean, really? I know all of us parents dwell on this, but time really does fly by. And, yes, they do grow up fast. It is just continues to amaze me.

So what is she doing these days? Walking! Nearly running! Now that the cast is off, she is into everything again, and is having a hayday. And we are having a delightful time watching her. 

She has always been pretty particular about music, but now she will request specific songs. Her favorite as of late is the "Hop Up" song, and we happen to have two different versions of it on two different CDs. She also enjoys attempting to sing some of these songs. As you might have heard in the video in a previous post, she has started singing "Old MacDonald" and will sing her ABCs (and, yes, she pretty much says all of the letters and even tries to sing the bit at the end that goes "...next time won't you sing with me." She will also sometimes try to sing with me when I sing her "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" before she goes to bed, which is really cute.

I think I forgot to mention in her nine-month post that she also just randomly started counting to ten. And I just learned last weekend that she actually recognizes numbers, as she pointed out a "6" on a menu. I really don't know where she is learning all of this, except that she loves her books (a few of which incorporate the alphabet, numbers, colors, and shapes), and Jarrett and I do tend to narrate the world around her. For instance, she can now point out and name the various parts on a guitar, thanks to her daddy -- the pegs, the strings, the bridge, etc. It is pretty comical to see her do it -- but she is always correct! I wish I had her memory, that is for sure.

While we were in Charlotte over the weekend, she started saying "grandma" and "grandpa" for the first time, very clearly, and I am now officially "mommy" with all of the "ms," it seems, rather than "mah-ee," as she had been calling me. I am a little saddened by her improved pronunciation, I must admit. I thought "mah-ee" was quite endearing. She is also in a stage where she must say goodbye to everything, whether it be her books, a tree, a friend, the plumbing on the sink -- you name it. And I love it. They are the sweetest goodbyes you have ever heard.

She is mommy's girl lately, and is very clingy. I thought the separation anxiety stage was supposed to end quite awhile ago -- and, actually, I thought it had diminished somewhat -- but it seems to have returned, and she rarely wants to leave my side. Overall, it is manageable (and kind of sweet), but I think her daddy is maybe ready for some more attention to head his direction. You can bet I will remind him of this when Daddy becomes her favorite at some sure point in the future.