happy 20 months birthday!

it's getting to the point where people ask how old you are, and i say "20 months," and i know that some find it kind of annoying that i just don't say "one and a half" or "one" or "almost two." but really, i think that in the first two years, every month is like a long span of time, because you are growing and changing and learning so much. so having said that, today, you are 20 months old.

in the past few weeks, some of your clothes have started to seem too snug, so you're wearing some 2T tops. the 18-24 pants are still often too big, so i'm not sure what that's all about. but in any case, i know you are growing. even if some days you barely eat anything, you are still growing!

you string a lot of words together now, like "want juice." and "Here go, Sam." tonight, you wanted daddy to open the bedroom door for you, so you came and told him, "Want see! want see!" and made him follow you and open the door. you've also gone from just saying the names of things to commenting on things that you're doing. like "open" when you open a door or cabinet, and "close" when you close it. or you stand up and squat and say "up, down, up, down," accordingly. i think you've been less frustrated lately about communication, because you're getting so much better at it.

you're also getting better at making friends. here's a picture of you with our friend Don at the Naturals game. he had so much fun with you and sam, he invited you guys over to play while daddy and i went to a movie the next day. and here's another picture, of you dancing with another random friend you made at the baseball game.

you're getting to be such a big girl. i love you!
love, mom

this is the face you make when i ask you to smile.

it's pretty funny. sam makes that face, too. actually, so do i. sorry, kids.

you are an expressive and persistent and funny little girl.

you love books, and you now talk constantly, and you make all kinds of silly faces.

today, at the check-out at walmart, you waved and said "Hi!" to the lady
behind us at least 37 times. she was cracking up.

you're fearless.

more and more often, you do things that let us know you're really not afraid of much.

when we went to visit grandpa last week, you rode the four-wheeler like a champ, and you cried when it was time to stop. while we were on the boat, you stood close to the sides, looked over the railings, and tried to crawl under the gate to get out and get in the water. you really wanted to swim without a life jacket or a floatie or me holding you at all. this will not be an option for another couple years at least. you eventually submitted to sitting and splashing in the floatie, and i'm pretty sure you would have done that all day.

you're also getting much less afraid of people. you and your grandpa hit it off the minute you walked in the door, which he was thrilled about. you have been so shy in the past, but i think maybe you are growing out of that.

you are a brave little girl, and you make me nervous!

Happy 4th of July!

this is your second 4th of july, and i think you surprised us with how well you handled everything. last year, you didn't really seem to like it all too much, but this year, you had a blast.

we went to our friends, the bartholomews' house, just like last year. we ate lots of good food, and then we played outside for a while. you loved the ball with the weird fringe. you also loved the trampoline. you weren't sure about it at first, but brad got you jumping (sort of) on there, and you were sad when it was time to get off and let the big kids have their turn.

then, we went in the front yard and shot a bunch of fireworks. i thought this would make you uneasy, but the only times you really got upset the whole time were when we wouldn't let you run around and be right in the middle of everything. you still got to hold your own sparkler, which you did with absolutely no reservations. you made me pretty nervous, but you did a really good job, and i was proud of you for jumping in there and not being scared at all. you also loved the snap and pop things that you throw, and they pop. we threw a whole bunch of those. when they were all gone, you looked in the box for some more. when you're a little bit older, i'll show you some of the practical jokes i used to pull with those when i was a kid. let's just say that i scared the you-know-what out of your grandpa a couple times.

you were so tired when we got done having fun, you conked out in the car on the way home. i'm glad you enjoyed the holiday so much!
love, mom

Happy 19 months Birthday!

sooooo we are a few days late posting this. i totally forgot, because we were out of town, celebrating daddy's birthday with your grandma and pappy. daddy is 420 months old.

the past month, you grew up a lot. you are getting bigger and cuter and better at communicating every day.

but you also do a lot fabulous fit-throwing lately, which is a phase that i hope passes pretty soon. cute and funny things. you love to sit in my lap and do itsy bitsy spider, and head shoulders knees and toes, and all the other songs. you like to point at something and say "See??" to get us to look at something. and it's really cute to watch you just go off to your room and play with legos or whatever other toy you come across.

here are some pictures of you from the past few days. you liked eating the popcorn at grandma and pappy's. but even more than eating it, you liked to feed it to everyone else.

you also like to run off with a marker and draw all over yourself. i like how, in these pictures, you look like you're wondering how the heck that marker got all over your arms. i'm just glad you haven't drawn all over the walls and your stuff and other people yet, like your brother used to do.... knock on wood...

you are growing up so much, and we love you!
love, mom