22 Months!

With all that has been going on this month, Beanie's 22 month just snuck up on me!

This past month I have seen her mature and grow into an independent, feisty, talkative little girl. I look at her and cannot believe how fast time is moving.

Yesterday we were sitting on the couch, me drinking tea and watching HG.TV (which I have not watched in about 2 years!) and Beanie was on the other side of the couch with her back to TV and "reading" books -- by herself! She was turning the pages and pointing to things and calling them by name.

How did that happen???

She is talking really well now in 3-4 words sentences and saying words such as mattress, high chair, sunshine, suction (as in nose), fridge, microwave, winter, etc. I think she is up to several hundred words by now. She knows other things too, such as, on Saturdays there is Thomas on TV and no "school". And that it is now winter and cold so we need to wear jacket, gloves and hats.

A couple of days ago, we were coming downstairs in the morning and she said "nice sunny day!" I was floored. Then one rainy day she said "thunder boomed loudly" - its from one of her books - but she remembered and knew when to use it. I am so loving see her grow and develop each day.

Some other cuteness, I want to record:

• She loves giving "running big hugs" where she will go down the hallway and then turn and come running into my arms, or my Dad's or Mom's. 
• She is enjoying her kitchen. At night she puts everything away, wipes the counters down with a  wet sponge, and tells me "mine kitchen closed"
• She can now say a variation of her name, so she calls herself "Dameena".
• She can count up to ten routinely and knows her colors most of the time. Cutest is that after counting to ten she say fourteen ;-)
• She can sing the ABC song in its entirely and learns and picks up sings quickly. Not all words but many more than earlier.
• She loves reading. We read about 6-7 books every evening at different times. At bedtime we read three specific books - (1) The Three Litte Pigs (2) Hansel and Gretel which she calls the "mushroom book" since there are a lot of illustrations with mushrooms. I gloss over the scary bits (witch, etc) and make it more a fun adventure story. (3) Princess and the Pea which she calls the "raindrop" or "big storm" book since that is central to the whole story.
• She recalls all sorts of things and events from days ago and even weeks ago.
• She loves drawing and scribbling with crayons and playing with puzzles.
• She loves cars and trains. Every evening we get out assortment of train, school bus, police car and a couple of other vehicles and roll them on the  floor. I have as much fun as her!
• She helps pick out her clothes every night for the next day. I take out the shirt and she will get the pants, socks and bibs.
• She can say all different body parts including chin, throat (which she said the other day), armpit and thighs.
• She is enjoying going to school and will say in the car "Mommy go home work, mine go home later"  (she says "mine" instead of "I" which is so cute!) 
• Today I asked her how old she will be on her "happy birthday" and she said "TWO!" My dad almost fell off his chair when he heard it!
• Some other funny words she says are "dot com" and "Boeing" as in the aerospace company - lol!
• We have been watching TV now even though I swore no screen time until two. Ya who was I kidding although I was really strict until about 18 mos.  She enjoys about 30 min of Curious George in the morning while drinking her milk. Most times she will putter around and play with stuff and only turn if something catches her attention. I, on the other hand, am glued to the TV - lol - I like Curious George - there I admit it! 

 Beanie is happy and loves to do things herself. In fact gets upset if I try to get her on/of the high chair or into the car seat. She will categorically say "no MINE!!!", meaning I will do it.

This is such a great age and she is super fun company and so entertaining to watch. She loves helping bring the groceries to the kitchen and this weekend she helped me put a couple of items in the fridge. She was so proud of herself!

The tantrums are there, but few and far between, mostly she will take her time but things get done without too much fuss in either side.

I love you baby girl, you are growing up so quickly. Every day is am amazing adventure and I feel so blessed.