twenty months

How have we hit the twenties?  Oy.  In all honesty though, sometimes I already think of Ryann as two.  I don't know why.  She still has a good chunk of the year to go.  But I know it will fly by and she will be two before I know it.

A quick aside, we actually had an awesome little photo session Tuesday.  So good that I thought, well that wasn't so bad.  We should try that more often!  It might have been thanks to the promise of marshmallows.  I am not at all above bribery.  And marshmallows?  They can get that kid to do almost anything :o).  Moving on...

I swear this kid has been growing like crazy.  The things she can reach surprise me daily (and remind me absolutely nothing dangerous, as in scissors, knives, candles, heavy objects, can be on the counters or tables).  While we were at my parents house on Saturday my mom cut up some bell pepper for Ryann to eat.  We were giving her one slice at a time and the rest was on the counter.  From out in the dining area Chris and I saw a chubby little hand reach up and try to snag the entire plate.  She would have been successful had papa not been close by.  I can't wait to see how tall she will be by her two year appointment.

I've started buying mostly 2T tops and leggings (seeing as she doesn't need any more clothes anyway so if I want her to get a chance to wear them they will have to last well into the spring), but 18-24 month still fits her best.  Especially in dresses.  I swear they make dresses twice as big as they make shirts.  Oh well.  She needs a size 5.5-6 shoe, and is in a size 5 diaper.  And finally, all of her teeth (except the two year molars) are in!  I don't think the pointy ones have quite come down all the way, but I also don't think they are causing her trouble anymore.

We're dipping our toes into potty training (hopefully not in the potty, but you never know what this kid will do...).  I still don't feel like she is quite ready to jump into underwear, but she is incredibly successful at going every time she tries.  Just not keeping her diapers dry at all.  I think I'll let her explore the idea for another month or two, and hopefully have her in underwear throughout the day before she is two.  Then again, if she resists, I don't really mind at all yet.  There are some things that are just so much easier because she is in diapers, I think anyway... traveling, running errands, letting her stay in her crib for 30 minutes in the morning if she wakes up at an unacceptable hour :o)...  On that note, a somewhat silly question... where do you find cute underwear that isn't plastered with characters for a toddler?  We peeked at Target yesterday and all I saw in the 2T size was Dora, My Little Pony, Yo Gabba Gabba... we don't watch those shows and I would prefer something like stripes and polka dots anyway.

I'm pretty sure this is the awkward cheese smile I get when she has had ENOUGH! 

Ryann is so funny, sometimes she is a crazy ball of energy that absolutely can't sit still (the other night she was running laps around the family room, not saying a word, not playing with Chris or I, just literally doing laps), and other times she gets so enthralled with a toy (or her new love, play-doh) that she can sit and concentrate for an hour.  No joke, she has sat with her play-doh for over an hour on three different occasions.  And only stops because I BEG her to come eat her lunch or dinner.  The other thing that she can do forever is take things out of boxes and put them back.  Not really sure why she loves it so much, but if she finds a box full of like objects that have to be put back in some sort of orderly fashion, she will dump the objects out and put them back over and over and over and over and over... you get the idea.

One of the most exciting things for me this month, brace yourself, is this kid eats REAL food.  As in food that didn't come out of a Gerber container.  As in meals that I prepare for Christopher and I.  Of course she doesn't always eat what we give her, but she almost always tries it.  And she'll eat almost anything if you promise her a bite of bread.  Ryann still wants to dip almost everything in ketchup, but I'll let that one slide.  What I can't figure out, is why my bread and cracker loving kid hates noodles and rice.  I'm sure she'll learn to love them eventually.  Vegetables still sit at the bottom of her list as far as foods she likes are concerned, and cake/candy/sweets would most definitely be at the top.  But I think she is really starting to get a more balanced and healthy diet from real food.  Squee!

Ryann's vocabulary and language comprehension continues to soar.  For example, a recent exchange between her and I...

Me:  [Attempts to sneak a mini twix bar from our candy jar.  Fails miserably on the quiet front.]
Ryann:  "What's Mommy having?"
Me: [mumbling with a mouth full of chocolate] "Um, nothing."
Ryann:  "A muffin?  Mommy have a muffin?"
Me:  "No, I said nothing."
Ryann:  [obviously not buying it]  "Hey, what's mommy having?"
Me:  "Err.... umm... chocolate."
Ryann:  "Oh... Ryann wants some chocolate too."

Damn.  Can't get anything by that kid :o).  Seriously though.  She can pretty much have a full conversation with you.  She will ask if she doesn't understand.  And she asks a lot of questions... who's that, what's that noise, what is she doing, what song is that, etc.  I'm just thankful we haven't made it to the 'why' stage yet.

I'm pretty sure Ryann is always talking or singing or making noise these days.  It is incredibly rare for her to be absolutely silent.  She can sing lots and lots of songs, I am certain she can sing all of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, the ABCs, Pat-a-Cake Pat-a-Cake, Rock-a-by Baby, Row Row Row Your Boat, and Baa Baa Black Sheep.  Those are just the ones I hear her singing to herself while she plays.  But I wouldn't be surprised if she can sing several more than that all by herself.

She spotted the moon (it was about 4pm).  "Mommy, the moon woke up!" 

Ryann can now name a word for almost every letter of the alphabet.  Such as A is for Apple, B is for Ball.  Sometimes she surprises us with words that we haven't mentioned.  It was incredibly cute when she told me Y was for yogurt melts, that impressed me.  But my favorite was one day when she was playing and mumbling to herself she said, "O... O... O is for oofda."  I think all Norwegians out there should be proud of that one :o).  She can also identify all of the letters by their sound, as in, I can say 'ah ah' and she will say A!  Buh Buh... B!  I am working on the reverse now, asking her to tell me what sound a letter makes.  That is a little bit tougher, and each time it takes several examples from me before she catches on, but we are getting there.

I think her days in a crib are becoming numbered, and that makes me cringe.  Partly because I think seeing her sleep in a big girl bed will turn me into a big sappy mess, and partly because, well, I like sleep and I don't want to lose any of it :o).  We put Ryann in a 'time out' (thus far time out doesn't work at all.  she doesn't get it, and I don't know how to explain it, whatever...) in the pack-n-play at my parents house when she was being a little irrational and hard to deal with.  Chris and I stepped out of the room, and immediately heard her grunting and making other odd noises.  When we peeked in she had one leg completely over the side, but hadn't figured out how to pull herself all the way up.  The other day I caught her trying to climb out of her crib after nap, but it is a bit taller and I don't think she can make it just yet.

The good news is I haven't seen any attempts at all to get out when I first lay her down for nap or bedtime.  She just lays there, rolls around, and goes to sleep.  It is only when she wakes up and decides it is play time that she stands up and contemplates her escape.  I just really can't imagine her sleeping in a regular bed, or rather not being caged in.  Ryann rolls all over the place, both when she is awake and when she is asleep.  I know eventually she will learn not to fall out, but I have a feeling it will take her a bit.

Things Ryann is loving right now:  Her 'ginger' pajamas.  Seriously, she asks for them every other night.  Blocks.  She loves to build towers and castles and houses.  Little People toys.  Still a favorite, they are her little buddies and they go on all sorts of make believe adventures.  Play-doh.  Courtesy of Grandma 'Nita, Ryann can't get enough of it right now.  I hide it every night so it isn't the first thing she asks for in the morning.  Books.  She went through a phase were she couldn't sit still for me to read them, now she'll pick one and make me read it a million times in a row.  Currently she obsessed with 10 Fat Turkeys.  I hide that one at the bottom of the book basket every night too.  She always finds it.

Ryann's personality is infectious.  I can't truly explain it.  Of course she has her typical toddler moments and tantrums, but when she is happy?  She is so happy.  And bubbly.  And witty.  And clever.  And spunky.  And curious.  And... she truly is amazing.  Every night I go to bed exhausted, she is a tornado of energy and a roller coaster of emotions.  But while I lay there drifting off to sleep, I smile thinking of her and our day together.  She warms my heart and brightens my soul and I am so incredibly blessed that God chose me to be her mommy.

Ryann, my little princess pie, I love you to the moon and back.  Don't ever forget that.