Twenty-two Month Baby Update

[dorchadas]

Laila is twenty-two months old today and sashagee is planning her birthday already. Since it's two, it's going to be very groovy ✌🏻. She's picking out flower placemats, floral decorations, etc. But, that'll come later.

Last time I updated, Laila was starting to talk. She's been expanding her vocabulary over the last few months and it currently stands at the following words:

• Abba (me)


• Mama (sashagee, but also anything of or related to sashagee, like a cup she's used or something that sashagee told Laila not to touch)


• Buh-buh (bubbles)


• Ah-puh (apples)


• Cu-bu (cucumbers, but sometimes any food)


• Nana breh (Banana bread)


• Borehd (bread)


• Ow (ouch)


• Hot


• Boob (often while poking sashagee in the chest)


• Woof woof (a dog, but also any animal)


• Dog (sometimes)


• fssshhhhh (Fish)


• Who who (an owl, possibly any bird?)


• Fow-ah (Flower)


• Who tere? (Who's there?)


• What tat? (What's that?)


• beh-li (Bellybutton)


• doraw (draw)


• buru (Blue)


• (y)e hlo (Yellow)


• pur-puh (purple)


• lai (light)


• Hi!


• Bye!


• Tickle


• lesgooh! (Let's go!)


• Gud jad (Good job)


• Uh oh (When she's done something wrong)


• No! (No)


• 'no~ (Snow, subtly different than No)


• Why? (Often "why why why why why")


• Boo! (when surprising people)


• Wow (she still says it)


• Hot


• 'Dar (Star--her curtains in her room have star cutouts)


• Sesmeteet (Sesame Street)

I'm sure I'm missing a few here and there, but those are the ones I've heard.

She enjoys drawing! sashagee bought her a bunch of egg-shaped crayons and she didn't really take to them, but sashagee read something somewhere about how triangular markers were better because they were easy to grasp and they encouraged proper grip. Whether that's true or not I don't know, but Laila has really taken to them. In addition to her daily Sesame Street time in the morning, she now has drawing time in the evening. She's still at the "make lines" stage, but she'll sometimes carefully pick out colors and often try to match the colors of whatever pictures we've drawn. And you can't just sit with her and watch her draw, oh no--you have to participate too. It's no fun if she's just making a design if she doesn't have any additional assistance. Even Michelangelo had help when he painted the Sistine Chapel.

Now that my father has retired, he and my mother come to our house every single week to see Laila. They'll often take her out on trips so they get some time together and sashagee has a chance to clean the house. Lately, they've been taking her to the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, which has a bunch of butterflies and a nice children's section. They've told us that she's gradually gotten more and more adventurous while she's been there. There's a tent set up inside and originally Laila did not want to go near it. Then she'd go up to the door but wouldn't go inside. Now she'll go inside for a bit and then come back out. As she learns that things are safe, she's willing to take more risks, and my parents get more time with their granddaughter. It's win-win!

Laila's favorite thing in the world, though, is looking at pictures of herself:

That was when I just stuck up the camera in selfie mode and she was so happy to see her face she immediately started smiling. This happens every time she sees herself, to the point where she'll often steal one of our phones and turn on the selfie camera so she can look at herself. If she sees the door to our room is open, she'll go back there and close the door so she can look at herself in the full-length mirror on the back (and sometimes get scared about being alone and then start crying). So far it's cute, and it's an easy way to keep her happy with just a mirror.

In sad news, though, the downside of Laila being a normal almost-two-year-told is that the tantrums and the boundary-pushing have begun. Today she threw all her food around during lunch, in a way she used to never do--throwing food is wasting it, wasting food means you can't eat it--and a few days ago she wanted an apple, sashagee picked out an apple and turned towards the sink to go wash and then cut it and Laila collapsed on the floor in tears because she was denied the apple, completely ignoring sashagee's protestations that she would get it soon. I know it's a sign of her emotional development, but a part of me misses our always-happy, smiley baby. Still, no one can remain in the nest forever.

To end on a happy note, though, I'll tell you the absolute cutest thing she does--when she thinks she's done a good job at something, she claps for herself.

What other ways will she grow and change?

Comments

[corvi]

The list of baby words is great!

[dorchadas]

I expected her to generalize dog as "any animal" because I knew babies do that, but I never expected mama to mean "has the quality of Mama-ness"!

[earthspirits]

That's a good vocabulary for an almost 2 year old - and that's great that she's already into drawing and choosing colors! : ) Artists do start young!!

Adorable pic!

[dorchadas]

Thank you!!

She did it again last night. I came over and sat with her and she put the marker right in my hand.

[gwendraith]

Laila's doing so well with her talking. It'll probably come quite fast now. She's such a cutie but they don't call it "the terrible twos" for nothing :) Who knows how she will grow and change. My two are like chalk and cheese, one quietier sporty & highly academic, one a single minded but logical (in his own mind) intelligent boy but dyslexic. Both succeeding in the end. I'm sure that Laila will continue to be a delight as she grows.

[dorchadas]

It's definitely accelerating--sashagee already reminded me about a few words I forgot in my initial think-through.

I really do wonder what she'll be like! I am very like my parents and my little sister is definitely not. Right now Laila is more like sashagee but how much will that hold in the future?

[aguart]

Oh yeah - boundary-pushing. I guess Oleg has started to do it recently. He is only 15 month. But may be I'm wrong and we will gonna come it in the near future.
Anyway, hold fast)

[dorchadas]

We must hold fast. It's hard, though--Laila is so cute and sounds so sad when she cries! But I've definitely already caught her crying and then looking at us, trying to see what we'll do.

It's like training a dog--if you feed them from a table, every single dinner afterwards the dog will think "is this the next time I'll be fed?"

[ccamfield]

How completely adorable!

Except the tantrum. I know those will be trying!

Best wishes,
Chris

[dorchadas]

Fortunately she's so cute the rest of the time that we can handle the tantrums!