Lainey, 23 Months Old

Some highlights this month:

• Lainey is talking all the time. I had been told by several people that one day, your child will just start talking and never stop. This has happened with Lainey. This month has been a big one for her in terms of communication. She suddenly has lots of things to say and many opinions to share! One big development is that she has started to speak in short sentences. Most of her sentences are comprised of three words, but sometimes she'll use four words. She will say, "Where that is?" when asking about some object's whereabouts, and she'll also ask, "Where _____ go?" when asking about where someone or something went. She also asks us, "Who that is?" a lot, particularly when she sees a character in a book or someone on TV.
• She will sometimes refer to Ben and me as "Abby" and "Ben."
• Most of the time, Lainey calls me "Mama" but she's also learned to say "Mommy" so sometimes she'll call me by that name. She'll also refer to me as "Mom." She has learned that each of these names will usually get some kind of response from me!
• Ben has been called "Daddy" since Lainey could say the word. Lainey's biggest laughs come when she's playing with her dad. He can make her giggle and laugh so hard - it's such a wonderful sound! He definitely plays rough with her, and she loves it. One of their favorite activities is playing airplane (where Ben lays on his back and extends his legs so that Lainey balances on his feet) and it makes Lainey smile every single time. They also like to go out and run around our neighborhood. Lainey will say, "Daddy run!" and so Daddy runs. Then she'll say, "Lainey run!" and then she'll take off running. They take turns doing this around the block!
• She will usually answer you if you ask her how old she is or what her name is.
• Reagan's nickname is Princess. Lainey has started calling her Princess as well. The word comes out of her mouth sounding like "Pahssess" and it makes us laugh each time we hear it.
• Lainey is now using the binky only when she sleeps. This was a BIG step for us, but Lainey's done okay with the transition (despite a few rough spots here and there). I took the idea from Nora's mom, Kate, to put Lainey's binkies in a basket after she wakes up in the morning and then again after she wakes up from her afternoon nap. The basket is stored on a shelf in her closet, high out of her reach. I'm happy that we're at this point with Lainey and her beloved binkies! She still loves to have her blankie (her sleep sack) with her around the house and in the car, but because the binkies are in their basket, the blankie doesn't make as many appearances as it used to. Her binky is definitely associated with her blankie and vice versa. A time or two, we've noticed Lainey chewing on her blankie - probably because she misses her binky!
• Recently, when I was in Lainey's closet picking out her clothes for the day, I asked her what outfit she wanted to wear. She said, "Pink cwose (clothes). Blue shirt." So we settled on a pink outfit.
• Funny words: "peet" (feet); "pall" (fall); "Seffuh" (Swiper, the sneaky fox from the TV show Dora the Explorer); "Sheedo" (Cheerios); "wap" (lap); "ghose" (gross); "Yainey" (Lainey)
• Lately, Lainey has been calling Pops (my dad) by the name "Tuck." It's funny because she can say "pop" when talking about popping bubbles, but she can't (or won't) say "Pops." So, for now, he's called "Tuck."
• Lainey uses the words "Lainey's turn" or "Lainey" or "self" (it sort of sounds like "shelf" when Lainey says it) when she wants to do something by herself without our help and guidance.
• She's still loves the song "Itsy Bitsy Spider" and has even started to try to sing it on her own. She'll say the words "down" and "wash" and "sun" while doing the corresponding hand motions.
• She loves to give hugs to adults, other kids, and dogs. I think she just enjoys giving hugs to people whenever she feels like it. She will hug the kids in her class, her friends, and random, unsuspecting kids at the playground. She'll also give hugs to adults, like friends of mine or her teachers. And, of course, she hugs her family members. She particularly likes to give Walker hugs. It's so sweet!
• We like to talk about her school and the kids in her class. Lainey has gotten pretty good at naming most of the kids in her class. We understand most of the names and words that she says, but sometimes she'll talk about someone or something at school and we have no idea what she is trying to say. :)
• Ben taught her how to say "Hi, Dude!" and "Hi, Man!" to her little brother.
• "Scue you, Walk" in Lainey's language means "Excuse you, Walker" and she says this whenever he burps or toots. :) However, our sweet baby girl has also been saying it when she herself does the tooting. She's already blaming her brother... :)
• She says "Bless you" (and now it actually sounds like "Bless you") to anyone who sneezes (including herself).

• Lainey still loves to run and does so at any opportunity. She also loves to roll, kick, or throw a ball and she likes to try to play catch with her giant beach ball. She doesn't really catch the ball, but she loves trying to do so. :)
• Dora, the Explorer is a new favorite TV show. It's fun to watch her talk back to the TV and answer Dora's questions. I think her favorite character is Map (which is literally a map) and she also likes Boots and Swiper and then Dora, of course.
• Lainey loves to play with Walker. She likes to make him do the hand movements to "Itsy Bitsy Spider" and she enjoys clapping his hands and feet and "waving" for him (usually speaking for him by saying, "Hi, Mama!" or "Hi, Sissy!"). She tries to calm him when he cries by shoving a binky in his mouth (who wouldn't want to use a binky to calm down). She likes to include him during playtime by feeding him the meals that she prepares in her kitchen; she always gives him a plate for his food (usually on the floor or on his bouncy seat) when she's passing out plates for us to use for our food. Sometimes Reagan gets a plate, too. Lainey also reads her books to him and tries to show him the pictures. A couple of times Walker has been the object of the game "Where Walk go?" Just the other day she covered his face with an open DVD case and asked me, "Where Walk go?" She loves to give Walker kisses and hugs and genuinely seems to be interested in him and concerned about him. She usually has good intentions and is sweet with her baby brother, but she has been known to be a tad rough. Their playtime definitely needs adult supervision. Walker seems to be entertained by his big sister because he does watch her and generally tolerates her actions. I love watching them together and look forward to more and more interactions as Walker gets older. :)
• She still loves horses and dogs. Whenever she sees a dog she will fearlessly charge after it. She is very fast and a time or two I've had to rely on someone else to chase her down because I've either been pregnant or tending to a newborn. Thank goodness for good friends who will help you with your kids! :)
• Lainey is getting better at counting! I think she can count to five pretty independently and I think she can identify most of the numbers between 1 and 10. Sometimes we do step in to encourage and help her a little bit! :)
• She still loves to play outside.
• Lainey likes to eat lettuce (or "wettuce" as she calls it) - especially if it has dressing on it. :) Sometimes we make her a little salad with dinner and she'll actually eat most of it.

Only one more month until Lainey is 2 years old! That's very hard for me to believe. I feel like the 2-year mark was such a long way off for so long...and now it's just around the corner. It seems as though Lainey does or learns something new each day. It's such a joy for us to watch her grow and become an independent little girl. Thank you, Lainey, for making us laugh every single day and for allowing us to see the world through your eyes and experiences. We love you, sweet Lainey!