20 months

Dear Alyssa,

You are 20 months old today. I cannot believe how old that seems!!! When I was pregnant, 18 months was the "magic" age when I thought that I would start thinking of you as a toddler. Turns out that I started thinking of you as a toddler as soon as you started "toddling". Imagine that. :) So, I kind of felt like I lost about 6 months of "baby" time because at about a year old I started thinking of you as a toddler. And I expected the toddler time to go from 18 months to at least 2 1/2 years old. Well, you fooled me again, you little turkey, because you are turning into a full fledged KID!

I know I probably say this in every letter to you, but you are so SMART! Just Saturday you taught yourself how to blow bubbles with your spit. I think I was at least 4 before I did that. You were so cute, walking around saying "mwah, mwah, mwah" and blowing these giant bubbles out of your mouth. (Only a mother could find spit coming out of a mouth cute) You constantly amaze me at how you understand how things work and where things are supposed to go. If I hand you one of your bowls or cups out of the dishwasher and ask you to put it away, you head right for the drawer where your "kitchen supplies" are. If the dogs want to go out, you'll point to Lexi's leash as if you're afraid I might forget that she needs to have that on before she goes out. In the morning after you've finished your cereal, you'll stack your cup and your spoon inside your bowl and hold it out to me as if to say "all finished!". A couple weeks ago you ate all the cereal out of your bowl (sometimes using a spoon, sometimes using your hands; you don't really care) and lifted the bowl to your lips to finish drinking all the milk. Remarkably you didn't spill a drop! How did you know that that's what you were supposed to do? Daddy and I don't eat cereal in front of you that often ~ its just amazing what a sponge you are. Our new house has toilets in it that you can flush (the old house "flushers" were too hard) and after I go to the bathroom, you insist that you have to flush the toilet for me. You'll flush it, then start clapping, and walk out of the bathroom just as pleased as punch.

You're still not talking too much and you're still really holding out on Daddy. You call him mama all the time and sometimes if he tries to get you to say "dada", you'll lay face down on the floor and shake your head no like you're being tortured. You will say it for a twizzler, though!

This weekend we're going to Eric and Hope's wedding. I've been trying to teach you to do "The Chicken Dance" so that the Olsen family has even one more reason to think that you are the cutest and smartest and best little girl in the world. You do a pretty good job with it. Yesterday I went to get you up from your nap and you were lying in your crib practicing your "wings".

I would say your favorite toy this month is my thermometer. I keep it next to the bed so that I can take my temperature every morning and you seem to think it makes a very fine cell phone. You love that it beeps when you turn it on/off and I'm constantly finding you with it held up to your ear, just jabbering away in your own little language.

You love being outside and going for walks. When we moved to the new house, we knew that one of our first changes was going to have to be putting up a fence to keep the dogs in. Now I think its even more important to put up a fence to keep you in because you are IN LOVE with the neighbors swingsets and sandbox (not that they mind having you come visit, it just gets a little tiresome for old Mommy and Daddy). We set up a little pool in the backyard that you've had a lot of fun with and you're getting to be an expert slider on your little castle slide.

I really love this age that you are at right now. It can be VERY frustrating at times and you have had a couple time outs because you're starting to "test the waters" of independance, but overall you are such a happy, wonderful, sweet, thoughtful, smart, and beautiful little girl and we are sooo lucky to have you in our lives.

Love always,
Mama/Mommeeeeeeee