21 month tidbits

 My goal with scrapbooking has always been to be within the year and I got 2010 done a few days before the new year so I made it. But I really want to get to within 6 months, its just so much easier to remember things. My progress since pregnancy has been slow but I'm almost to Lucy's first birthday and the rest of the year should go faster since I didn't take nearly as many picture as I did that first year. But I don't want to forget things that are happening now  - hence the completely random 21.5 month update.

Talking:

•  I can't even count them all her words let alone list them but her most random word is probably 'mingo (flamingo).  
• She has trouble with "k" and "l" which  which means she loves our "ditty" and her favorite show is "ailloo." 
• She calls herself "you." I'm not sure if that is how she pronounces Lucy without the "l" sound or if she thinks that is another name for her since we are always asking her "Do you want to do this?" or "Do you want that?"
• She doesn't like to try to say words she can't say. I love giving her choices instead of yes/no questions because most of the time she will try to say one of them, even if it isn't a word she has said before. 

Loves:

• to count things. On her own she can only count to 2 but that still means she can count lots of things like eyes, ears, and, the often used to my advantage, sleeves and pant legs. With my help adding in three, six and seven, she can get all the way to 10.  I'm not sure if she doesn't know the others or she just can't say them.
•  to color and play with play dough. Mostly she makes faces, telling me exactly what she is drawing/making each step. First she starts with a circle, then adds two eyes, a mouth and sometimes a nose. Sometimes the eyes and mouth make it into the circle and it almost looks like a person, sometimes its a bit more abstract. 
• blue. She knows most of her colors but blue was the first she could say so it is her favorite. She always wants her blue straw and her blue barette. Makes me feel better about my decision to paint her room blue. 
• to say no. I keep thinking we must be at the peak of the no phase but it just keeps going. A week or two ago, we were playing nicely in the living room, her sans clothing as is the norm, when out of nowhere, she gets up and goes to her dresser, opens a drawer and takes out a shirt. She brings it right up to me, says "No," then puts it back in her drawer and comes back to play. I was left wondering what the proper response to that was. It wasn't like I told her and she was disobeying me...that kid!  
• Her dad! Our attempts at turning her into a daddy's girl are working! She not only gives him hugs now but kisses and snuggles well. It can be quite an ordeal to get him out the door in the morning, as she has to give him a hug, then a kiss, then maybe another hug. And even if she says bye, as soon as the door closes, she will suddenly decide he needs one more hug so we rush after him. I don't think he minds though :-) She still doesn't want him to take her potty if I'm around, which also doesn't bother him, especially when she wakes up at 6am on Saturday morning and needs to go. 
• her "girl and daddy" edtime story which isn't so much a story as a list of things "a girl" likes to do with her daddy like fill the birdfeeder, color and drive to the library. But if we slip up and say Lucy instead of girl, she gets upset and insists we correct ourselves.
• to be tickled. She laugsh and laughs while crawling away. But as soon as we stop, she crawls back saying "more, more." Craig has already learned that it is a good idea if she goes potty before tickle time begins. 

Dislikes:

•  medical personal. Our last check-up was pretty bad, even our doctor commented on how she was a bit young for PTSD but it seemed like she had it anyway. The doctor didn't even try to touch her and she was shaking which was so disheartening since she previously quite friendly with our doctor.  I didn't  think the midwife would be an issue since she was wearing regular clothes and her office isn't a typical medical office. There is an exam table to the side but we mostly sit on the couch and the most medical thing Lucy saw her do to me was take my temperature.Lucy was not fooled. Her clinging to my chest with her arms blocking my airway was impeding the appointment so Craig took her outside to look at the birds until it was heartbeat time.  I tried to tell her that this was the same women from her birth story book. I mean, this was the first person in the entire world to lay eyes on her, and she gave her the evil eye the entire visit. But on the bright side, we now have a monthly opportunity for her to work on her fears. 
• dogs. Well, she loves dogs until they get within a foot or two of her then she wants them to go away, right away. Even our neighbors dog Sophie, who she previously loved, has been put on the naughty list. If I try to tell her puppies are nice, she just tells me no. 
• my choice of songs. She wants to listen to music but says no to every song I put on and if I don't change it, she sticks her fingers in her ears and says no, no, no. But if I turn it off, she gets upset. So most of the time I don't even offer unless I'm willing to take on a "mommy's decision" battle.