23 Months Later

we’re a month away from 2. that’s…insane. while it’s difficult for me to remember a world pre EBN, she can’t possibly be inches away from her second year. every day is a new adventure, a new food, a new word, a new shirt that doesn’t fit over that massive head, another curl that knots, another hill to run up, another bubble to pop.

i can’t believe i’m writing this but, my little round girl is no longer little and she’s really not so round. she’s tall – which is insane considering her mama is only 5’2″ on a good day and her daddy, while taller than some, isn’t taller than most. it’s probably the only time in her life that she’ll be the tallest of her crew – too bad she won’t remember. her leg rolls are gone and her tummy, while still there – ain’t what it used to be. when i lie her down for a diaper change, her stomach disappears completely and we both giggle as i search start the search. did EBN’s tummy get lost in her diaper? no. did elmo steal it? no. did it get caught in her hair brush?

if you could see what EBN eats, the tummy disappearing would be even more shocking. just like here mama and her daddy – girl likes a good meal. still loves caesar salad but has also recently discovered steak. she’ll dip anything in ketchup, especially her finger and when she stayed with her NANI and P’PA for a long weekend, we returned to find her asking for only hotdogs and french fries. you’ll be glad to know she also loves broccoli and strawberries and “meananas”. she also asks for “slurp packs” by the color of their twist off lid – “purple slurp pack please”.

she’s a lover. as soon as she enters a room, or sees a baby or takes a breath really, she’s dishing out hugs and kisses – whether you want them or not.

she loves to run. and swims in the bathtub. and likes to put things in the trash can all by her “self”. she covers her eyes when we light shabbat candles and says the words of the sh’ma before going to bed at night.

speaking of night-time – sleep is still a semi-disaster. in the words of my people, it could always be worse….but not much. she goes down mostly fine with a back rub and a bit of singing. most nights, five minutes after we leave the room she wants us back for a minute to fix her “blankie” or for “sing”. then it’s sweet dreams – until 4am. who knows why but she’s up, almost every night calling for her mama. a little more singing and back rubbing and she sleeps again, if we’re lucky til about 5:30. you know it’s bad when 6:15 is considered a success. let’s just say it doesn’t look like she’s inherited her dad’s ability to sleep. the good news is i’m sure our next kiddo will be an expert sleeper – unfortunately it will probably be an asshole, just to balance things out.

we did transition EBN to her toddler bed this month. while she doesn’t sleep any better (or any worse) than before, she LOVES her bed and her blankets and her stuffed animals. she spends way more time in her room and loves to pretend it’s night-time. she does the whole routine: she turns on her music, clicks her turtle night-light on and asks for the lights to be shut off. then she climbs into bed and cuddles COCO before giggling and hopping out of bed. i love being in my office or the living room and listening to her talk to herself as she plays with the toys in her room, or reads her books.

we can no longer keep track of the words that she says because she pretty much seems to know them all. she talks constantly and if she hears something said she will repeat it again and again and again and again (see: shit show). it always catches me off guard when she knows something that i know i haven’t taught her. we were sitting on her bed the other day and she took her mickey and put him on the edge: “humpty dumpty” she said, “sat on a wall.” then she stopped and let him fall to the floor. how does she know humpty dumpty? i didn’t teach her that. neither did ABN. neither did BUDDY. but yet, she knows it. and not only that, she’s applying it correctly.

my girl has an opinion about everything. what shirt she wants to wear. what coloring book she wants to use. what show she wants to watch. she’s super stuborn…wonder where she gets that.

sometimes she lets me put her hair in a “pony”.

early in the month i got a pedicure and for weeks we heard about “mommy’s blue toes”.

our current favorite trick is to ask her show her happy face, her stink face, her tired face and her thinking face – at which point she looks up and taps her chin with one finger. she can count to 40 (with a bit of help) and likes to use her fingers to count to 10.

and finally for your viewing pleasure: