22.5 months

I can't wait until her 2 year update because she's really great RIGHT NOW and in another 6 weeks, she'll be different. There's already so much that's changed just since Garrison was born. She's leggy & her hair would touch her shoulders except the back curls up while the front remains resolutely straight.

OK, so my 21st century baby, iPad & Fitbit were some of her first words. She navigates touch screens with ease, which I'm sure is some sort of commentary on my parenting, but whatever. The Endless Alphabet & Endless Reader apps are HUGE hits. Bonus, she's learning to identify letters & has started repeating the words she's spelling. This week's show on repeat is Finding Nemo, and that's rad. "Nemo? Watch?"

She's never said "yes" because she says "yeah" instead, with great enthusiasm. In her more stubborn moments, when I'm asking her a list of questions and gets stuck on one answer, usually "no", she catches herself and when you get to something she wants to say yes to, it comes out as a compound word, "noyeah." Just this week "yeah" changed to "yep." Cup is "tup" now and when we dog-sit for my brother she's very excited to shout "Tukko!"

The little mimic will tell you she'll be right back when she leaves the room (be back!) because apparently that's what we say. All the time.

Because Jeremy rarely leaves the house without a hat, she asks for a hat and purse when it's time to leave the house.

Oh, she used to say thank you (Dane Q) and sign it at the same time. She still signs "please" half the time she's saying it. BUT! Now when you ask her to say thank you, she responds with "yo welcome" and that's the cutest. She'll even say it to you unprompted if you thank her. She says "bess you" when you sneeze, and "cuse me" when she burps. She announces her toots like a true Boswell.

She's getting the concept of ownership and runs around proclaiming things that are hers, or identifying ours. Elnoy's bahdee (which is blankie), Elnoy's woom, Mama's purse, Daddy's coat. She's starting to put words together on her own making little sentences. "Ama bye-bye? Papa bye-bye? Home?" after my folks left was both adorable & heartbreaking.

She loves showering with me, brushing her teeth,chasing the dog, her little shopping cart that folds out into a play kitchen, her first tea set, being naked and telling everyone about it (NAKE!), yogurt, cheese, most of the vegetables (though avocado has fallen out of favor), playing in my makeup (yips!, cheek), having her toes painted, books, and drawing, preferably with the pen in using to pay bills instead of her 100 or so crayons.

Oh! Singing! So, a few weeks ago she started asking for songs. We sing to her all the time but when you're curled up in the glider, and she asks to snuggle (nuggle?) and wants you to sing to her? Who can resist that? Not me. When she was littler, she'd point to your mouth, sometimes quite... vigorously when she wanted a song, but now she says the words. And at night, it's totally a stalling tactic as she's started saying "more song? One?" Yep. Manipulation time.

Oh yeah, she counts to three. And says nine. And she's started singing to us now. Itsy Bitsy spider & the ABCs. Of course, she only says 8 or so letters, but when she gets to the end, it's adorable. "A,B...E..H,I..N,O...Q...S,P...now know...sing." Now if only I could catch it on video.

She's just wonderful. Frustrating, defiant, boundary-pushing, patience-testing, inventive, sweet, affectionate, creative, messy, adorable & runs me ragged more days than not, which is wonderful.