19 Months: An Awakening (& Tantrums!)

This is the month, this is it, where our little baby became a real person.  Does that sound weird?  Moms, do you know what I mean?  It seems like Lemon just woke up all of a sudden and things started to click.  It also seems to be why she has such crazy emotions lately and throws tantrums when anything goes differently than she thinks it should.  Toddlers are nuts!

Some days of note:

1.4.14          You laid with me yesterday morning and listened to me sing every kids song I know, and clapped, danced and sang along.  You woke up singing and sang all day.

1.5.14         You sang the ABCs today and brought a book into me and pointed out every picture, wanting me to tell you what it was.  You said every word after I said it.

When we sing Old MacDonald Had a Farm and get to the animal part you always say "cooooww" in tune with the song.  It's always cow!  

When we ask you what a pig says you just breath in and out really fast because you can't snort yet, it is so cute.

1.12.14          You started to fake sneeze and you think it's really funny.  You love playing in the dirt by the side of the house and your new word is "toes" when you point to your toes.

1.15.14          You said "mama" over and over tonight and only want me to put you to bed.  You love when I play my Nani's snow globe music and you lay your head on my shoulder or sing along.

1.16.14          You sat up in bed, in your sleep, and said, "hi."  You love to hand us things that you have, or pick things up and say "thank you" before we take it from you.  You like to hold things out that you are eating and feed it to us, saying "mmmmm."

You say "pretty" when you put on a necklace or bracelet of mine, or a bow in your hair.

You said "Lemon" today.  You say it because I say it when you accidentally change the channel or knock something over.  You say it in my same tone and everything.

1.18.14          You gave my dad, your grandpa, a kiss today when we left his house, when we told you to.  You leaned in and everything.  You chased your grandpa's cat around everywhere and loved her, you even pet her (first time petting a cat!).

You picked up a whole scoop of ice cream and ate it, then you cried because your hand got too cold.  It was so funny!

1.22.14          I thought this may have been your last day nursing, but it wasn't.  75 weeks nursing!



1.25.14          Today you were a total toddler.  You threw fits, had tantrums a dripping nose and nothing worked.  You screamed, testing our patience and drove us nuts.  Teeth?  Sick?  It was rough!  (You were sick.)

1.26.14          You came in today while I was showering, pulled back the curtain and showed me your hippo, saying "hippo."  You gave me a kiss when I asked for on, a good one, super slow and with your tongue out!

You came over to me twice, at the park, just to hug/kiss me all on your own.

You recognized a turtle from far away, one we didn't even see, on the side of the freeway.  You just pointed and said, "turtle."  It makes me think that all the things you babble or yell are things you see, notice for the first time, that we don't see.  Adults sure do miss things because we learn to, we just move too fast.  Kids make us slow down and see.

You throw things when you get mad, anything you are holding (including breakable things, my phone/iPad), and daddy make you pick them up - and that makes you get really, really mad. 

You have a molar coming in, bottom left, and I have no idea where it came from!

Thought you were over nursing but you're not, you just weren't into it for awhile.

More teeth are coming in but I don't know where (how do parents know, I'm not sticking my finger in there!), you are a pill.

You love bubbles and drawing with chalk, we did both of these at the park today.

You say so many things and recognize animals, and say their sounds, without being prompted.

You say Spanish words and it is really, really funny.  You repeat them after I say them and I love it.

You got to pet a horse, a pony, today (3rd time petting a horse I think?) and you fed it a treat.  You were so brave and loved it.  You love horses!

I was doing something and next thing I know you are kissing the sliding glass doors because your daddy is outside and you are kissing him through the glass.

2.1.14          You sing all the time and we have no idea what you're singing.  You even sing to your own imaginary tune/music!  You talk all the time, like crazy.

You make things up and play by yourself with multiple toys, like you are using your imagination for the first time.  You lined all of your Hello Kitty toys up in a row and talked to them today, and put them back if I moved them.  You laid them all down face up and acted like you were playing something, it was so cool.

And some more things you do that I don't want to forget:

When you hold you, you pinch the back of our arms, it is a comfort thing.  You've been doing this forever, I'm just not sure I noted it before.

We have to comb your hair in the shower, it's getting so long.  Your hair runs down your back but it's so curly that you can't tell how long it really is.  You do have some ringlets that have started to hang down, I love it.

You say "down" for "up."

"Puppy is my favorite word that you say.

Unprompted kisses are the best.

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The morning I went back to school this year, after winter break, and the morning I went back to school last year after the same break.  Equally as tough.

But I did score a great parking spot!  And Zoe was apparently tired when we went back to work too!

I get to cuddle this muffin every single morning, before I get ready (for an hour!) and ever night while we watch Bubble Guppies before bed.  I have seen every single episode of Bubble Guppies but I don't care, I love the cuddles and am the luckiest!

Me trying to get ready in the morning with a toddler.  Exhausting!

As you know, we love the zoo!

And Lemon loves the goats!

And kettle corn (it was her first time eating it and she loved it, although she did save all the kernels in her mouth after eating the puffed part, I had to fish them out at bath time)!

This girl loves playing in the dirt in our neighbor's yard.  She needs a sandbox STAT!

Always a ham at dinner:

And I've started involving her in dinner this month at a recommendation from our pediatrician.  She said that toddlers are more inclined to eat something new, and what you cook them, if they are involved in making dinner.  So we tie her to our high chairs at our counter, with a scarf around her waist, and she tries out all the veggies I'm cutting up.  She also plays with her daddy while I do the hot stuff.

Brittany, our friend and Lemon's new nanny, is amazing.  She stayed for a bit after I got home one day and helped me hang up all of our moccasins!

And every day we come home to a clean house and sometimes by our laundry folded and all of Lemon's diapers/clothes washed and put away!  She's amazing!!!



And Brittany and Lemon are SO BUSY.  We even met them at the park one afternoon:



We took this baby out to eat and there were no cute spots for pics so here she is, in a dirty parking lot:

Swimming has been a chore this month.  Something happened, a couple of months ago, and now Lemon just hates it.  She loves being in the water, loves the playing part, but hates all of the other stuff, and especially when the teacher (Ms. Amy, who I love!) comes over and tries to hug her.  She just wants to be left alone.  It seems like something scared her, or she just hates the fact that the only time she gets to swim is for a class, with work to do and things to learn, instead of like over the summer when she could swim for fun and take a class.  I don't know what it is but this girl that used to just jump in by herself and swim to the surface if we let her go, now won't let us let her go at all and hates going under.  The teachers tell me it's a common thing, a regression, and that if we allow her some weeks to just play and not try to have her do too much, then she will be back to the way she was.  I hope so because I would hate for her to hate swimming this summer!

Who is this teenager?

Ian cleaned out the laundry room and we found fireworks, it was super fun lighting them off one night and she loved them just as much as she did on the 4th of July!  This girl isn't scared of fireworks!

Train park with friends!  I love seeing these girls and their babes!

And celebrating one of Lemon's little friend's birthday at the park:

Sometimes I get to do bath time:

And this hair, I just can't believe it.  I know I post about it every month but it's just bananas:

Ian and I got to leave school one day to attend the Arizona Recycling Coalition's annual luncheon, it was fun (any excuse to leave school and still get paid is fun)!

Celebrating my bestie's birthday with our friend Nicole:

Weekend morning hangs are my fav:

And I like after school hangs too but our girl is just so tired when we get home.  Brittany wears her out!