20 months

Anya is 20 months old today.

These monthly updates are getting more difficult, since developmental changes aren't quite as obvious as they once were. But a few things come to mind.

- Counting. While Anya has been able to recite the numbers 1-10 for awhile now, the idea of actually counting is starting to make some sense to her. Really, just the early sparks of that idea. Sometimes it seems like she gets it and other times not quite yet.

- Colors. Identifying colors is also starting to click. We can say "Anya, will you hand us the [color] crayon?" and she'll get it right most of the time. Sometimes she'll randomly point at something and correctly name its color. But still, if we are holding up an object and say "Anya, what color is this?" She automatically says "yellow," whether she looks at said object or not. And then if that's not correct answer, she defaults to "green".

- Speech. I don't recall if this has been mentioned here, but bug often speaks in the third person. "Anya go see Flynn" etc. I guess it's one of those developmental phases where they start to recognize that they are individuals and have their own separate wants.

Lately, she has taken to using the word "too," meaning also. "Anya want some water, toooooo". And from this morning "Grandma too loud. Grandpa too loud too" (Lynn & Steve - I have no idea what she was talking about, but you should probably lower your voices if she can hear you all the way from Virginia). It's probably her favorite word lately, since she seems to tack it onto sentences whether it makes sense or not.

Other stuff

Not developmental, but starting last week, Anya spends two hours on Tuesdays and Thursdays with my friend Jennifer's nanny, Sheri, while I go to the gym. Sheri watches 3 other kids while Anya is there. I'm thrilled because Anya gets to spend more time with her friends (and I get more time to myself). And they are all a fair amount older than her (range from 2 to just-turned 4) and she'll be able to learn from them....especially when potty training time comes this fall/winter(?). She has the time of her life. When I picked her up last Thursday, all 4 kids were running circles around the house, chasing each other and squealing. I love seeing happy kids.

Likes/dislikes

Likes: playing with the dog food (putting it into various containers), digging in the garden, watering the garden, bathtime, playing in water, singing, climbing, drawing and painting, helping me "cook", playing chase, trying to put on/take off clothes and shoes, going for walks around the neighborhood and looking at the neighbors' chickens, The Little Gym, bothering the cats, books.

Dislikes: having her teeth brushed, joining in group activities (she always wants to do her own thing and only joins in if the activity very much interests her...and then goes off again once she's done with activity).

yesterday

wearing 2 of mom's random socks and trying to figure out how to wear mom's underwear. Hmm.

All ready to go to Grandma and Grandpa L's house for the night.

"bye, bye! See ya later!"

Yesterday was a beautiful weather day and there were several barbecues to attend around the city -- perfect. The only one Chris took pictures at was Sara's graduation party.

Hanging with great-grandma Scheuer. I just noticed in the picture she let Anya have a potato chip. Bad grandma!

Anya and Kalea vying for a spot on great-grandma's lap.

Sara cuts her graduation cake

Kelsey trying to hold a squirmy toddler

Waking up

We often hear the bug chatting away in her crib after she wakes up. This morning, Chris grabbed the video camera to see what he could catch.

I love that little girl :-)

Oops

Well, after 19 months of flawless parenting on my part, I'm here to report that I've finally made my first mistake. It was about time, anyway; all other parents were probably developing a bit of a burn from basking in my glow for so long. And it was getting a bit lonely way up at the top.

No, I didn't drop her on her head or set her on fire....or do anything as horrendous as accidentally leaving the top stair gate open (ahem, Chris ;-))

But in retrospect, going to check out Matthews Beach 45 minutes before Anya's bedtime, with no water clothes/diapers for her or other distractions, was dumb. I've never been there before and had it in my mind that she'd stick her foot in the water for a minute and then want to play at the playground or wander. Of course that isn't what happened.

She was instantly drawn to the water and didn't want to leave when it was time to go (after a measly 5-10 minutes). Once we got her on the grass, she kept beelining back to the beach and then broke down when it was apparent we weren't going to let her back in. From that point until we got home, she wailed (over and over) "Go back to waaaater!" It was heartbreaking. And it was all she would say.

OK, so next time I will be sure to bring a swim diaper and beach gear, and be able to stay for at least 45 minutes if I'm going to go anywhere near an accessible beach with the kiddo. And tomorrow should probably be that day. I feel like I need to make it up to her.

I am humbled by my very first *ever* mistake as a mother. And I'll be sure to remember this feeling if I make my next mistake in a few years with her.

Painting the town

A few pictures from the other day. I gave Anya a paintbrush and a bucket with some water. We walked around the neighborhood and "painted" everything we fancied.

painting the fence...

...the recycling bin...

...the air...

...and the neighbors' flowers. She wanted to paint their chickens, but I had to draw the line somewhere.

Just for grandparents/record-keeping...

I will likely eventually misplace the letter with the following information, so am just posting it here for grandparents to see and for future reference.

As I've probably mentioned in the past, Anya is taking part in the Children's Hospital Plagiocephaly Outcomes Project (in the control/"normal" group). At 6 months, 18 months, and 36 months, they do a 3-hour-long developmental assessment. She recently had her 18 month assessment and we received the results today.

Summary: Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development - 3rd Edition

Cognitive: 115 / 84th percentile

Language: 141 / 99th percentile

Motor: 100 / 50th percentile

My comments: it's funny how much results can be skewed from sitting to sitting. She took part in a cognitive skills study at the UW that covered many of the same areas as the cognitive section of this one did. She scored much higher on the UW test. I wonder if it has anything to do with the fact that Anya stopped cooperating with the tester for about 15 minutes (during puzzle time and some other test), I think out of overstimulation. Hehe, plus there was a test with Cheerios and Anya kept eating them instead of doing what she was supposed to be doing. Reality is probably somewhere between those two scores.