22 Month Update

Time is absolutely flying by! Its amazing how fast time goes when you have a child that's growing up right before your eyes! (Did I say that same thing last monthly update!?!)

Hanley is absolutely thriving! She is such a joy and so pleasant!

Her most favorite things include singing all the nursery rhymes and Dora the Explorer!

No new teeth, still waiting on her eye teeth to come in. She weighs roughly 25lbs, everyone comments that she is looking leaner - she's losing her belly and chunky thighs. =(

She's getting picky with some foods and isn't afraid to spit out whatever she doesn't want. As a baby she would eat absolutely anything.

She's very opinionated but extremely polite! She says please and thank you, bless you, sorry, and excuse me when appropriate. She's starting to say  "yes please" and "no thank you" which melts my heart!

She's very bossy with the dogs, which I find hilarious. Loves to hold her babies, wrap them up in blankets and console them.

She is working on counting all the way to 20 and knows her ABCs. She is getting better and better with shapes but still pretty rusty on her colors.

Potty training for the past month hasn't exactly been going so good. I guess I haven't exactly been consistent with her but she hasn't been a fan of going like she was last month.

22 months old is such a great age! It's hard for me to believe but its just gonna get better!!

Co-Sleeping - And My Opinion On It.

From birth to 5 months old, Hanley slept in our room, directly next to my side of the bed in a bassinet. The number of times she slept in our actual bed during that time span was very low - I don't exactly remember now but very very rarely. It just never worked out for the better. Unless she was really having a horrible night, laying in between Michael and I always seemed to make the night worse.

I knew back when I was pregnant with Hanley that I didn't want her in our bed at night. Our bed was for us and her bed was for her, and that is the way I've always seen it. A lot of people believe in co-sleeping because their baby is only a baby for such a short time, and that's their decision and fine. Those people can continue to get crappy sleep and share a bed with little toes in their backs and baby drool on their pillows. I'm not judging, it's just not for me. Me - I prefer to know exactly where she is, know she is safe, getting the best sleep possible, and continue to be a great sleeper - all in her own bed!

Some of our family was sick during the 4th of July get together last weekend and alas, Hanley woke up yesterday with a runny nose. Aside from the runny nose, she acted fine all day long. When it was time to go to bed, we did our usual bedtime routine, and she laid down and fell asleep just like every other night. I stayed up until around 1:30am but it wasn't long after I fell asleep when Hanley was up crying. Typically, she doesn't wake up at night, and if she does, it's usually just a couple cries like she was having a bad dream or something like that, and never actually wakes or gets up. So last night she seemed to wake up, standing up in her crib crying every time I fell back asleep. She would NOT let me lay her down at all or she would scream bloody murder. So I tried to rock her, when she fell asleep I laid her back down and immediately she woke up again. EGH So feeling desperate, I brought her into our bed. The moment she got in between us, she acted like it was play time and wanted to talk. I was very firm telling her it was time for bed and I pretended to be sleeping and she was wide awake for nearly 45 minutes. That clearly wasn't working so I took her back to her room and got comfy in her glider and rocked her for what felt like forever until I knew she was really asleep. Finally, I put her back to bed and she stayed asleep until morning. Problem was, when I finally got back to my bed, it was 5am. I was hoping that would mean she would sleep longer, so I could too, of course. But nope, she was up at her normal time and we carried on with our day.

She still had a runny nose today, but so far so good with her sleeping. I am going to bed early(ier) tonight just in case she decides to have a bad night again. Goodnight!

21 Month Update

Hanley is growing up so incredibly fast! She is extremely bright and brings so much joy to my life!

Let's see:::

Around 26lbs - she hasn't been to the doctor lately but the last time I stood her on a scale it said 26. She is thinning out some, I think. Still waiting on her last first year molar to come all the way through and all 4 eye teeth. Her hair is getting so long and starting to get a little curl to the ends.

She can now count to 14 and sings the ABC's. Constantly walking around singing "E-I-E-I-O", "One Two Buckle My Shoe...", and "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star." She loves to sing songs and begs me to sing more and more and more! We are still working on some shapes and I'm always identifying colors to her and asking her if she knows what color something is. She is working on it but still likes to call everything blue and/or green.

She's pretty much speaking in sentences now! She still does some sign language, "please" and "more" mainly, even though she doesn't really need to, it's probably just habit at this point.

Still extremely polite; says bless you, please, and thank you every chance she gets! Just starting to say "excuse me" if she burps or something like that, which is so adorable! Loves reading books and I'm pretty sure she is getting tired of most of her toys. Although, she just got a little kitchen and she is enjoying playing with that lately.

She is absolutely obsessed with Dora the Explorer. Like screams when it comes on and asks to watch "Dora Dora" all day long. I definitely have to limit her TV time because she could watch all day long. Dora themed birthday party!?! It might just be happening and I hope she loves it!

She is starting to get the hang of going potty on the big girl potty...starting... she's been going most days throughout the week, at least once, just not very consistent. She does, however, say "potty mommy, potty" the moment I go into her room to get her out of her bed in the mornings. She doesn't always go potty in the mornings when I take her but at least it's on her mind!

I'm very thankful that so far she doesn't throw tantrums. I hear stories of other kids her age having meltdowns but it's rare for Hanley to have one. I really hope she keeps up her kind spirit and passes right over the terrible two's (could I be so lucky!?!?). I have her schedule pretty regimented and so she seems to only throw tantrums when she is tired, hungry, or teething - so not very often. Thank goodness! I wonder if it also helps that she talks so well because I've always read that a lot of the time, tantrums happen because the child doesn't effectively know how to express their feelings. Who really knows, right!?!

This summer is already flying by so fast, it's hard to believe! I'm starting to plan her 2nd birthday party (tear). We have so many things to do and experiences to have - I'm trying to pack our summer full of fun things, even if she won't really remember. I love her so much, what did I ever do without her!?