5.29.2012

21 months

Caitlin is 21 months now. I cannot believe that she is almost two. She continues to change and learn and amaze me on a daily basis. Most of her accomplishments and antics are already pretty well documented on here but i wanted to do one more post before she turns two.
-I would say the top 5 words to describe Caitlin are: curious, sweet, funny, and cute and energetic.
She has always been very curious and this continues. She gets into things and climbs and explores all day long and makes all kinds of messes and gets herself into all sorts of predicaments. She is mischievous but the thing is she doesn't do it in a naughty type of way (most of the time). She really is just curious. So she will do something and drive me crazy but then she's so happy to have done it!
She is also sweet. She is still pretty selective as so who she wants to be sweet to but when she loves something, you know it. She makes me smile all the time with the little cuddles and kisses she gives me and how she always wants to be around Paul and I. It's the best feeling in the world.
She is just plain cute. I know i'm biased but i think she is the cutest thing ever and it honestly gets her out of things. Like when i find her in the toilet and decide to take a pic because she is so cute instead of getting mad. Or when she is eating and makes the biggest mess ever but I think its so cute how she tries to concentrate so hard on her ketchup or yogurt finger painting that i just let her. Or when she wakes up from a nap and has THE craziest hair ever, she is just so cute to me.
She is energetic. She just doesn't ever stop. Not in a frantic sort of way, but just in an endless energy sort of way. She could easily do without naps (so SHE thinks) and she is usually happy to stay up until any time if she is happily occupied. We definitely have calmer moments but it's hard to keep her attention for an extended amount of time. She likes to be on the go.

-She is talking a lot. She still has a lot of words that sound like each other but i feel like at least between her and I we have a pretty good communication system going. She tries to repeat things when i teach her new words and she also responds to questions and prompts well (like when i say "what do you say?" and she says "please" or "thank you") but what i love the most is when she just comes up with things on her own. Either her own babblings that i wish i could understand or when she pulls out a word that we've taught her all by herself. The other night when we were on the phone with Paul while he was out of town she stated saying "miss you! love you!" without being prompted and it melted my heart.

-She really is smart. She knows what she's doing most the time and that is a good and bad thing. Like when she knows she is doing something wrong but wants to do it anyways. But good when i tell her to do something and she knows what to do and follows directions. She surprises me sometimes with how she does with little jobs i give her or things that she remembers.

-We went through a little phase with her a while ago that got me worried that the "terrible twos" had come early and were here to stay. Tantrums and yelling and no naps, etc. it was bad. Luckily we moved past that ordeal and she is doing better now. (so i guess i'm still on the lookout for the terrible twos)

-She is hard for me to discipline. Time out works ok as far as a little break from the problem but i think she thinks it is just kind of fun. Sometimes ignoring her works but usually when i try to be forceful and say no, it is met with a twinkle in her eye and then her doing the exact thing i told her not to. I've also tried using positive phrases (ex: "keep your fishies in the bag" instead of "don't dump out your fishies" so she doesn't get a mental picture of dumping them out and want to do it) that works pretty well. Luckily I don't have to discipline her that often because she is usually pretty good and knows basically her boundaries.

-She has this weird thing about being messy ("meno" as she says) she hates being messy or if other people are messy yet it doesn't stop her from getting into things and getting messy. She will happily play in the dirt or paint or put food all over her until there comes a point and she realizes that she is messy and she doesn't like it. Then she wants to be cleaned off immediately but will usually go right back to whatever she was doing. Sometimes if we tell her that something is messy it keeps her away. She also really doesn't like it if other people are messy, like if I have paint on my hands or something. She wants you to clean it off right away. And sometimes she thinks things are messy that can't be cleaned... Like a scrape or cut or even a design on a shirt. It's really confusing and funny to me.

-Her current LOVES are: suckers, stickers, fishies and baby dolls. She's into lots of other things but she is REALLY into all of these. Whenever she sees suckers she has to have one.. there is a big bowl of them at my doctor's office and I'm pretty sure she had about 5. She doesn't suck them either, she just chomps right into them and they are gone in about 3 seconds. She loves stickers. Any kind. Whenever we are at the grocery store and walk past the fruit she freaks out until i give her a sticker from an orange or a banana. She sticks out her little hand and wants me to put it right there. We also have stickers at home (thanks grandmas!) and she comes and asks me to have one all the time. Whenever she sees a fish or something in the water she gets so excited and it's super cute the way she says fishy. She loves water and fishy crackers too so the overall love of underwater things doesn't really surprise me. She also loves her baby dolls. Her "bayBEES" as she calls them. She sleeps with two and the other day after she woke up from her nap we could see her on the monitor in her crib just sitting there talking to her baby saying "nigh nigh" and giving it loves and saying "baby" it was the cutest thing.    

-She is also award motivated. If i tell her i'll give her a treat, she will do something. I usually only do it when i need her to eat something because she is just not a great eater. She really doesn't eat a ton ad she's picky and wants to do it all herself and i feel like i could be WAY better about her nutrition. Thank goodness she is still healthy.

-As far as other little obsessions or funny stories, those are recorded elsewhere but overall i wanted to document her current growth because i know everything is about to change... a lot. It will be interesting to see how she changes when the baby comes and how she changes with just turning 2 and getting older and turning into a little girl. She is definitely our little princess and I'm sure that will never change. She makes me smile and laugh everyday.
 

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