20 Months Old Today!!!

In 4 months, I will have a 2 year old. What?!?!  

Part of me can’t believe it…but most of me can. I have watched her really change over the past few weeks.

She likes what she likes, and she is VERY clear about what she doesn’t like. Before she was born, I hoped that she would be a strong girl with a big, sassy personality, not afraid to speak her mind. My hopes came true, tenfold! 🙂 And I love that she is kind at the same time. She plays so well with other kids!

She is very specific with her choices now. Before, I could whip up just about anything for mealtime. Lately, she requests ”cheese” (mac and cheese) for almost every meal!  🙂

She thinks it’s hilarious to close the door on me and say ”Buh bye!”, and gives me the biggest hug when I open it again. ❤

She LOVES bubbles, dancing, cooking and Calliou.

She also loves giving anything and everything a ”bath” in our sink! 🙂 She wasn’t too thrilled when I changed her water table to a Valentine-inspired rice table. Looks like I’ll be changing it back soon!

She demands ”Elmo” from Siri .

Every time a Katy Perry song comes on the radio, she lights up. She has only listened to her about 3 times, but each time she loved it! Oh, boy! :-p

She loves exploring the refrigerator and looking at all of the food in there.  I’m tempted to get her a play refrigerator for her 2nd birthday. I wonder if she would love it, or if she would still prefer the ‘real’ thing! 🙂 She loves pressing buttons-especially those on the microwave.

She can clearly sing the ‘Twinkle, Twinkle’ in ‘Twinkle Twinkle Little Star’, and she loves making up her own songs about Mama and Daddy ! ❤ She can finish all the sentences in her favorite books “Happy Hippo, Angry Duck” and “Mr. Brown Can Moo, Can You?” .

I can’t even list all of the words and sentences she is putting together. A few months ago, she had more than 100+ words. Some of her funnier sentences are “Mama, move please”  and “Burp. Excuse me!” . She is also really good about spontaneously saying ”Thank you” when she is grateful for something!

Lately, I find myself doing a lot more ‘redirecting’. Sometimes it sounds ridiculous “instead of throwing those pieces of food on the floor, let’s throw it in the sink (garbage disposal)! ” but it works a lot better than a blatant “No” (I try to save ”no” for non-negotiable, dangerous things).

She is starting to test the limits a little more every day, like looking right at me, smiling from ear to ear and saying ”Pinching!!!”  (and proceeding to pinch me). Little does she know, because of my preschool teaching days, I am used to more than 6 kids simultaneously”testing the limits” , so this is small potatoes. 😉

I love this age because every day, something new happens. She learns a new word. She does something funny that she never did before. I love it! 20 months is a big deal. At least, I think it is. I think a special treat is in order! ;D

Mmm, Mommy’s chocolates!!! I moved the stool over and helped myself!

SAHM Envy

I love my class. I love my coworkers. I love how my job is like a big community. I love how Livia’s teachers are like her second family.

However, the SAHM Envy I feel sometimes is undeniable.  Weekends are gone in the blink of an eye. Saturday comes and goes, Sunday is almost nonexistent…then, it’s back to the long work week, and every day I am left with the day’s ”leftovers”, a few hours of ”quality” time with Livia, much of which is spent cooking dinner/cleaning up/getting ready for bed. Tonight, Livia fell asleep at 7:45 pm. We spent about 2 hours together today.

Sometimes, when Livia is asleep, I look at the ‘Stay At Home Mom’ groups on Meetup.com and imagine what life would be like if I, too, could bring Livia to Story Time at Barnes and Noble, have fun little playdates in the park, just the two of us…the spontaneity would be so beautiful.

Our mornings can be rushed sometimes, and I miss out on funny moments (like her pretending to put on makeup with my makeup brushes) because I am in a hurry to get ready.

Sigh…atleast we have a vacation coming up to look forward to.  

 

More (Late) B-day Pics!

Better late than never! Here are some of the best pics from Livia’s First Birthday (the actual day AND her party)!

 The night before, I finished setting up her play area.

Pics from her birthday morning ❤

 (If you look closely, on her couch there is a book called “Livia’s Book”. It’s all about Livia! I wrote it and had it turned into a Board Book. It is bilingual (Italian/English)!

 

Livia’s First Easter

We had a wonderful Easter. Livia went to Church for the first time and had a blast. She LOVES meeting new people. She was jumping on my lap and playing peekaboo with everyone around us. She crawled and cruised all over the place. Best of all, she got to try pancakes and sausage gravy. She went wild!
My mom set up the annual Easter Egg Hunt for my sister and me (we are in our 20’s and are still very competitive about this). I found 17, my sister found 19. I lose every year. Usually by a landslide. My mom even offered to color code the eggs so it would be “fair” but that’s for wussies! 🙂

I made Livi an Easter basket with a book, some big girl PJs, a toy bunny, and some new undershirts. She loved the book because it had big bunny ears sticking out of it .:)

Just like Christmas, we shared Easter with both sets of grandparents. Lots of driving, but it was worth it.

Now, I’m anticipating my next favorite holiday… Apple Blossom!!!!! (I’ll explain later).