19 months

Happy 19 month birthday baby girl!

It's amazing how quickly you are growing. Last weekend we met up with a friend who just had a baby 6 weeks ago, and it's so hard to remember you ever being such a teeny tiny infant. You are such a little girl now. You have long little girl legs and lots of hair, so much that you already got your first haircut. Every parent tells me how quickly their children grow up, and I completely understand what they mean. While I am so excited to see you become the person you are, I also wish I could keep you a little baby who needs me, who loves to cuddle, who thinks there is something magical in my kisses that makes "oweys" go away.

Last week you "pee pee'd" on your "potty" for the first time. And then you did it again the next day! This won't come as a surprise to anyone that knows you, but that is very advanced, and the prospect of you being potty trained is very exciting (that is one area where everyone would be more than happy to see you become more independent, nobody enjoys changing diapers). We didn't even push you to do it, you just kept saying "poo poo" and going to your potty (as advanced as you are, you haven't quite gotten the concept that there is a difference between "poo poo" and "peepee"), so uncle Mike helped you get your diaper off and sit down, and you did it! And the next day you did it for Mommy! We were very excited, and you, me, and Aunt Linda all clapped our hands and said "Yay!!!" for the next 5 minutes, which then caused you to do about 10 instant replays.

You have been singing your own made up songs for the last month or so. Most songs go on and on for a minute or so, with no discernible lyrics, although I am convinced they are real words, that I just haven't honed my baby talk translation skills enough to figure out what they are. One song you sang recently, only had one word, it went, "mommy mommy mommy mommy mommy mommy mommy mommy mommy mommy mommy mommy mommy mommy mommy mommy mommy mommy." When Aunt Linda, trying to be funny, asked you what the name of that song was, you looked right at her and said, "ummmmmm, Mommm-my!!!?", kind of like, "Duh, you idiot, what did YOU think the name of that song would be?" Aunt Linda and I laughed for a good 5 minutes, which then caused you to do another one of your funny things, which we like to call your Fake Laugh, which always happens when you want to laugh along with us adults. It's this very hearty loud laugh that you do, and you look around at everyone else as you do it to let them know you get the joke, even though we are pretty sure that you don't. It's pretty funny and cute.

And now this weekend you started singing Old MacDonald, or at least the "Moo Moo Here, Moo Moo There" and "EIEIO!!!" parts. You also sing along to Itsy Bitsy Spider, and the ABC song. You also know certain parts of your books now and will say some lines along with me. When you do something you are proud of you go "yay!!!!" and clap your hands.

Last night as I was taking you to bed, you told me for the first time that you loved me. I know you didn't really understand what you were saying, you were just repeating what I say to you several times on the way to your crib, but I know if you understood what it meant, you would mean it. Of course you would. And it shouldn't surprise me at all, but that thought puts happy tears in my eyes.