2-0

Georgia, today you are 20 months old! We're home from church and after thoroughly loving your lunch of hummus and tortilla chips, I'm listening to you chatter in your crib. I can hear you undoing and redoing the Velcro on your shoes (which you once again insisted on wearing to bed) and saying, "Up! And down!" over and over.

I just pray you keep your clothes on. Until last week, you would call me back into your room to tell me you were nekked and needed your clothes back on before you went to sleep. Then you started falling asleep nekked and waking up (early!) when you wet the bed. Twice in one day was enough for me to seriously consider using packing tape to secure the diaper on you. You've redeemed yourself in the last few days, but I'd better take a break and go check on you.

Ok! You are dressed minus socks. Your babies and doll are lined up at the end of your crib. You were smoothing your blanket down and told me, "night-night," so I'm sure you are with the program!

2o months seems like such a milestone! I swore I would stop counting the months after 18, but I just cannot stop myself. A month in your life right now is like two years in mine. A lot happens and each and every day is so important to your development and well-being!

It seems very real to me that you will be 2 soon and I'm so excited for you because so much is going to happen between now and then. First, we're moving to the Midwest where both Daddy and Mama grew up. This is the only home you've known and in many ways it is sad for us to leave Oregon, but you'll be gaining day-to-day relationships with a ton people who love you to pieces and long to spend lots and lots of time with you.

Second, the holidays are coming! You were too little to really understand Thanksgiving and Christmas last year, but I know you are going to be so amazed by the joy and celebration this year! Plus, the food is going to be fantastic. I'm already catching myself thinking about eating and I know when you see the spreads you'll be in heaven, too. I'll even share the olive bowl with you and show you how to put olives on your fingers and eat them one at a time!

Third, you have some big girl stuff on the horizon! You are doing so well in your pre-potty training and it seems like each week we can check off another indicator that you are getting close to being ready. Then today we were both surprised when you went potty on your chair for the first time!!!

Soon you'll be ready for a toddler bed! Much to my chagrin, you scaled ours this morning and were jumping on it when we found you, so I know you'll have a great time getting in and out of, yes, even jumping, on yours.

On top of all this you get a birthday!!!

Here's fun things you've done and said this last month...

You now love going to the nursery at church. When we get to the bottom of the stairs, you run across the foyer shouting, "Hi! Hi! Hi!" and run around the counter to your room. There is one lady you like a lot named Naomi and always give big hugs to. Today you were trying to tell her something about home and when she asked if you wanted her to come home with you, apparently you started doing a happy dance!

You are known as the baby keeper. You round up every baby they've got and then push them around in the shopping cart. You've started doing Sunday School lessons. Last week it was Noah's Ark. They let you glue your own ark down. Let's just say I could tell by the amount of glue still drying! This week you learned about the stars. They tell me you sit and listen well. Yea, you!

On Wednesdays you are in a different room for MOPS/Mom's Bible Study. The ladies there tell me they've never seen such a happy girl. That makes ME so happy!!

You are becoming more independent about clothes. You have opinions and get attached to whatever you wore yesterday. I used one of MckMama's tips of putting you to bed in clean socks and the shirt I want you to wear tomorrow so that when you wake up, I can willing let you wear what you wore yesterday. Sneaky, eh? You can completely undress yourself and do at least three times every day. You are happiest nekked with socks (you've learned how to put on all on your own) and shoes. It's an interesting look......

You have tons of hair barrettes and bows but only like for me to put them in long enough for you to pull them out. You did ask for a ponytail this week because mine was pulled back in one. But that lasted ten seconds! I might have missed the window of getting you acclimated to stuff in your hair; maybe you'll develop your own liking....maybe when you see Kendall with stuff in hers!

We turned your bed perpendicular to the wall to try to get you to stop sleeping with your long legs dangling out the side of your crib. It's working!

Your vocabulary is EXPLODING! Particularly your use of pronouns and possessive pronouns. I've been curtailing whines by saying, "Tell Mama what you want. Say, 'I want ...' " Usually you fill in the blank. One morning, after Pa-pa had been here, you woke up and said the whole sentence by yourself, "I want my Pa-pa." Amazing!

You are starting to understand mine/ours/yours/theirs and using those words instead of saying Georgia's, Mama's, etc. This morning you told me that people were getting in their cars and we get in our car. Indeed!

But the best was yesterday when I was teasing Daddy about his coffee at breakfast by telling him how sweet I am. He wasn't following me so I said, "I'm sugar!" You turned to your daddy, cocked your head, gave him a grin and said, "She's sugar!" We lost it laughing!

I can't believe you are starting to shout, but you are. We are working on using an appropriate tone of voice and asking for things kindly. You are great about saying please and thank you. Somewhere you must have seen another child signing because all the sudden one day at swimming you started signing "more." We tried signing with you when you were a baby but you were an early talker so we didn't need to. So, with a new found interest in talking with your hands, we've taught you yes, no, please, all done, and thank you.

This last week you finished swimming lessons. Daddy had so much fun with you in the water. He called you his swimming buddy and always said thank you for going swimming with him. We could definitely tell a difference in your comfort and confidence in the water as well as skill development since you started lessons. Here you are splashing and kicking!

The last night of swimming we went to see Disney on Ice. A very nice lady Daddy works with gave us tickets. We knew the show started about bedtime but decided such a special treat was worth staying up for. You had other ideas! You asked to go to bed before we even left. You even said please! Once we got there you asked to go bye-bye!

We made it through the first half of the show. You liked the Cars portion best, but only because you like cars! Little Mermaid, Lion King, Disney Fairies, and Cars are things you'll discover

later.

The highlight of this night was getting your diaper changed! We've always avoided changing you on changing tables. You were born are strong and wiggly and it seemed like an accident in the making. In fact, you've gotten your diapers changed standing up since you were 11 months old. But suddenly you've become aware there are diaper changing stations in public restrooms and need to take a rest on them. This picture was taken at swimming...but just imagine the same sort of set up while Disney on Ice went on without us! We'll have to go again in a few years when you are more into it!

We love you, honey girl! You make us so proud and fill our hearts with great joy!