Vocabulary Explosion

Dear Isabella,

I can't keep up with your vocabulary - I suppose at some point I'll have to stop trying! But here are some of your latest (if I repeat what I've already written that means you say it a lot!):

Monny (Mommy)
Dah-ee (Daddy)
All done
Cheese
Peese (please)
Shoes
Ernie
Baby
Bubble
Wassee (washy)
Ba-pa (Grandpa)
Yay
Ashes-ashes
Apple
Doodoo (yeah..)
Go-go
Agua
Nai-nai
On
Off
Up
Ees (it's - as in "ees dah-ee" for "it's Daddy")
Halph (help)
Beep
Pop
Beed (bib)
Ah-tee (aunty)
Unko (uncle)
And probably more that I can remember right now!

You ask for what you want (and you certainly know what you want!) and your body language is more and more like a kid and less and less like a toddler every day. If something is out of place or out of order you are quick to point it out.

It seems like you're also developing certain fears - like it seems like you're becoming afraid of the dark and of unexpected noises. I guess that is a sign of growing up but I hope you're not terrified of the dark like I was when I was a kid (and a teen..and adult..haha!).

You're very mature in certain ways - when you're starting to descend into a tantrum or meltdown I've been trying to teach you to "breathe" and calm yourself down. So far you don't really get it but watching me take deep breaths really seems to calm you down. It's actually kind of amazing.

Also you're more and more spontaneously affectionate - and we love it!

Oh, and you got your first jewelry present from a boy! Yikes! At Mommy and Daddy's vow renewal ceremony, Camdyn gave you a little butterfly necklace. It's so cute on you!

You are such a joy. I love you!

Love,
Mommy

Rain

Dear Isabella,

Do you want to know how smart you are?

Yesterday we were walking from the car, and it had rained so the ground was wet. You pointed at the ground and said, "Uh-oh!"

So I said, "Uh-oh it rained!" And you pointed at the air and said, "Agua!"

How did you learn that? You amaze me every day.

Love,
Mommy

Words

Dear Isabella,

You have more words again! "Bao" (ball), Abby, and Dad. You also said "pop" once when we were playing with bubbles and "eye" twice yesterday when you poked my eye because I was pretending to sleep.

You are also becoming interested in the potty and we try to put you on the potty before bath each night. Once at Grandma's house you happened to make shishi when you were up there and you were so proud! You thought it was the greatest thing, Grandma said, and kept making your sign for "more." Last night I put you on and you sat for a little bit and I asked, "all done?" And you shook your head, and after a couple seconds you made shishi again! Maybe it's time to start thinking about really potty training you.

You had a check up today and you're 24 pounds which is the 25-50th percentile, and 32.25 inches which is the 50-75th percentile.

You always keep us on our toes with all the climbing up and down the couch, and being curious about everything. You are also very opinionated about what you want and when. I'm not sure where you get that from. ;)

Also, you say "up" when you mean up and also when you mean down!

You want to be friends with Orange but he's still not very sure about it. Your feelings get so hurt when he doesn't want to play.

That's it for now Monkey. I love you!

Love,
Mommy

My Monkey

Dear Isabella,

Your name isn't Bean anymore - it's Monkey! You're such a rascal climber. In a flash you scramble up onto any furniture you can. You sure keep us busy.

You're also talking! Your words so far: no (go figure), up, oh-way (Orange), mum-mum, Mom, wow, meow.

Your speech therapist told Daddy last week that we have to completely take away your pacifier even at naptime and bedtime. We thought it would be a terrible struggle. The first night you cried for exactly 20 minutes. The second night was less than 10 minutes. The third night was about one minute and now you don't cry. You do ask for it and we have to show you all the places we used to hide it but once you see it's gone, you are satisfied.

You're such a big girl already. Slow down, Monkey!

Love,
Mommy

Little Lady

Hi my little angel!

Right now I'm sitting in the car outside our apartment because you're napping in your carseat and I don't want to wake you up. You're snoring like an old man, it's so cute. :)

You still aren't really talking in words but you're picking up all kinds of other stuff! Like you can climb up on the couch by yourself now which is scary because you scurry up there in the blink of an eye. And you of course know where we "hide" the TV remote AND you know how to turn the TV on by yourself.

You also are becoming very particular about choosing your own clothes and shoes. I think we're going to have our hands full with a very girly girl!

But you still love running around outside and getting into the rocks and leaves and all that dirtiness. Of course, when you're done you always wipe your hands off like a little lady.

You do Itsy Bitsy Spider motions all the way through (but only if no one is looking) and you LOVE Three Little Monkeys, Little Piggies, and Little Cabin. In fact at bed time you insist on doing our routine of monkeys, piggies (both feet!) and cabin at least once before we go to bed.

It's time for you to get up from your nap baby doll. Hopefully you're not too much of a grumpy pants when I wake you up!

Love you!
Mommy

Too much to catch up on!

Dear Isabella,

You are having so much fun growing up it's getting hard to keep up with you!

You love going to the playground to run around and you love going on the swings with me. Yesterday you bonked your head pretty hard though when you tripped going up some steps. You have a bump on your head above your right eye but you're okay.

You're learning signs and you know how to sign "more" and you're getting the hang of "eat" (though we call it "mum mum").

You're very particular about some things - like when I'm rocking you while you drink your goodnight bottle you insist I hold your pacifier in my left hand - not my right hand. If its on the bookshelf next to us or in my right hand you stop drinking and open my left hand and tickle it.

For some reason you don't like the water going on your head in the bath anymore. You cry almost every night. But sorry, as your hair gets longer (and because you perspire so much!) we have to wash your hair every night or you'll be the stinky kid in class.

Speaking of your hair - it is slowly getting fuller and longer but so far it still has those cute curls at the back of your neck. And that beautiful brown red with light almost blonde notes. People pay lots of money to get their hair the color combination yours is!

Love you, my little angel!

Love,
Mommy

Words

Dear Isabella,

You're taking some time to start talking but here are your first three words:
1. No (of course!)
2. Mum-mum (another shocker)
2. Uh-oh!

You actually almost never say no anymore, you just shake your head. And you just discovered "uh-oh!" so you kind of say it any time, not just when uh-oh is needed. It's still cute though! I absolutely love your little voice.

I love you!

Love,
Mommy