21 Months Old

Dearest Gwennie-Poo,

As we get closer and closer to your second birthday your two-year old self slowly emerges. Those terrible twos seep into your daily person, with tantrums when you do not get what you want. You fling your small body to the floor face down and cry. I try to distract you, but it doesn’t always work.

You are quite the comedian, even more than Rhayn was at this age. At night when I tell you it is time for bed, even if you are standing up, you close your eyes and say “conk-shew, conk-shew.” Sometimes you lie down and then fake sleep. It makes us all laugh.

Your vocabulary expands everyday. It amazes me the things you can actually tell me. You call our cat Beckham, “gum-bah.” You talk about your “GamPah!” with such enthusiasm. “Can-ee” (candy,) “cah-chew” (cashews,) “chee!” (cheese,) “cop-fee” (coffee,) “gop-plee” (broccoli,) and “nanas” (bananas) (do not forget “GUP” for mama milk) are some of your favorite foods. You put words together to ask for what you want, and that makes it so much easier to help you. One of the cutest things you say is “Dih-der, peese, hep” (Sister, please help.)

The other day I took your diaper off, to let you play and air out. You looked like you were “holding it” so I helped you to the potty. You can climb onto it easily, and as soon as you sat down, you concentrated. Your little toes tightened up, and you peed. I was so proud of you, you were so proud of yourself. We sang and danced the “pee-pee in the potty” song and dance. Friday morning your diaper was dry when you woke up, so I sat you on the potty. After a moment of trying, you let out a torrential amount of pee. What a big girl you are. I figure because I just purchased a supply of Fuzzi-Buns pocket diapers and inserts from a mama in my cloth diapering group, you will decide it’s a great time to potty train. If you do that is ok. The diapers are mostly neutral colors so when your baby “brother” arrives in a year or so, he can wear them also (I made sure I purchased blacks, reds and blues instead of just pinks, lavenders, and peaches.) Of course, because I wrote about it, you will stop being interested in the potty at all.

(I wrote the above paragraph earlier this week.) On the 28th of June, we were all sitting at the table having breakfast. You were bare-bottomed because you once again woke up dry and had peed on the potty. You sat up, said “owie, bum bum” and pointed at your bottom. I asked you if you wanted to go potty, and you said “uh-huh.” When I sat you on the seat, you looked at me, concentrated once again, and POOPED! You were amazed by the plop noise. We made a huge deal out of it, and you were sp pleased with yourself. Oh I hope you do decide to no longer poop in the diaper. How great would that be? I could handle you staying in diapers to pee, if you poop trained. Sigh, I know it won’t happen, though.

Last month you mastered the somersault. You bend at the waist, putting your little blond head on the floor and then FLIP you are over. We laugh and clap and you do it again. Rhayn was older when she figured that out. We thought she was precocious, but you have proved that she was just busy. You climb on everything, you have no fear when it comes to that. Yet you are still a cuddle bug, climbing into my lap happily to snuggle, or asking “up, pees” so that we will hold you, when you have had enough.

As far as your handedness goes, you still haven’t picked, easily going from left to right, depending on how you are sitting or how you feel. That is alright, I still hope you will be a lefty like your mama. You have 8 teeth on the top, and 7 on the bottom (your right canine tooth recently broke through.)

When we brought Lily home, we thought for sure that Rhayn would love her most of all, and that she would sort of be Rhayn’s dog. We were wrong. You enjoy her most of all. She doesn’t mind it when you are in her crate or laying on her when she sleeps. She is your best buddy. You share your food with her, pull on her face and ears, and kiss her. She licks you, and you grin, happy with your friend.

Every day is a new amazing day in the world of my Gwennie-Poo.

~Mama