Janie is 20 months old today and this month has really flown by!
Here are some highlights from this past month:
- This month was filled with lots of language. She says her own version of Alice (alu), lights (ight), ga-ga (duck), car (caw), the end (en!), cookie/cucumber (koo-ka), snack (nah), tomato (to-to), and soup (boop). She is also able to actually say juice, hi, bye, tractor, stop, cheese! (for pictures), neh-neh (our family word for sleep), mano (hand in Spanish), and I go.
- She’s also identifying things like flower, cow, sheep, and orange (the fruit).
- Her comprehension is pretty amazing to us too. I can tell her to give something to Dada or to throw something in the trashcan, and she does it!
- Signs are still useful to her. She shows me the Wheels on the Bus gesture for that video now. She’s also waving bye and hi to people more consistently.
- Baby Rhyme Time is getting more exciting for her and she’s learned lots of new songs like “Peek-a-Boo”, “Hello Song”, “Head Shoulders Knees and Toes” and of course “Wheels on the Bus”. Mirian says she also gets excited to receive her sticker at the end of storytime. She’ll actually stand and stick out her chest for the lady to place it on her shirt.
- When she has FaceTime with Yai and Ta, she will greet them with a proper “Sawasdee Ka” greeting.
- She can identify a few more body parts: shoulders, arm, toes, and cheek.
- Eating is still a favorite pasttime and she’s really been into scooping and slurping soup. Her spoon- and fork-use have also really improved.
- Dancing consists of spinning, hip swaying, and clapping. She also learned a new kunfu move and will lift a leg and say “hi-ya!”
- We’ve experienced a growth spurt this past month too. She was getting up in the middle of the night looking really uncomfortable and plowed through more milk than usual this past month. I haven’t measured her but her pants are looking pretty short lately.
- Fine motor skills have blossomed to my delight. She’s stacking cubes of all sizes, placing animals into the correct places in a puzzle, and uses her left hand (helper hand) to hold the paper while she colors with the right hand. She also learned how to split her pretend fruits with a plastic knife and sorts shapes through their appropriate slots.
- We celebrated Thanksgiving with Uncle Johnny, Auntie Joy, Alice, Yai, and Ta this year and she’s now calling out “Uncle!” and “Auntie!” when she sees them. She took a special interest in Alice and says “Alu” when she sees her on FaceTime or in a photo. She also looks to see what’s going on when she hears a random newborn baby crying in stores.
- The Christmas season was also celebrated this month and she enjoyed hanging ornaments on the tree. She’s also shown interest in the lights on the tree. and had a holiday party with all her little buddies this past month.
- We continued taking her to the SF Zoo and this month she saw real life giraffes up-close and she pointed to them and said “GG!!”
- She’s going through a big attachment phase to her mama this month. She notices even when she leaves to use the bathroom and bangs on the door yelling “MAMA!”
What a fun month! This little girl is such a sponge and imitates everything we do and say now. Happy 20 Months, Kumquat!