22 Month Update

Last week Elena turned 22 months--so hard to believe she'll be two in the very near future.  Where does the time go?!!  I haven't done a monthly update in quite awhile, so here is a snap shot of Elena at 22 months.

 Meals: Elena is a foodie, she loves food (except egg) and will eat it all including her veggies though sometimes not her protein (especially chicken, not so much a fan of chicken or eggs--but I still want 2 chickens in a coupe in the backyard).  Overall she eats balanced meals and isn't finicky.  It is really nice to sit down to dinner and we are all eating the same food.  She also eats with a fork and spoon and loves dip--which could be anything like sauce, pickle juice, milk, yogurt, humus, etc.  She has a funny term for 'meatballs' she calls them 'meat bombs' even though she can say ball.  She loves grapes and it is so cute to watch her say it...it sounds more like "brapes".

Sleep: She sleeps 11-12 hours at night and about a 2 hour after lunch nap.  We have been enjoying the long nights of sleep, sometimes I feel like I'm still catching up myself.

Language: Quite a vocabulary.  She uses please and thank you frequently and correctly.  Now we are working on you're welcome.  It seems like she can say almost anything and can be a parrot at any moment.  She also understands what we are saying, she responds appropriately with yes or no...I do miss "ah-huh" with the head nod.  Recently, Carl had friends over playing poker.  It was time for Elena to go to bed, so I asked her "do you want to say good night to the guys?" and she responded, "uh-huh, night guys".  She seems so young to be able to understand so completely what we are saying.  Needless to say she continues to amaze us every day.

Temperament: Generally always happy, seldom cries and if she is hurt she only cries for a couple of minutes--tough cookie.  Cranky when she is tired, hungry or has been sitting too long.

Physically: She is a big kid, wearing a 2t bottom and 3t top.  She is also very agile for her age.  She runs, jumps and gallops around the house.  She also like walking on and jumping on pillows.  She climbs everything regardless if it meant to be climbed on yet she seems to be aware of her own limits and doesn't usually get herself stuck or hurt.  She can climb out of her crib now but most days she content to stay in her crib.

School: What's not to love?  She can wash her hands when ever she wants, get as dirty as she wishes while playing outside, and colors with markers inside.  She is very loved at the school by the teachers, the other kids and their parents.  

Potty training: well this isn't going as well as I had hoped.  I hoped once she was with other kids using the potty she would want to do the same but she doesn't.  She will sometimes alert us that she needs to poop or already pooped but refuses to sit on a potty.  I bought her a small potty to put on the floor and she likes to take it apart and sit in it like it is a bucket fully clothed or in the case of the picture below with a diaper on.  I guess she's just not ready yet.  I'll keep trying every couple of weeks, hopefully she'll be interested soon!