19 months and Counting

It's been 5 long months since I last did an update on Afton and of course too much to remember has changed , but I will do my motherly best.

Dear Afton.

You are bright, smart, ahead of the game, whichever you please. And I know every mom says that about their child, we have to. We must instill a sense of self confidence in you at a young age. But I am constantly surprised at just how smart you are. Maybe it is just my sense of awe that a 19 month old can do so much without even being able to fully communicate(talking that is). Your list of pronounceable words is growing by the day but you really aren't a "talker". You will repeat words if I ask you to and you still loves to jabber in baby talk. But I wouldn't say you are talking yet. You scream mama or dada once and a while if you REALLY wants something. And you definitely knows how to ask for more food by either saying "more" or "please". Even though you don't talk a lot yet, our communication is awesome. I can give you simple tasks like "go find your shoes" or "go give Oliver a hug" and you know just what I want. Now if I can only get you to listen to me when I want you to STOP something. That is the real challenge.

The terrible two's have started. You climb on anything and everything. You love to climb on your toybox which is behind the love seat and throw yourself over the back of the love seat onto the seat part. Then you will climb down and repeat at least 10 times. You climb on the coffee table every 5 minutes. Seriously considering putting that in storage. *NOTE TO SELF: in the future when we have another child, just get rid of the coffee table for good. They are good for nothing. They aquire junk and are dangerous for not only small children, but very clumsy adults such as myself. Many a swear words have been uttered when a toe was stubbed or a shin slammed. Believe me. Where was I? Oh yes, climbing. We picked You up from nursery two weeks ago and the first thing the nursery leader said is, "she climbed on everything!" Yeah, tell me about it. So far you have not figured out how to climb out of her crib, thank goodness.

You entered nursery at church a month ago and never looked back. It's probably your favorite two hours of the whole week. I mean other babies to learn from (i.e. biting, hitting), snacks to consume, toys to play with and nursery leaders to terrorize with her climbing and consuming of all the snacks. I have also been told by the same nursery leader that "she eats a lot!". Again, tell me about it. Meanwhile, those two hours of nursery where also my favorite of the week. You mean I get a FREE babysitter, a relaxing class to learn and two whole hours to revive by crazy brain. Then....I was called into primary. Sigh, oh well. The peace was fun while it lasted.

You are still a good eater. I wouldn't say you are getting picky, just realizing that you can refuse food if you don't feel like that particular item that is placed in front of you. You still LOVE to drop food on the ground for Oliver. And Oliver still LOVES to wait patiently until you do. Your current favorite foods would have to be: watermelon, raspberries, rice and beans, ANY kind of noodles(long ones preffered), oatmeal and grapes. You are a fruit connoisseur. . I have to limit it because you tend to get diaper rash if you have too much. You are still one of the healthiest eaters I know. I really take pride in that fact. And you will usually always try at least a little of what I put in front of you before you decides you don't like it. We are working on trying to get you to TELL us when you are hungry instead of SCREAM to us you are hungry. So far not much success. When you are hungry, you are hungry and you want everyone to know.

You seriously have no fear. You will go down the slide, even the really tall ones by yourself. You will jump into the pool(into Chads arms).You will do just about anything, which sometimes terrifies me. You always has a bump or a bruise somewhere on your body from a) being a daredevil or b) being clumsy. I have no idea where you inherited that second one from, certainly not me.

You are still a great sleeper. Mama is grateful for this, because mama likes her sleep.You will go down between 7:30-8:30 and sleep until 7-8 the next morning. You are down to one nap a day but have started sleeping longer (sometimes even 1 1/2 hours!) in said nap. I have become used to not having a whole lot of time without you trailing me during the day.

To be honest I have lost track of how many teeth you have. Probably at least 12. And you are weighing in at around 21 lbs or so. Your eyes are becoming a beautiful brown. And your hair is getting so long now. I can almost put it in a ponytail in the back and the front bangs are always in your eyes if they aren't clipped back. You are still a skinny minny and are starting to lose a little of your baby chub. But you still have the cutest Buddha-belly as I like to call it.

You love to go on bike-rides with mom and dad and explore pretty much anywhere you go. You annoy Oliver any chance you get and I am afraid you are in a "not-so-best-friends" phase right now. He promptly trots out of the room whenever he sees you coming. Once and a while you manage to get in a friendly hug or kiss. You like to get into the Tupperware drawer and the hall closet. You like to make a mess of the plants on the balcony  and of our whole house really. You love the park and the grocery store. You are not the biggest fan of car rides lately and must be distracted with snacks, or else!

I am sure there are a million and one things I am missing about your life but for now that is enough. You change every day and I can barely keep up but you are so worth it. My life would be pretty bleak without you. Oliver's would too, even though he won't be caught dead admitting it. I thank Heavenly Father every day that I was so lucky to get to be your mom and raise you. I also thank him for making you just like me (and your dad). The first 19 months have been great and so will the next.

Love you, Mom

Silly Billy

One of the things I love most about having a child and being a mom is there is NEVER a dull moment in our house. Between Chad and Afton someone is always making me laugh.
Chad has recently taken to calling Afton our little Pterodactyl. Mainly because of the screeching sound she makes whenever she's mad or unhappy about something.
So I can't help but laugh when Afton is mad about something because this nickname immediately pops into my head and makes her screeching rather.... cute. Ok, maybe that's an exaggeration. More like endearing.
The other day Afton was in her high chair making her Pterodactyl noises so Chad was trying to make her laugh instead. So he takes Oliver's rope toy and starts hitting it really hard on our ottoman. Afton thought this was hilarious for some reason. So Chad did it again and again and again and Afton laughed again and again and again. I think you get the picture, no?
The best funny moment in our house by far though happened yesterday. Afton was making mysterious trips back and forth from the living room to the kitchen. I thought Chad was in the kitchen so I wasn't too worried, until I saw Chad coming down from upstairs. Then I realized Afton had a piece of dog food in her hand (dog food is the girls best friend). I was about to take it away and shut the baby gate into the kitchen but before I could Afton marched over to Oliver and feeds him the dog food. She then continues to do this over and over again. Oliver of course is in heaven. You mean I don't even have to leave the couch anymore to eat? Heaven help us before he looks like a fat wiener dog. I think we laughed for a good five minutes straight while she "fed" Oliver. Don't ask me how she got the idea. She's just smart I guess.
Another funny Afton moment: I left a box of thread on the floor which Afton found, of course. She picked it up and dropped it, of course. Spilling it everywhere, of course. She knew she did something bad because she looked at me and then at the thread. Then she proceeded to pick them up and shove them haphazardly back into the box, very hurriedly might I add for a 15 month old. Then she looked at me like, "Mom, don't worry, I got this." But not before she had time to stuff a thread in her mouth. Everything goes in her mouth. Sometimes I am just amazed at how smart and funny she is.
Don't even get me started on her "crinkly nose face." I can't say no to that face. CAN'T.
I've been teaching Afton to wave at people that say she is cute in the stores or just when someone is saying hi. She is catching on quickly. Not only is she waving at the people I tell her to, but also the people I'm NOT telling her to such as the weirdo in the Dollar Tree Store and the complete stranger outside of the grocery store. I think we need to work on the whole waving at stranger's thing.
Afton is definitely watching and listening to EVERYTHING Chad and I do and say the last few weeks. Some examples:
1) I was blow drying my hair and Afton was playing in her room. I go in to check on her and she is taking her CLEAN clothes out of her drawer and putting them in her dirty clothes hamper. She sees me pick up her room of dirty clothes every day and do this, so she was trying to help fill the basket up I guess :-) I put them back and tried to explain not to do that. I go back to blow drying my hair and a few minutes later look in on her again. This time she is taking the DIRTY clothes out of her hamper and putting them back in her drawers. In her defense, I did that very same thine(only with the clean clothes) just minutes earlier. So she was just copying me. I am continually amazed at how she watches and learns.
She also is starting to copy me and say more words every day. I have gotten her to say "More" and "Dog" so far. She also knows that "Night Night" means to lay your head down and sleep. So whenever I say that, no matter where or what she's doing, she lays her head down like she's sleeping. She also grabs her diaper know when she goes to the bathroom or whenever I ask her if she has "Poo Pooed." She knows that word well.
She also is starting to copy our facial expressions, funny noises, etc.
I was playing peek-a-boo with her the other day with a pillow. Before long she was picking up the pillow and doing it to me. Her version was just putting the pillow in front of her face then dropping it and giving me an excited/scared/funny expression. I guess that's what my peek-a-boo face looks like.
My favorite thing that she does lately though is exclaim "da da" whenever we pick Chad up from work. Melts my heart.
She really is a Silly Billy. Just like her mom and dad. A perfect mix.