Melanie's Latest & Greatest

I had to share some of Melanie's latest antics, as she is a constant source of entertainment.  She has mood swings of needing to be entertained, or being able to entertain herself.  She loves her "new" playroom and all of the toys at her disposal.  She can play for a long time just "preparing dinner" and serving it over and over.  Aunt Julie gave her millions of toys that accompany her play kitchen, and with these, she can whip up a gourmet meal of cheese and mustard, or pizza with ketchup.  She still takes several bottles a day, and call me a bad mom, but it soothes her, and I'm all for a calm kid.  She is very "helpful" - helping with laundry, loading/unloading the dishwasher, etc.  When she is done with a dish - be it her plate, her bottle, etc., she will go put it in the sink herself.   Her favorite activities other than her kitchen include puzzles, coloring, and anything Elmo.  She is also enjoying her Little People sets (also courtesy of Aunt Julie, of course, since there are one million pieces).  Sometimes she helps and cleans up all of her toys, other times not so much.

She got her second H1N1 shot on January 11, and she weighed 22lbs 9oz; still a little peanut.  She's still wearing some 18-month clothing, but transitioning to 24-months, particularly the tops.  She is wearing size 6 shoes (she just got a new pair of shoes she doesn't like to take off!)

She is very aware that there is a baby in Mommy's tummy.  I'm not sure if she knows what that means, but she will show you where the baby is, give the baby kisses, put lotion on the baby, say bye-bye to the baby when she leaves the room..... Boy, is she in for a surprise when an actual baby emerges and comes to live with her!  I asked her the other day if she wanted to feel the baby kick.  She replied "NO" with a shake of her head.  I pulled my shirt up slightly so she could see my belly, and asked her again, at which point she ran over, pulled my shirt down, and continued playing.  Just in case I wasn't clear.....

She's been sleeping really well lately; she still likes to be held until she falls asleep (I know that every book tells you not to do this, but it's a habit she picked up over the summer that we haven't been able to kick); but before she goes to bed, she will tell everything & everybody "Bye-Bye" - everything from her "colors" (her coloring table), to the clock, the pictures on the wall, Elmo, etc.....even people who aren't there like Gigi, Molly, etc.

Melanie is talking a lot - and repeating even more.  She can say sentences up to about three words (such as "I need Elmo.")  Sometimes she gets a word or phrase in her head and will say it over and over - a lot of times, this involves saying Molly's name until it's ringing in my head.  She is also imitating a lot of things we do, like putting on deoderant, doing her hair, talking on the phone, etc.  She does a good job with "thank you" - and hearing her say "Thank you Mommy" or "Thank you Daddy" (unprompted) is one of the cutest things I have ever heard.  She can do most animal names & noises, even ones we didn't teach her, she's constantly amazing me with the things she comes up with that we didn't teach her.  Obviously she goes to daycare; but it's just funny to hear/see her do things that are a mystery to us - for instance, showing me "what an elephant does."

We are still going to Gymboree twice a week - to the "open gym" on Wednesday nights and to class on Saturday mornings.  Mel is making friends and enjoying the activities - particularly the stamps she gets on her hands & belly at the end of class.  She has been known to pull up her shirt 10 minutes before class is over to await her stamps.

She is still touch & go with food.  Sometimes we just have to try a few different things before we figure out what she'll eat for that meal.  When she's in the mood, she can do some eating - a full egg and some toast, and chicken, pizza, blueberries, are some her favorites.  She enjoys drinking out of a "big girl cup" (non-sippy) - until she dumps the cup.

Just some updates since this is my form of journaling/keeping up with her baby book!  I don't want to forget a single thing, and want to treasure every moment :)