Audrey - 20 months

Audrey,

I know we are still 4 months away from your 2nd birthday, but I think we've hit the "terrible twos!" Some of your favorite things to say this month are "No, Mama!" and "No, Mama! Stop!" I think you enjoy climbing up on the table and doing other things Mama has told you are dangerous or not allowed, over and over and over, just to ruffle Mama's feathers! When you don't get your way, you will sometimes scream or throw a little fit, but Mama tries to stick to her guns. I consider myself a pretty patient person, but I have a feeling you're really going to test that character trait.

Despite the defiance, you really are a sweet little girl. You've been signing "thank you" for a long time now, but you are finally saying it too, though it sounds more like, "Dank a." Your vocabulary continues to expand at the speed of light. You repeat everything we say, and you are using short sentences almost all the time. "Two" and "too" are probably your favorite words this month. You can count to five, though you often get stuck on or skip three all together. But two is your favorite, and you love to count things that come in twos. You also love the word "too" and definitely know the distinction even though they sound the same and you don't know they are spelled differently. If someone is doing something, you'll say, "Audrey, too!" Mama may say, "Dada, Audrey had tomatoes from the garden for lunch." And you will chime in, "Cheese, too!" Those are just a couple examples, but you find a way to fit that word in often.

Your hair is finally just long enough to put in pigtails now! Mama thinks you are the cutest thing ever and tries to put them in every day, but you are not too fond of it!

Your rain boots are your favorite accessory and you wear them every chance you get. You absolutely must wear them when you go to pick in the garden, and the other night you wouldn't eat dinner unless you had them on.

You loved watching the Olympics this month! The first time you saw gymnastics on the television, you were completely in awe. When the routine stopped, you rolled around on the ground, stood up and put your hands in the air, and said, "Ta da!" It was so completely adorable! You try to do the "balance beam," and love to say, "Mark, set, GO!" and run as fast as you can.

We still aren't pushing the potty training. You don't tell us when you have to go yet, but you go when we put you on. You even did poo poo on the potty for the first time the other day, all by yourself!

Your cousin Blake turned 1 this month, and you had so much fun at his party. You love playing with him and all his new toys, but you especially love building with his Mega Blocks. You love them so much that Mama had to get you some of your own. You build castles as tall as you can, then knock them down, only to build them back up all over again.

As always, you frustrate and challenge me on a daily basis, but you continue to inspire me and open my mind and heart in new and more wonderful ways. I love more than words and count myself blessed to be your Mama.

Love you "much," sweetheart!
Mama