G at 20 months

Twenty months old! And the past month has been the busiest, and fullest month of her little life...at least that I can recall.

nearly 20 months old

 G has made some fun intellectual leaps. I would like to credit myself with teaching her, but I also know a lot of the credit has to go to her amazing brain.
G can identify an item of the correct color when asked, including choosing the correct crayon -- as in, she knows her colors (she actually learned them about 2 weeks ago)!! I'm so proud. (Sometimes she gets confused with similar shades; like a very purplish pink, etc...)
She can also identify a few letters and knows most simple shapes, too.

She is getting really good at coloring. She has made attempts to stay in the lines on color pages. My husband said once, "I think she's better than some 3 year olds!" I don't think that's really true, but she's certainly better than most 1.5 year olds. I ask her to "color cookie monster's hands" and she does, "color cookie monster's feet" and she does! Impressive, no?
I've not tried painting with her yet, after the debacle that was finger painting Christmas 2011. Perhaps soon.
She's still a puzzle master, and figures out peg puzzles for two year olds almost instantly. My mom got out a jigsaw type puzzle for three year olds, and that's still a bit above her. I assume she could figure it out if we practiced a lot (how to put pieces together, not that they'd make the right picture or all fit together, though, that takes some serious advancement).
She has a good imagination, especially for a kid so young. We play pretend a lot, and she loved playing with a doll house that my mother-in-law got out for her while we were there on Sunday. She also plays well independently.
I love watching her make connections around her, and understanding more and more about the world. She learned the word different this month, and from it's original use ('mom, I'd like a different song on the radio, please'), she's started using it for other things (different diaper, different drink, different toy). It's nice to see her translate meaning in appropriate situations.
G can predict what's coming in her favorite stories. This is indicated by making sounds, noises, or saying one of few words that she uses. For instance, in her book "Caps for Sale" she knows when the caps are about to be taken by the monkeys and she does this "where'd they go" motion, says "doh-day-doh" (where'd they go?), and pretends to look around...I encourage this by prodding her to tell me what happens next.
She understands all directions (has been doing so for a while) and has recently started pushing buttons to see how far she can go...so we've implemented time out.

I don't consider G to be too far behind linguistically, because she comprehends everything and communicates really well. She always has. I think that because she was so advanced with understanding and using non-verbal communications as an infant, she doesn't think it needs to change now (since it served her so well for over a year). The sad fact is that she is not speaking many words clearly, so that's why she's technically 'behind' in this department. I believe she thinks her 'attempts' at words are fine, and though I try to prod her to say the right word, I look at it like potty training--I can't force her to speak in understandable words. She excels at everything else, so my 'excuse' for it is that her brain is busy doing all the other things that are months or years ahead...her words will catch up. I often think it may be an Einstein case...but only time will tell for the IQ thing, because they don't test for several more years. She is definitely a thinker and a tinker-er. She loves to build, color, take things apart, use tools, etc...

pointing to the kitty at my parents' house (exactly 20 months old)

G's words (you could probably understand the italicized ones and bolded words are said frequently without prodding):
Yeah!, there, that, Dad, Dad-da, Dee-de (mommy...ugh!), Grammie (Dammie), Ball, Baby (recent favorite), Please (Puh-Puh), Different (Diiit-Dit), No (also no-no), Up, Pizza, Peace (so cute for mass), mine, me, row (row, row, row your boat), roo and pooh, dog, noodle, yo-yo, and recently yellow/blue/red have been heard clearly.

She understands what I say, but when I ask her to repeat or say words, she either shakes her head or says duhduh...She can make more sounds than she uses in words (as indicated from the fact she makes every animal noise in the book)...so I don't know if it's a lazy thing, a physical development thing (like her mouth doesn't know how to connect sounds), or what... I am a bit annoyed, not at her, just at the fact that I've done plenty of 'right' things, but yet it seems like she is "far" behind on paper. I'm not worried about her hearing at all because she can hear a pin drop, and because she does have words that are said correctly. She can also tell the difference between very similar words (like Grandma and Grammie, as indicated by pointing to the correct person in her picture book). I'll give it a few more months before pursuing any 'therapies' or anything....the positive thing to note is that she makes progress with sounds and words nearly every day. We never did baby sign language, but I showed her more once, and she latched on to it. Even now if I ask her to 'say' more, she will use the sign. It's pretty interesting.

G's still helps with chores, and we'll see what new ones might come up in the coming months with baby boy's arrival.
She still loves cleaning out the dishwasher, helping cook, cleaning up messes, and her newest favorite is dusting. She recently helped me clean the car (and wiped her car down too). She also likes to help swiffer, but I have to redo her area. She helps with laundry, including putting things in the washer, in the hamper, in the dryer, and removing from the dryer (folding, not so much). She also loves doing anything with tools, especially if my husband is working with tools too.

G's independence has been really shining through over the past weeks. She picks out her own clothes and shoes, and typically asserts what diaper she wants to wear. She has clear preferences for food, toys and games, books, and even shows. She's pretty assertive with adults, but with other kids, I think she knows that she is small and steers clear of bullies or unfriendly kids. This month she got scratched at the gym, so it must have been a real altercation, since I know she avoids trouble makers. It was outside, and adults didn't see it...so my assumption is she was probably on something another kid wanted right away and they clawed her to claim it. LAME. Moms out there need to cut their kids nails...sheesh! On the topic of injuries. G has gotten a bit more adventurous. My once cautious babe is now climbing with the best of them and has fallen twice. She got a nasty goose egg on her forehead that made me feel like a horrible mother and she got a semi-busted lip. All three occured in the same week....She looked pretty banged up :-(

Independent eater: 

This month I put potty training on super hold (re: put the potty away), since there was no progress, perhaps even regression. I hope to pick it back up soon. G went through a nasty bout of teething that affected her moods and also took a long time to get her to fall asleep. Thankfully she still slept through the nights. Since we are now on the road with the moving chaos, I've been having to stay in the room for her to fall asleep. I know this is a terrible habit, but I realize how scary it must be to be so transient as a kid. She's got to have tons of baby stress and anxiety from all the unsettledness. We'll re-sleep train when we get into our house and her room is set up.

"schedule"
wake up around 7:30 am
nap around 1:30 pm
wake up around 3 pm
bed time around 9 pm (usually not asleep until 9:30)

Favorites:
Elmo
Baby dolls, especially her new Caillou doll she got on the plane ride to Kansas
marching
dancing
being tickled
Ellen (Seriously LOVES her)
magnets
going to the park
story time at the library
helping in the kitchen
playing at the gym
her little outside car
play houses (really want to get her one for Christmas)
Monkeys and the book Caps for Sale
walks around the block in stroller
Winnie the Pooh books
putting money in piggy bank
CHOICES
helping pay at the store (sure fire way to get her out of one, if she's not in a cart)
animals and animals noises of all types
getting anything that is called "hers"

Dislikes:
The windows being down in the car -- ugh! annoying...actually she dislikes anything that seems "out of the ordinary" to her, and since the windows were up all summer due to the heat (and A/C), she doesn't know how to handle the cooler weather outside = windows down...she throws a BIG fit.
When I or my husband are doing something, or looking at something, and she can't have that exact thing...even if we give her a similar item.  

It's been a great month, baby girl, can't wait to see you grow into an even bigger girl :-) Love you so much!!!! You're my good sweet girl XOXO Momma