K is 22 Months Old!

I feel like K's development accellerates exponentially with each passing month. This month began with our trip to St. Louis/Dallas. And on the way home on the plane, K was looking out the window and just started singing all of the words to "Tinkle" (Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star). Don't get me wrong, we've heard her sing before, lots of times. However, all of those times before, it was typically words we could not understand to her own little tune. Now, she was singing an actual song with actual words, and she actually knew them! Patrick and I just stared at her in amazement. Only a few hours later, she started singing her ABCs! I just about fell over. It's just crazy that a year ago, her only words were not much more than "Mama" and "Dada." And now she was singing "Tinkle" and her "ABCs"!

She is still counting from 1 to 16, and sometimes to 20, but it all depends on the day. For about a week, she was skipping number 12 altogether. And sometimes, she just wants to start with number 8! I know that I've said this before, but K is an expert procrastinator when it comes to naptime or bedtime. She asks for everything she can think of: juice, milk (which she refuses to drink at any time of the day), water, her Hello Kitty, her Pooh bear, her other bear, her baby, etc. So, one morning, I was putting her down for a nap and she asked for her "buh-hee" (bunny) out of her toy box. When I gave her the bunny, she said "two buh-hees". When I gave her another bunny, she said "three buh-hees". I could not believe my ears! She could actually understand and comprehend that two was more than one, and three was more than two.

And her speech and vocabulary are improving and expanding every single day. In response to a question, one of her new favorite things to say is, "Nope. Fine." (Nope, I'm fine.) For example, when I ask her if she wants me to change her diaper, she responds with "Nope. Fine." I get the same response if I ask her to clean up her toys, or if she wants to take a nap! K rarely says "yes" in response to a question. Even when she means yes, she will say "Uh, huh," rather than "yes." But, it is a vast improvement from just "huh," which she has said for quite a few months. For the longest time, I would just repeat myself because I thought she meant "pardon me," but really she was saying "yes" in her own little lingo. She has recently learned my and Patrick's names. Sometimes, we'll be walking in the store, and she will say "Aiy-ka" (Erica) when she wants to get my attention. She has also started using "Mommy" more, rather than just "Mama," and I have to say that it breaks my heart! My baby is growing up to fast!

She is really getting too smart for her own good, as she has become an expert at opening the childproof locks on the cabinets! She knows how to press them down to open the cabinets, and then press them down again to close the doors. A few times, I have come into the kitchen and found her pulling out all of her plates, bowls, and utensils, and she is getting very picky about which color sippy cup she drinks from that day. I'm in the process now of replacing the childproof locks to something she has not yet figured out, so that I won't have to do so many dishes!

Patrick always jokes with me that I made him a germ-a-phobe with some of my OCD tendencies with regard to germs. I noticed the other day that K might be picking up some of my OCD, as well. We needed to wash our hands when we were out and about, so I had to take K into a public restroom, which I absolutely hate doing. After we washed and dried our hands, I headed over to open the door with a hand towel, and I noticed K pulling her sleeve over her hand in order not to touch the door handle when she opened it. It was hilarious!

Our little bag lady: K loaded her pram up with all of her toys, including her grocery basket and play food