19 Months

I am perpetually behind these days. My most frequently asked question is this: how in the world do people manage more than two children?? They are cut from sturdier cloth than I am, for sure. So, I am late posting about Adrienne, who officially turned 19 months last week. Maybe I am late posting about this milestone because she is so into EVERYTHING, ALL THE TIME, that I don't have a spare second to document. Yes, that must be the reason why. I am almost more frenzied and frazzled at this stage than I was when she was a newborn. Seriously. OK, a few tidbits about this busy little girl....

-She is pretty darn polite and uses conversational phrases appropriately. She says 'thank you' whenever given something, without being asked--usually, she'll thank you specifically for whatever it is you gave her ("Thank you milk, Mama"). She also greets me with a full "Good morning, Mama!" when I enter her room, and randomly bursts into song to wish her daddy happy birthday (for almost a month straight now)--"Happy Day, Daddy..." I have also started hearing, "Sorry, Jillian" (she suddenly started adding the "n" to Jillian's name last week) whenever I get after the girls for arguing/fighting over toys, etc. and she tells her sister goodnight without prompting ("Good night, Jillian").

-She is a master at imitation. She imitates everything she hears and sees. This is mostly with Jillian, but she also does it to me. As a result, I often hear "stop it" or "just a minute"....so I guess I perhaps say those phrases too often. To compare what that "skill" is like in a 4 year old, I was told "Mom, I am tired of your behavior" this morning. Awesome. Nothing like your children shoving your words right back in your mouth. Have I mentioned I think it is really hard to be a mom????  When we are eating dinner as a family, Jillian tells Matt about her day. You can bet that within 3 seconds of her finishing her tales, Adrienne is repeating as many of those same words back to tell her dad about her day, too. She wants whatever Jillian wants, and will pretty much do whatever she says. Her best weapon in a sibling brawl is still her shrill scream. It. Is. Ear. Piercing. And totally awful.

Two peas in a pod. I never get tired of dressing them alike. Jillian was dressed first on this day...guess who wanted to be just like her???

-She is into wearing her food. She feeds herself proficiently with utensils, but when things are soupy, all bets are off. She is passionate about oatmeal and yogurt. When I go to clean her up she tells me, "I do it myself". Got it.

-She is now interested in crafts and coloring. She will scribble for long periods of time, and likes to use stickers. When I picked her up at the RAC today, she was very proud of her craft. She made sure she showed it to Jillian when she got home from school.

-She loves to sing. She requests Itsy Bitsy Spider ("Eee Bee Pider") , Good Morning To You ("Good Morning To you, Baby"), and Happy Birthday (as mentioned above). Pat-A-Cake is another favorite. She is all in for living room dance parties, and shakes her little tush like nobody else I know. Her giggle is  infectious, her hugs are tight and sincere, and she can instantly melt a heart with that big toothy grin. What's not to love about this 19 month old? OK, maybe that toddler whine....