22 Months

Harper is now 22 months old. She's continually amazing us each and every day with things she says or remembers. I can't believe how big she is and how quickly time has gone.

We are now semi-potty training. When we're home and it's a usual time she would poop, we offer for her to sit on the potty, which she's usually happy to do. If she goes pee pee she gets a heart sticker. Though since we're not doing it with any regularity or consistency, this rarely happens. If she goes poop, she gets a heart sticker and a ladybug sticker (her favorite). She's done this about 5 times now, so she definitely understands. She is still having a bit of trouble telling us BEFORE she goes, and usually tells us "potty" after her diaper is dirty. But we're working on it. I'm not really willing to dive right in to potty training at this point in life, when things are about to get really hectic with a new baby. But just getting her used to it and familiar is a good start.

She has finally started speaking the words "please" and "thank you" after strictly signing them for so long. Daddy and I view this as a huge deal! Signing has obviously been great for her, but it's so wonderful to hear her say it. Of course, she still signs them AS she says it, which is just too cute.

She has started climbing in and out of bed on her own, though she still doesn't get out when she's not "supposed" to. In the mornings she still waits patiently for one of us to come get her after she wakes up.

She has discovered jumping, and is trying very hard to learn how to do it. She squats down and pops up, but usually only gets one leg in the air. She thinks she's actually jumping, which makes the whole scene just too adorable. I will definitely be getting it on video soon.

She's getting better at her numbers. Tonight we were reading a book that counts on each page, and on the second page she said "two!".

Ever since we moved into her big girl bed, she LOVES story time before going to sleep. What's especially interesting to me is that when we let her choose the story to read, she always chooses an actual story like one of the Max Lucado children's books we have. They're rather long and detailed stories usually, with an awesome message in each one. But such a departure from what she likes to read during the day which are books about animals or counting. We obviously love ending her day with a great message about how God loves her, so we have no problem with it. After her story, it's "Amen!" time, which she says over and over and folds her hands so we don't forget our bedtime prayers. So sweet. She also has been our accountability at the dining table and will call us out if we forgot to pray before we ate. Sometimes we're in the middle of eating, and she'll reach out and grab my hand and say "Amen!" which of course makes us stop to thank God for many blessings.

We're loving this time with our girl, even with the struggles it brings. She's gotten a bit difficult to take just anywhere, and I really have to make sure everything is working in our favor if I take her to run errands with me. If we're close to naptime or a teeny bit grumpy, I won't do it. I'll either wait until Daddy is home to watch her or Daddy can come with us. It's just not worth my sanity to try to push her at this age. I know it's only a phase, and thankfully she's still very good at the grocery store.

6 more weeks of her being an only child makes me realize that life is about to change drastically. I'm hoping to hold on to every moment I can and treasure this time we have together before brother arrives.