So it’s time for a quarterly update, even though I’m tired and have a cup of hot tea and some reality TV awaiting me. (Years from now, this will prove to my daughter just how dedicated a mother I was.) Lillian Pearl is just one “quarter” shy of two years old! That will be the next update! I can’t believe what a big girl she’s getting to be. (And by big, I don’t mean “big,” because she is still only about 20 lbs.)
Lily has added a lot of words to her vocabulary since 18 months, and she is now regularly combining words and forming phrases and even two to three word sentences. For example, yesterday she said “Anga poo-poo, pee-pee, ou-side.” (Poo poo and pee pee have been BIG topics of discussion lately, and it is important to distinguish exactly WHERE these acts are carried out by everyone we know.) She is also using possessives, and she is possessive. “Mommy wa-wa. Daddy wa-wa. Lely wa-wa,” and lots of “Mine!” accompanied by grabbing an item and holding it with both arms pressed against her chest. We love hearing her use her name, which is currently pronounced Leh-ly. We recently went to the zoo, and she would greet each animal (”an-mal”) with a hearty “Hi!” then introduce herself by patting her chest and saying, “Lely.” She would likewise bid each animal farewell when she had finished viewing it. “Bye-bye, turtee,” she said to the tortoises. I would like to commit to memory the vision of her laughing and running down the path toward a kangaroo (which are not caged at the KC Zoo, but roam freely in a certain area), excitedly patting her chest and calling “Lely! Lely!”
A few of our other favorite new words to hear are: “sorry” (said in a most empathetic tone, and often appropriately when she has accidently pulled my hair or stepped on my foot, and I’ve said “Ouch!”); “morning” (called out cheerfully when we get her out of her crib — though she was typically screaming just moments before); “Buddy” (which we sometimes call Angus — “Hi, Buddy!” she’ll say when she sees him); “money” (she is fascinated with money and asks for it, particularly when she is passing through the kitchen with her purse and doll stroller, presumably on her way to do some shopping); “silly” (used suprisingly appropriately when Mommy or Daddy is being goofy); “cracker” (pronounced “cack-ca”); and loads more words that still sound so funny to be coming from such a tiny little person. She seems to add a couple of new words each day. She also says several colors (bu, geen, yellow — not “lello”, ornj, pink, back), but is not assigning the correct word to the color yet. All numbers are “nine.” She likes to get on the digital bathroom scale, then announce proudly “Nine!” when her weight appears.
Lily loves to be outside! This is a bit challenging in the Midwest in February, but thankfully we have had several 60+ degree days peppered throughout this winter. Bill said the other day that he doesn’t know how we’re going to keep this child indoors at all once the weather warms up. She loves the slide at the parks, really enjoys the zoo these days, and wants to play in the backyard any chance she gets.
She is enjoying the little red kitchen that Santa brought her for Christmas. She will even play by herself for 10-20 minutes at a time, so Mommy is also loving the red kitchen. She will busy herself over there with her back to me, then eventually set a plate on her little table and call, “Mommy, num-num!” which is my cue to come enjoy a sumptuous homecooked meal.
Lily is going through a bit of a diva phase (wait, is it a phase if it has been pretty much life-long?), in that she does not perform on command. Ask her what does the sheep say in front of a grandparent or family friend, and she will say “No!” and turn away. I assume such questions now need to go through her agent.
She loves, loves, loves Angus. And Angus tolerates her beautifully. I think he’s actually starting to really like her — and not just because of the millions of treats she gives him, often when we’re not looking. She climbs on his back and tries to ride him like a horse. She pets him, hugs him, nearly strangles him. She wants to put dog cookies in his treat ball. She brushes him endlessly with her doll comb. She bastes him with my basting brush (which she has now inherited permanently). She pats her leg and calls him: ” ‘mon, Anga!” I am so pleased to see this fondness develop, because I think a love of animals culitvates compassion and empathy for all living things.
Oh, wow. Now that I’ve started, I realize I could go on and on. “Write it down” is the consummate advice of veteran parents. I realize the blog has taken the place of the baby book in our case, and I need to transcribe some of these stories.
No photo shoot today — just a last-minute, end of the day, messy-hair, low light and out of focus snapshot of my girlie at 21 months:
