Kate @ 20-22 Months of Age

Yes, this is VERY late, but here are some of the things I jotted down about Kate when she was 20-22 months old or thereabouts. :o)

• She loves to point to her toes, hold up her foot so you can see her toes, etc., etc., and then say, "TOES!"
• She is really great about sitting still in my lap to get her hair fixed or to put her socks and shoes on.
• She likes to give people five!
• She recognizes many letters of the alphabet! I am amazed at how much she has learned in such a short amount of time. She LOVES to play with her LeapFrog refrigerator letter magnets. (She likes the animal ones too, but she is especially enamored with the letters ("uht-ers") lately.)
• She has a new interest in books and likes to look at a few in her crib (when we let her) before going to sleep.
• For a good while, she LOVED it when we would sing "The Wheels on the Bus" or "The Itsy-Bitsy Spider" and did the motions. She did her own version of the motions, too. This was especially a favorite thing to do at meal times.
• Speaking of the motions, one day we were singing the bus song, and she just started making these repetitive movements with her hands. It took me a few minutes, but then I realized that she had learned motions to the song (motions I didn't even know!). It was so cute--she had learned them at preschool.
• Tanna has been teaching her left from right. He laughs at my skepticism and vows that they will show me!
  
• Kate loves to run, and she loves to climb--still!
• She LOVES to climb stairs. I mean, she is practically obsessed with stairs. We don't any in our home, so when she sees them, she gets excited and says, "Stairs!" You should have seen her at the beach house where we stayed. She could not get enough of those stairs, and we were constantly trying to keep her off of the staircase.

• It has been amazing to watch her vocabulary develop. We are so thankful for her speech progress, especially in such a short amount of time. Some of our favorite words/phrases during this time period are "Jesus," "cookies," "applesauce," "love you," "bless you," "poopy" and "It's OK."
• She has learned the word "no" and does not hesitate to use it (even if she means "yes").
  
• She went through a big clapping phase. Anytime she saw someone clapping (in real life or on television), she would stop and clap. Sometimes, she would kind of babble for a minute and then yell "YAY!" and clap, clap, clap. Adorable. (I think this came from some of her class activities in preschool.)
  
• She is obsessed with Miss PattyCake and Snoopy. She asks for them by name, and wants to watch her DVDs all the time. ("Miss PattyCake" is "CaCakes," but her "Snoopy" is pretty clear.) She also loves her Miss PattyCake doll and sometimes plays with her/asks for her/wants her in the crib--this is big, as Kate hasn't really been a big doll person.
• Kate loves to have her teeth brushed. Tanna usually does this when he is here, and it is a special time for them.
• The tantrums have started, and Kate is definitely not afraid to express her disdain for a situation.
• Kate and I like to go get the mail together each evening. It is a fun part of our day. While I am checking the mailbox, she likes to explore the lobby for a minute and greet passersby.
  
• She likes to name body parts and knows just about all of them--even some of the more obscure ones like elbow, chin, etc. She likes to point to her body and name parts, and she also likes to point them out on others.
  
• She loves shoes and often will get them out of her shoe holder and bring them to me to put on. Too bad we don't wear shoes in the house.
• She also is obsessed with stars, circles and hearts. She constantly asks for us to draw them for her, and she will point them out when she sees them. We were at the mall one day, and she starts exclaiming "Star! Star!" I finally realized that there was a lady walking toward us with a Macy's bag (the ones with the big red star).

• She recognizes family members and has learned their names. She has a few photo albums and loves to point to relatives and name them--or she will point to them and have one of us name everyone in the photos.
• She finished her first half-semester of preschool. (We got a late start.) She LOVED school and--after the first few weeks of getting used to it--was so excited to go two days a week. She learned so much and had a lot of fun, too!
• She loves to eat with a fork--even some foods (like cheese toast or a fruit bar) that are normally finger foods. Sometimes, if she isn't eating something well, we will put it on a fork, and she will then chow down!
• Kate has an obsession with crayons and coloring. Her preschool teacher said that Kate really loves arts/crafts projects and activities, which I can totally see.
• She loves flash cards. Another favorite: Play-Doh--either the dough itself or just the little mini containers.
  
• For a while Kate did this funny thing where she would pat on her chest to indicate herself and say "Mama," like she was calling herself "Mama." Then she would say, "No, Kate." Then she would smile or laugh. Back when I was trying to get her to say "Mama," I would pat on my chest and say, "Mama," and she would copy me. Then I would say, "No, you are Kate; I am Mama." So I think this is where this little game originated. She still does it every once in a while. Funny girl!
• Kate loves buses--well, she loves cars, too. But she seems to especially love buses. She has a couple of toy buses that are big hits around here. And while we were at the beach, she adopted one of Anna-Claire's Little People buses. Apparently, it was a Happy Meal toy. Anna-Claire's parents let Kate have it, and A-C didn't seem to miss it--making Kate one happy little girl. Thanks, guys!
  
• She loves to go, go, go!