LOGAN AT 22 MONTHS

This is the most brilliant of times! She still has some of the baby in her (thanks to the extra chub) but she is also growing into a little girl, and seeing both of them in her is so insanely fun. She also makes me feel completely in despair when she wakes up for the third time in the middle of the night with a nightmare, doesn't want to go back to sleep, and it's the fourth night in a row that it has happened. And then she has this amazing ability to make me completely forget that despair with her big grin and happy bounce when I come greet her in the morning. What a world!

She already has some opinions about what she wears, which was not the case for Sloane at her age, but Sloane has a full range of opinions now on her wardrobe, so maybe that is what Lola is picking up on these days. She is especially partial to dinosaurs.

Some of her favorite phrases are "mama up" and "more please" and "my ----- (insert any sort of food or toy that she is claiming at that moment)", and just as of this week I heard her say "I'll do it!" but not too much else. She usually uses one word to communicate and we all pretty much get what she is trying to say. Although sometimes, it's five minutes of "this?" "no." "this?" "no." "do you mean this?" "no."…."this?" "Yes!!!"  I think Sloane was looked back at what Sloane was communicating at 22 months, and apparently she was saying more and stringing words together into sentences at this time. Each kid grows at their own pace and needs and I'm not comparing for the sake of anything else other than reference, but it does make me wonder if Lola doesn't feel a need to do this quite yet because she has an older sister who advocates for her so well.  Birth order? Personality? Fascinating. 

Another thing I've noticed more and more about little Lola is that she usually feels things first before she processes it. Again, this is in contrast to the older one who observes and processes intently and then I usually have to draw out her feelings.  The younger one feels all the things first and I have to help her process what those feelings are.  It's so interesting!

Lola is my love bug, she loves cuddling and I soak it all up. She is extremely squeezeable these days. Interestingly, she really doesn't like cuddling laying down in bed. It's like she feels stifled or is afraid that she will fall asleep or something? She will not cuddle in bed! She does plenty of cuddling, hugging and "tissing" as long as I'm sitting down or upright.

She loves a variety of food, but not all at once. Sometimes she will eat all the green beans and mushrooms on her plate and only a few bites of chicken, other times all she wants to eat is rice, sometimes she wants to eat the spicy broccoli, red cabbage, carrot, and quinoa salad that I'm eating but not her mac and cheese.  One morning she will eat all the roasted zucchini and squash on her breakfast plate but not the eggs, the next morning it's the opposite.  Because I know this about her, I'm consistent in giving her foods that she has refused before, and without fail, she will eventually take to anything I give her.  She is an enthusiastic eater for the most part, and usually eat just as much as Sloane, and usually more.  She will always eat her fruit, in great quantities. Between her, Sloane, and me, we have to capacity to eat a crazy amount of fruit. 

Anytime she notices someone around her eating something different than her, she will get very interested and toddle over to get a glance. "Bite??" She'll say motioning at my plate, which means, "Can I have a bite?" She will try things even when I tell her it's spicy. And then try it again. 

A couple of months ago, we started noticing her pointing out different colors, and recently she has been counting to ten! In pretty much the most adorable way I have ever seen. We also go through and say the alphabet together, although only about half of her letters are comprehensible. 

As much as her full cries can be jarring and exhausting, especially in the middle of the night, there is still a part of me that finds it adorable. She still wants to be held a lot, mostly by me, and will often tuck her head into the space between my head and neck to cuddle. Don't forget this feeling, don't forget this feeling, ill chant to myself as I hold her even tighter to me 

She has this way of making eye contact and smiling at you that is so sweet and charming because it is in a way that really sees you. Although she is still in the phase where she prefers me and her family the most, she loves people, and at daycare apparently she is a social butterfly, rallying troops and making friends with old kids and babies alike. 

I love getting to know her, and these months leading up to two years feels like an especially special time. I love you my little Lola!