Blog | 23 Months!
Our little “Hollywood” munchkin is 23 months old today – pretty shocking if you ask me! She is getting so big (and heavy), and every day she surprises us with something new. I am not sure about her weight and height, but I will find out this weekend and post it later. I do believe she has gone through a growth spurt lately – she used to try to hold the rail while walking down the stairs, but it was a little too high for her. Now she can mostly hang on. And gaging by my tired arms, she is definitely gaining weight…
Ever since we bought these sunglasses two weeks ago, Brianna is rarely without them (unless she can’t find them). She has taken them to school twice, and basically worn them the entire day. She LOVES her squeaky shoes and her “clunky” shoes (those that make nice stomping noises). Let’s just say she is not interested in creeping up on anyone… By the way, I am not at all responsible for the cat print hair band/pink polka dot sunglasses/red sweater ensemble she is donning in this picture…she is entering that very fun (and seemingly color blind) stage that all children seem to go through. 
She is our little chatter box and seems to say something new everyday. Just this morning she said her first self-generated and completely clear sentence. Now, I believe she has been uttering complete sentences fairly regularly for the past month or two, but there is always a word or two that is not quite clear, so I don’t really give her credit for those. She also regularly repeats sentences she hears us say (e.g., shut the door, say good-bye, etc.). But this morning’s sentence is one we believe she created all by herself to express her thoughts at the time. While drinking her mango smoothie this morning (this is her first mango smoothie made specially for her by Jason), she said “It tastes good!” We must have looked a little surprised, because she then repeated the phrase over and over again while grinning from ear to ear. Also, she seemed to be telling me about her day this evening. I asked her what happened to Max (her teacher told me most of this story so I knew what to expect). Brianna told me “he hit his head.” When I asked why, she said “Jayson pushed him.” When I asked her what she did, she said “hug Max and pat his head.” She then told me “Max o.k.” As you can see, she is getting very good at expressing herself. Now, if we could just get her to say “yes” when she really means yes, and “no” when she really means no…
She seems to know her colors, but doesn’t consistently identify them on cue. I believe she knows them because she will spontaneously point to something (usually a car or truck) and correctly identify its color (especially if it is pink, white, green, yellow, or orange). But when I ask her what color something is, about 50% of the time she says green…stinker… She is also learning her shapes, and seems comfortable with circle, square, and rectangle. Triangle was the shape for this week, so she is still grasping that one. She is very, very good at correctly identifying animals (hippo, sheep, kitty, puppy, horse, duck, goose, pig, gator, monkey, cow, etc.), though she sometimes uses their sounds instead of their name.
She is still a really good eater, though she has gotten a little more particular about what veggies she will eat. Her current favorites are orange sauce (pureed carrots and sweet potatoes), pea sauce (pureed peas mixed with applesauce and apricots), and occasionally broccoli. She still loves most fruit, and is particularly fond of yogurt mixed with jam, cheese, and most any cracker. I discovered this evening that she really seems to like fish. Usually, I put a little chicken or turkey on her plate with dinner (or beans if we are not having meat). And she eats some, but rarely all. I have even given her some beef, but had the same results. Tonight I gave her Tilapia in a citrusy/limey coating (from Whole Foods) and she ate it all up and asked for more. I would say she ate at least one whole piece of fish by the time she was done. I’ll have to try that again!
As of tomorrow, all of her school buddies will officially be two. Only one more month to go before she catches up to them!
