Grace Updates

Here are a few updates on Grace, mainly for me to remember:

• After a few rough weeks during the holidays, she has gotten into a sweet, happy routine.
• She giggles and smiles all day long and only if she is really mad will she throw a fit and scream. The screams are so high pitched and she also does them if she just sees other little kids who she doesn't know or who she does not want close to her.
• She says the following things but mostly only when prompted (except for mama or dada): Mama, Dada, Da (Atticus), shoes, cheese, ball, go (gah), uh-oh, snack (nack), sleep (she doesn't say it but she either tilts her head and gives the most adorable grin OR she will give a fake snore), water (wah), yes (for mostly just the sssss sound) and other than that, that's about it. I'm hoping for some more progress in the next couple of months. She knows everything we are talking about because she will go pick things up that we ask of her or go to a room we ask of her or will shake her head no or give a big shake up and down for yes and say "hmm hmm hmm" as if she is murmuring yes. She also just makes noises and acts silly too. I just am not sure why she doesn't speak much. When I do sit her down to work on words and she does them, I praise her and she is so happy! But, if I push too much she just stops and doesn't want to do it anymore. Or she will keep repeating "bah" for every word that is harder that I know she doesn't know well yet and smiles.
• Her favorite toys right now are the 4 paw patrol pups, Doc McStuffins and the doctor kit, pushing buttons on the toy cash register and feeding the toy dinosaur his food. She likes to play with the kitchen too but still needs us to play with her. She also likes to get on her tractor to scoot around and push her shopping cart while Atticus pushes his around. She also likes playing with puzzles right now and does a good job fitting the pieces.
• She is a DANCER! We watch plenty of entertainment TV in the evenings (Dancing with the Stars, America's Got Talent, or other music shows) and she will come grab our hands to go in the living room to dance with her. She loves it. She will spin and dance and at the end, if they are clapping on TV, she immediately claps too. She loves to dance!
• We play a little game if we are on the bed where I tell her to go to sleep and she lays down and does a pretend snore for a few seconds and then wakes up squealing so I will wake up too. She does it over and over.
• For Christmas, Grandma gave her an Anna & Elsa pillowcase so we put a pillow in her bed for the first time. Each night, she happily lays down on it like such a big girl and lets me cover her up and she goes to sleep. By morning, she has moved all over the bed, but she is quickly learning how to use the pillow.
• Her hair is still wild, but growing. I'm about ready to try some foam rollers and see if she would keep them in at night to curl it after a bath. It's soft and sweet and cute though!
• She does NOT like her hands to be dirty. If she notices they are dirty, she will call out to me and I know she wants them washed.
• She is not into arts and crafts much yet. I've tried coloring with her many times but she doesn't stay interested for long yet.
• She loves to be outside. She likes her slide, chalk, loves to swing, loves hide and seek, loves the sand box, and just wants to play. But, she usually needs one of us to be with her.
• She still likes to come grab our hands to take us wherever she wants us to go whether outside or to a room in the house and if you do not go with her, she gets very mad very fast.
• She has a pretty set evening routine with her books these days. She no longer wants to sit in my lap in the rocking chair to read. She picks a book to give to me, walks to her rocking chair, we read it, and then she goes back for another one. This happens over and over for her favorite 6 or 7 books. These books change about every week.
• She has really mastered the "blowing a kiss" concept and will do it without prompting anytime someone is leaving or she is going to bed. She even includes a "mwah!" with it. She also can give great little hugs wrapping her arms completely around your neck.
• She ended her need for the paci around mid-November. We cut off the ends of a few pacis and although she was mad for a day or two, she didn't put up much of a fuss. She still takes them to bed each night but doesn't need them all night long. I think it's more of a routine / habit for her. She will chew on them and run them through her fingers until she falls asleep. But, she does not keep it in her mouth all day. So, I've decided after seeing how easy it was to take it away that paci's will always be ok in my book!
• She is in 18-24 month clothes.
• I think she is trying to cut her molars but feel nothing. This week, she had fever for about 3 days off and on and kept her shirt soaked in drool, but no teeth coming through yet.
• She has gotten picky with eating. She changes her palette every day and we never know what she will like from one day to the next.
• She is the best baby ever as far as waiting for us to come get her in the mornings or after naps and not fussing at all. She just hangs out in her crib. And if we put her to bed and she is not ready, she will just hang out in her bed until she falls asleep.
• In December, we turned her carseat around and she thinks it's the best thing in the world to see out the front of the car.
• She is just such a baby. I remember Atticus seeming to be much older at this age, but Grace loves to be held and carried and snuggled and loved on a lot. Previously, she has had stages of doing what she wants when she wants but now is back to wanting attention and extra love. And, she is definitely not interested in being the center of attention. She is happiest doing her own thing. She's the cutest!