And…20 months! Which means we are inching closer and closer to that 2 year mark. Where has the time gone?! My oh my how our little girl is growing up. She now regularly says “I love you” and “I miss you” (both to us and to her toys), which melts my heart every time I hear it. Miss H is still eating like a champ, sleeping like a champ, and singing and dancing like a maniac!
On the flip side, Miss H is definitely starting down the road to throwing tantrums. She is very vocal when she doesn’t get her way for the simplest things, and we’re now at the point where I feel like we need to figure out some better parenting tactics when she does that – my current go-to is to let her stand in the corner (or wherever she runs to for pouting/crying in the heat of the moment) and fuss. But while some tantrums are little and silly, others feel more justified. We do a nanny share where the other family hosts it, and Miss H does not like having to leave her buddy at the end of the day! She of course wants to stay and play with toys and wants nothing to do with putting on her coat and hat. Poor kid! She’s so happy there and I think gets frustrated when we have to rush off.
Our “state of the family” right now is this:
What we’ve learned: Not to climb into your child’s crib! I thought it would be fun one night to read stories with Miss H in her crib. She loved having me in there and I felt like the parent of the year! Until I had to put her to bed and leave. She was devastated and it was heartbreaking. After that bedtime was a bit rocky until very recently – we’re now back to a bedtime routine that involves no crying when I put Miss H into her crib and say goodnight. Instead of cries I hear, “Night night Mama. See you [in the] morning.”
What we’re enjoying right now: Miss H loves to clean! She helps Swiffer the floor and likes to pick up all the “yuckies.” She also is very good with this whole child proofing thing, as she always makes sure all of the cabinet locks are locked and the bathroom doors are shut!
What our biggest struggles are: Definitely the tantrums. Miss H has such a short fuse and gets upset so quickly over little things. We need to learn how to handle these better.
What has been Miss H’s most exciting milestone: Singing. Miss H could sing all day long. This summer she started learning the ABCs and now that those are mastered, she likes to sing “The Itsy Bitsy Spider” and “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.” It’s so adorable listening to her sing her heart out!
What we’re looking forward to: Having a potty trained kid! We’re slowly starting this process but trying not to force the issue. However, Miss H is prone to some pretty bad rashes so we cannot wait until she’s out of a diaper 24/7.
Because I’m feel like gushing a little more about Miss H, here are a few more photos from our 20 month photo shoot:
Don’t be fooled, she asked for this bow in her hair!
The bow promptly fell out, though, as she rolled around on our bed!
guest
She is so adorable – love her smile.
Do you mind sharing where her striped dress is from?
blogger / pomegranate / 3491 posts
Aren’t those I Love You’s the greatest?!
blogger / nectarine / 2600 posts
Aww she is so sweet
pomegranate / 3053 posts
Aww… she’s such a sweetie! My youngest just turned 21-months today and I know ALL about tantrums. He’s had them for a while now. The best thing to do (like you said) is to let them get over it on their own. I used to sit by him, but now I just walk away but not far so I can still see him tantrum. It has gotten better from multiple ones a day to maybe once or twice a week? It’s such a tough part of toddler-hood b/c they can’t completely communicate with you yet so they get frustrated, hence, the tantrums. I’m trying to teach my youngest how to speak more but it’s tough b/c taking care of two means having less time to spend with each. He wants to learn and can learn really quickly too. But I know once he starts talking more and I will start to miss all the cute things that comes out of their mouths learning how to speak.
Oh, and one thing that I’ve learned from my 4.5 y.o. is to warn ahead of time what’s going to happen next. For example, I always tell him about 5-10 minutes before we have to leave anywhere. Otherwise, he will start crying instantly b/c we have to leave. If I prepare him mentally, he’ll be better. Still doesn’t want to leave but won’t be leaving in a crying fit. I’m trying this with my 21-month-old so we’ll see how it goes!
apricot / 279 posts
Oh boy! I cannot wait for the “I Love Yous”. When LO was 6 months I longed for the day with kisses and then we got them at 9 months! It was the best thing ever to ask for a kiss and got more than one smooch. Miss H is so beautiful and quite humorous with the tantrum expressions. I also love all her outfits. Have she gone to the zoo and aquarium yet?
GOLD / wonderful pomegranate / 28905 posts
I love these updates because my LO is the same age!
pomelo / 5678 posts
How my gosh! I have goosebumps from cuteness! Do you mind sharing where her doll is from? Miss H is such a heartmelter
blogger / wonderful cherry / 21616 posts
I love her doll! where did you get it?
blogger / apricot / 366 posts
@Erin: the dress is from Gap! It was a Christmas gift from her nanny, so I’m not sure if they still have it/when she purchased it.
@Greentea: & @Mrs. Pen: Thanks! I actually made the doll. It’s a pattern from Retromama on Etsy; I also sell custom dolls in my Etsy shop w/ this pattern – http://www.etsy.com/shop/SewKooky
@Mrs. Confetti: today she told the dog “I love you Charlie.” The cutest!
@erwoo: Thank you for sharing your tantrum strategy! Ugh it is tough.
@Snowybreeze: We’ve done the zoo a couple of times but she gets a little board. It’s tough if all of the animals end up sleeping while you’re there – hard to catch a toddler’s attention
bananas / 9973 posts
I love little Miss H updates! She is just too adorable! Thanks for the tip on not crawling into the crib. I won’t admit how many times I’ve considered it when trying to get her to sleep.
kiwi / 538 posts
My son just turned 21 months and UGH the tantrums lately have been the worst! He can be the sweetest little boy and then BAM- a complete meltdown. I’ve tried the ignoring and unfortunately it just seems to make things worse- 3 times in the last week the tantrums have ended with him throwing up :(. Glad to hear other people are going through it because we are just so frustrated.
blogger / eggplant / 11551 posts
Omygosh too funny that you climbed into her crib with her!! It reminds me of this one youtube video I watched awhile back… will have to dig it up for you.
blogger / clementine / 998 posts
wow loves to clean and childproof her own house? that’s a keeper
admin / watermelon / 14210 posts
she’s so happy and cute!