Marli’s 19-Month Update

Wow. I feel like it was just yesterday when I was posting her 18-Month Update and here I am recording another month in the books.  Here’s a little update on Miss M.

PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT: Height: 34 in. |  Weight: 27 lbs. |  Head Circumference: 19.25 in.

Just as I suspected, she sprouted a few more teeth this month so she now has 16 teeth (3 of which have broken the skin and are still growing).  Brushing her teeth was a bit of a struggle this month (due to Terrible Two’s I’m sure), but she is now totally on board with me. Let’s recap the progression of what happened: 
– At first, I would brush her teeth, then let her practice. That worked for a couple months. 
– Then, I had to mix it up and buy her new brushes (with different characters on it so we could rotate them). That worked for like a month.  
– Then, I bought her a new flavor of toothpaste. That worked for a couple weeks until she squeezed too much of Thomas the Train out. Darn.  
– Then, I tried letting her brush, then mommy would try and so forth. I even tried brushing her teeth with 2 brushes at the same time, which made her laugh. I would make ridiculous faces and noises to get her to open her mouth. That worked for about a month.  
– And the final straw was that one (or two) times I had to pin her down on my bed and brush her teeth. She didn’t like that at all. So, now when she puts up a little fight, I remind her that we can go lay on the bed and she promptly says “no.” Haha

CLOTHING: She mostly fits in 2T clothing, but can already fit in some 3T things (mostly tops)! |  Shoes are size 7 |  Still wearing size 4 diapers

SCHEDULE: Her eating and sleeping schedule is still the same, but it’s a bit of a struggle to get her to drink her milk. She averages about 15 oz a day, BUT on the days I notice she’s drinking less, I offer her more dairy in other areas (like cheese or yogurt which she would never pass up).  The doctor said it’s totally normal, but to try and get her to drink at least 16 oz a day until she’s 2.  Again, I think her saying “no” to milk is a way to branch out on her independence.  I would love to get her on a smoothie once a day so I can sneak in her milk that way. Last week, she was a bit of a diva, but we will go ahead and blame the sleep regression for that. She was SUPER needy and made me sleep in her room for a couple days (for naptime and bedtime). It was brutal.

EATING: She never stops eating, and that’s the way I like it She started trying new foods and has enjoyed testing out new flavors.  She LOVES the lentil soup from a local spot we frequently visit (Phoenicia’s Deli) and this morning I let her try toast with some cream cheese and she gobbled it up. Still loves her fruit and veggies and I’ll occasionally treat her with ice cream here and there.

PLAY TIME: I have been consistent with taking her to Gymboree 2-3 times a week and I can tell how much it’s helped.  She has an instructor 1 time a week but she’s allowed to go to unlimited open gym for free play. She LOVES to dance (especially to Rocking Robin) and loves to rock/make hand gestures to Itsy Bitsy Spider, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, and Wheels on the Bus. She also loves reading, playing on grandpa’s keyboard, and anything that involves being outdoors.

LANGUAGE: She knows her shapes and colors (even though she will tell you everything is purple).  When I “tested” her while we were coloring, she pointed to every correct color I asked her  As for her vocabulary, I had an on-going list of words she was saying, but I have lost count.  It’s gotta be almost 200 words from both languages.  She is talking…a lot…and I am hearing more and more 3-word phrases.  She mixes her Vietnamese and English when she talks and I think it’s the cutest thing.  I was lucky enough to FINALLY catch her on video counting 1-10 in Vietnamese, but I haven’t had any luck with the English version. (You can check out the video on my Instagram.) She knows when I’m recording her and will run away.  My favorite phrases she’s learned this month are “I love you” and “hold me.” I’ve been teaching her for weeks to say ‘I love you’ but she would only say ‘I youuuu,” but she surprised me one day after one of our walks. Highlight of my day!  And as for the ‘hold me,’ I think she just picked it up from our talks.

EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT: I think the Terrible Two’s have simmered (for the time being at least). I noticed in the last month, she will say “no” in a more defiant/strong voice like she’s so sure of herself…but half of the time, she’s just saying it to say it. It’s kind of funny to hear this “tone” from a toddler.  She is such a strong and independent baby so I’m ok with that (most of the time).  I do make sure to explain everything to her because I know she’s smart and she understands.  Marli started telling me last month “I saw” (meaning I’m sorry) when she does something wrong, but now she is much quicker with apologizing.  So, to add to that, I will always ask her “why are you sorry Marli?” and she will reply with a slew of jibberish and sometimes hand gestures of why she was in trouble.  And, often times, I can make out 1-3 words and I’ll repeat (as if I totally understand baby talk) “Yes, mommy hold you….”  Then, I’ll tell her I love her and give her a hug. Sometimes she looks for reassurance and/or praise when she’s done something good and I praise the heck out of her.  I definitely want to magnify her strengths and good behaviors to build her confidence and I think it’s been working so far.  You can definitely tell when she is very proud of something because she will smile from ear to ear and laugh/giggle. She knows when I’m trying to snap a picture of her now because she will actually stand still for a second to smile, but I only get 5 seconds tops…haha!

POTTY TRAINING:  I still haven’t fully started yet, but we have had more success this month with it.  I think last month she only went twice; this month, she went 5-6 times.

WHAT’S NEXT:  I am teaching her to count with objects, learn the ABC’s (she only knows A-D), have more socializing time, and keep the tantrums to a minimum (haha)