Marli’s 22-Month Update

EATING: Nothing out of the ordinary, but I wanted to ask other mamas if they feed their toddlers before dining out and/or if they bring food with them (instead of eating restaurant food)?  I do both most of the time because I find that most places don’t serve a well balanced meal on the kid’s menu.  I mean, Marli enjoys mac&cheese and cheese pizza, but where’s the meat and veggies portion? If there is meat, it’s usually fried chicken strips and I know Marli would not eat that.  Just food for thought…

In other news, I thought it was cute when we ate out a few weeks ago and the waiter took our drink orders and even though he didn’t ask Marli, she said “iced tea please” Haha  

PLAY TIME: Over the holidays, my husband joined us for one of her Gymboree classes and he really enjoyed seeing Marli “in her element.” I’ve taken her on a few wagon rides and to the park, but with us being sick and the cold weather, most of our activities have been inside. We’ve been reading a ton of books, drawing, and watching Frozen. She is OBSESSED with that movie!

LANGUAGE: I love our little “talks” and she surprises me every day with a new phrase or saying that will crack me up.  A couple weeks ago while putting away the Christmas tree, I reached for a tall ornament and she quickly said “Oh mama! Be careful mama. Be careful. Too tall.” Of course I laughed and asked her to repeat it so she said “Sure. (hahaha) Be careful mama. Be careful.”

Other cute phrases she’s picked up: 
(When she falls down) She rubs her butt and says “Oh my butt. I’m ok!”

(Her “singing” while watching Frozen) Let it goooooooooooooooooooo! // Love love love an open doooooooo! // Wit you wit you! // Oh Olaf nose!

(When we go eat sushi) “Mama I eat Mr. Grouper” (from Bubble Guppies) LOL

(When eating/touching something hot) “Oh mama no touch. Too hot.”

One day when I asked her to do something for me, she turned around, pointed her index finger up and said “One minute.” WHAT IN THE WORLD?!?!?! LOL

When I give her something, she will say (without me asking her) “Tank you. Welcome.” Haha Aren’t I supposed to say the “you’re welcome” part? 🙂

I have started teaching her the alphabet and we are currently on letter G.  We learn 1-2 letters a week and there’s always a refresher course with the old letters so she doesn’t forget them.  We usually start learning about the letter by drawing on her easel and illustrating with pictures.  Then we’ll pull out her dictionary to look up the letter and corresponding words.  She loves it.  The easel is in a spot she passes by routinely and I have also placed the letter on our frig and other areas of the house so she can always see them. I apply the letter daily to things we’re reading or seeing on TV and even pointing it out to her when we’re out and about.  She surprised my parents one day at lunch when I showed her the newspaper and she said “Look mama. A.” 🙂

And I’m happy to report she can sit through an entire book (even 2) without getting up/losing interest.   Such great news to know her focus is improving.  We read at least 3-5 books each night now…which reminds me we probably need to buy more books for her to read.

EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT: Ah Terrible Two’s…you will be the death of me.  It was bad this past month.  Probably the worst it’s ever been. There were great days, but then 1-2 really bad days followed and it was really tough and challenging and there was a lot of crying involved…from both ends. Haha  I’m sure being sick had something to do with it, but still…I did a lot of praying and mommy timeouts.  Now that I’ve had more time to reflect on what happened, I honestly think it was because Marli was frustrated and need to burn off energy (instead of being cooped up in a house all the time).  I think when she’s not being challenged or mentally stimulated, she starts to throw little tantrums.  

My hubby and I started discussing the timeout topic and I think I will start reinforcing this in the next month or so.  I’ve read that starting before 2 is pretty much useless and I would have to agree (although I know every child is different).  While I don’t put her in timeouts, I do make it very evident when she’s wrong and she is fully aware of it.  When she’s in trouble, I take away anything she’s currently doing (i.e. watching tv, playing with her books/toys), give her “the look”, and do not speak to her until she apologizes.  Lately, she’s been more defiant with it (sort of like she know she’s wrong, but doesn’t want to apologize).  But she always does and I will follow it up by asking her why she is sorry and wait for her to respond. I will, of course, rephrase her faults, tell her not to do it again (because it’s not nice or it causes hurt, etc), and give her a kiss.  Personally, this is basically the same thing as a timeout except you aren’t forcing your child to stand against a wall or go to their room/crib.  Any mamas out there have tips or tricks of what works for them??

Lastly, I think we have decided to put Marli in daycare a couple times a week so she can socialize even more, learn curriculum and make friends. Plus, it will give me a small break to get some things done around the house. I think the first couple times will be tough, but I plan on easing her into it.  I think I will drop her off for a few hours and pick her up before naptime the 1st week and slowly lengthen the time so she feels more comfortable when I leave her there all day.

Can’t wait to see what next month has in store for us 🙂