19 Months Update

Photo: Josephine worked very hard brushing my hair last night, and if I turned around she said "No!" and made me turn back around. Is this motherhood, really? Getting my hair brushed? Bliss!! (Clever girl, yes?) "Brush! Brush!"

We had a lovely evening. We planted flowers in our "garden." (The first time I've ever bought annuals. I usually buy perennials, because I can't stand the idea of getting flowers I know will die at the end of the summer. After all that work. It's like an exercise in futility - I don't get it! But I figured if Josie destroys the petunias, it wouldn't be such a loss. So - ok.) Neighbors Ellie and her college-age daughter Claire came over with a trowel to help us dig - and to laugh at me - I really have no idea what I'm doing - and sat with us while I dug and Josie plucked the flowers I was trying to plant. Then we turned on the hose and she watered (flooded) the yard. We drew on the sidewalk with chalk, took a long walk with Billy, ate dinner while reading books, chased Ellie's cat, bathed, read books again, and "night night." Oh yes - we also played dress-up with the dog - Josie put the cowboy hat on him and tried to get him to wear shoes (he was not amused - but I was!).

Speech: I can't decide what her first sentence was -- but she is saying sentences! And two-syllable words! She can say: "Bye-bye, bubbles!" "Bye, bye, Daddy!" "Bus go vroom!" "Mo(re) Boo(b)!" "Mo(re) Boo(k)!" When Josie turned 18 months old, I counted (yes, I counted) that she knew at least 37 words. I've now lost count, as she learns a new one every day. New ones include toothbrush, sun, apple, eat, splash, happy, hippo, nice, ice, hot, cold...

Daycare: She loves daycare (and so do we!)... am sooo grateful for that.

Cute things: Dancing: Spinning around and kicking "kick! kick!"
Patting me on the back
Blowing kisses when we say goodbye
Making her dolls and stuffed animals kiss
Talking to the monkey puppet
Imitating my yoga stretches
Pretending to play piano on steps or on pictures of pianos and singing "la la la"
Grinning-grimacing when you say "smile"

There's more, of course... but gotta go!