I've been thinking about writing this for too long. BJ has been out of town this week, the kids are put to bed, and I would love nothing more than to just veg in front of the TV, but I know I must keep doing these and will be so grateful later!
Landry is really a full-blown toddler now. She looks more like it and definitely acts like it! She is in way more of a hurry to grow up than I am for her to and I think it's most because of her big "buhs". She desperately wants to keep up with them and do exactly what they do. The unfortunate side of this is her intolerance for the stroller and shopping carts. I've honestly thought a couple times that I had a big triple stroller I could just stick them all in so she would stay put! It's funny when I think back to how long they used a stroller, etc. because I've pretty much stopped taking the stroller out as it's a lost cause. But in her defense, she is perfectly happy to walk, has long stamina, and does a pretty good job of staying by me.
Which brings me to another cute thing. When I first started letting her walk somewhere I would take her out and say, "Landry, will you stay by Mommy? Say Yes, Mommy" and then I'd make a big nod. Pretty soon she started doing a slow, deliberate nod in response and now uses that for all yes's. It's soooo cute! And she does it with a very serious look on her face. I love it!
I was going to try to list all of her words now, but in the past week she's talking so much more that it's really not a confined list anymore. She picks new words up every day and is really good at repeating a word you tell her. She's dropped a lot of her signs even. Although just this week I taught her to sign and say "God loves me" after we taught it to the boys' Sunday School class and its the sweetest thing. She picked it up right away!
Landry remains a tough girl. She's not easily hurt and bounces back quickly if she is. She loves rough housing with dada and being tickled and loves to laugh.
Her love of babies ("bebes") has only grown and a favorite doll has surfaced in the last month. We took her pink Baby Alive doll with us to Branson and she started sleeping with her there and she is now an official crib lovey that we all affectionately call "Bebe". But all babies, real or fake, are so enticing to Landry. And anyone 3 and under is considered a bebe. She points them out in public, goes up and waves or says hi to them, and rocks and cares for her babies at home. It's so amazing to watch her be so innately maternal. Babies are definitely Landry's thing.
She still doesn't watch shows, but back in April I realized she would sit through an entire birthday video I'd made for her or the boys. We were showing GG Bon Landry's 1st birthday video and Landry plopped in my lap to watch it and exclaimed "bebe!" the whole time while glued to the TV. So sometimes in the 5:00 hour I'll pop one of those bad boys in and she'll just sit on the sofa and watch the whole thing. It's a small miracle to me after trying to get her into a TV show for that very hour of the day. I'll take it!
She's also started to do some independent play time in her crib. She's still not really a toy player, but she'll spend several solitary minutes hanging out in her crib which is such a blessing for me to get ready or get a couple things done in the morning.
She remains a great sleeper and goes down between 7 and 7:30. Lately she's been up a little earlier, closer to 6:30- probably due to the early sunrise now.
She's seemed to be teething more in the last couple of months and some days I think they really seem to bother her. It can make for some cranky and long days at times, but then she'll have a good couple days. She's very much in the tough 18-24 month phase that was our least favorite with the boys. There are definitely frequent tantrums and meltdowns over something as simple as the wrong cup. The first couple hours of the morning are often pretty rough. I joke that she just doesn't like our main floor because once we hit a different level, she perks right up! I know she's been frustrated at times over not being able to communicate or physically do what she's wanted. But I honestly thing I've seen that improve over the last week or two as she's been talking more.
Her eating has become a little less consistent. She definitely has meal time tantrums more frequently and will often not each as much. She might do one good meal a day and pick through the others. I'm slowly accepting the fact that she just doesn't care much for pastas or peanut butter sandwiches, which blows my mind since those are still among the boys' favorites. I find myself frustrated with areas she vastly differentiates from them, but then I have to remind myself that she's her own girl and I just have to roll with it!
Landry is just so much fun. I find myself so enjoying just hanging out with her. Her gap tooth smile lights up a room and when I close my eyes that's exactly how I picture her. Grinning, laughing, and running around. She's such a joy!
