21 months

Another month has passed, and with it the milestones keep coming.

* Reese is a chatterbox of epic proportions now--telling us about everything she sees and does. She's using sentences more and more often now and refers to herself in third person. She does, however, know (and tells us often) that her name is Reese Bailey.

* Reese is enjoying time at the neighborhood pool and had NO fear about going down the frog shaped slide in the baby pool. She initially had mixed feelings about her life jacket, but since it allows her to go in the "big pool" with the "big kids" she's given in. On her first attempt wearing it she pulled at it and screamed "I don't like it!" over and over again. It was quite a scene.

* When we're not at the pool, we're often at the park or on the hike and bike trail in the neighborhood. A small creek runs near the trail and it's great for nature watching. Every trip we see some water birds, and at least a few squirrels; on the occasionally lucky trip we'll see turtle, crawfish, and other song birds. I'm not sure what kind of water fowl we're seeing, but Reese has deemed them all "ducks." I need to do some research so we can name them correctly, but that's fallen by the wayside for now.

* Reese has developed some new fears lately. She gets particularly upset if there are large, noisy trucks or tractors around. Viewing them from the safety of the car is another story, but some recent construction work at the park has been traumatic. She also got extremely scared of an owl shaped balloon at HEB (it was around for commencement and was complete with a mortar board). It was near the Buddy Buck machine and instead of redeeming her Buddy Bucks (usually her favorite part of every HEB trip), she insisted we "Go home! Go home now!" When Reese is faced with a scary situation, she clings to mommy and covers her eyes.

* Reese still loves reading and will now, on occasion, demand MARATHON reading sessions in her room. One day we read books for almost an hour and a half. She currently loves the Mr. Men and Little Miss series of books, especially "Mr. Happy" and "Little Miss Sunshine." She can be found "reading" to herself or Ellie often. Since she knows the stories so well, she turns the pages and narrates the pictures about what's happening in the story.

* Reese's imagination is really growing. She can play for extended periods of time on her own now, and often sets up tea parties for her, Annie, and Ellie. Annie is a reluctant participant, but eventually concedes when she realizes she's been surrounded by play dishes and food. Have I mentioned what an amazing and tolerant dog we have?

* Potty time will happen in it's own time. We're not forcing the issue, but if we notice Reese is going potty in her diaper, we ask her if she'd like to try to potty. Sometimes we get a yes, most times we get a no. She has, however, started telling us that her diaper needs to be changed, even when it's just wet. With her independent streak, I have no doubt that she's not going to want to use the potty until it's her idea.

* We had a traumatic trip to the doctor's office two or three weeks ago. After several days with a high fever and no other symptoms, they had to perform a catheterization to rule out a bladder/urinary track infection. You can only imagine how happy Reese was about being pinned down for that experience. In the end, the tests came back negative for infection, and we were left to assume it was a strange virus running its course.

* In general, we're having less tantrums and time outs at our house! Yeah (knock on wood)! Now that Reese has a better understanding of numeric concepts, we are giving her more specific transition cues. Telling her she can stir the pudding 5 more times before it's Mommy's turn has helped her anticipate and accept the act of sharing better. She also responds well to "just one more time" or "this is the last one." Sharing with peers is still touch and go, but I'm hoping practice will help. Reese seems to get easily overwhelmed when she's around large groups of toddlers. Strangely, she plays well with children older than her (4+), but time and materials are always a source of strife around kids close to her age (with the rare exceptions of toddlers she's had one-on-one play dates with--Reed in particular). I'm hoping that starting mothers'-day-out in the fall will help that issue.

* Reese is growing like a weed--or at least it seems like she has lately. She no longer seems quite so petite next to toddlers her age. Don't get me wrong, she's no giant, it's just that there isn't the huge discrepancy between her and other kids that there used to be. We may hit the 50th percentile in growth yet. And if not, that's ok.

* We may have a ballerina birthday in our future. Reese loves to dance. Dancing for her means generally means running around the house, shaking her hips, screaming, "Dancing girl! I'm a dancing girl!" She adds in an occasional spin and will even stand on one foot or go backwards if she's feeling creative. If it's after 5pm and Mommy's busy making dinner you're likely to find Reese dancing laps around the house--no music required.

* We're headed to the beach next weekend. I'm not sure how Reese will feel about the experience, so I was sure to book a hotel with a pool--that way, if sand isn't her thing, we still have a refuge with some built in entertainment. Stories and pictures to come...