twenty-three months.

Baby, you are now officially sleeping through the night! This is big news, considering the sleep deprivation of the last two years. We had a little bout of regression when you learned that coming out of your room and crying for me would get me out of bed to nurse you. Since we already knew for a fact that you could put yourself back to sleep without me, we decided a little nudge in the right direction was appropriate, considering your age. A few nights ago, we adjusted the baby monitor, made sure your best animal friends Bird, Baah and Pooh were close by, and closed your door for the night. You cried for a few minutes on the first night when you woke at 2am, realizing that you couldn't go to the top of the stairs to call for me. I got out of bed and almost went in to see you, as I don't believe in allowing children to "cry it out," but you settled down quickly and had a nice long conversation with your animals before falling back to sleep on your own! Now, you are going to sleep at 9pm and sleeping for up to 12 hours!

Aside from learning to soothe yourself to sleep, you're trying out all sorts of other new things too! You had your first experience swinging on a real swing recently, during our town's Oktoberfest. After a few minutes of help and practice, you were able to hold on all by yourself while we pushed you gently. As you swung, you learned to say, "no baby - big girl!" You can buckle yourself in your kitchen chair. You can put on your own socks, slippers, sandals, and sometimes pants. You really enjoy choosing your own clothes to wear, an activity which generally ends with you running around with three layers of clothing on. You still haven't gone through the "I want to be naked" phase, nor do you try to take off your diaper. Your favorite thing to wear is pajamas, particularly your silky Elmo ones.  

I've had a pretty bad case of seasonal allergies lately and you've been very sensitive to my well-being, asking "you okay?" every time I blow my nose. You've been feeling a bit under the weather yourself, now that your 2nd year molars are making their way in. Regardless of that, you are still eating quite a lot and nursing a bit less than in the past. We recently discovered that you love pomegranate seeds, and you ask for a "taste?" of new things. Your other current favorite foods include cheese and bean quesadillas and apple cinnamon cheerios with milk.

Lately, I've been trying to involve you more in the process of cooking. If I ask whether you'd like to sit in your chair and help me chop vegetables, you squeal with glee and run for the kitchen. We play music and you sit there watching me chop, naming vegetables and asking for tastes of them. Last night, you did a great job helping me rinse thinly sliced leeks in a bowl of water. Since we're on the topic of kitchens - you are now taking the full initiative to clean messes that you notice such as crumbs or spills all by yourself with a dish towel from the kitchen. You also love to haul the big broom out to sweep things about on the floor. After flies started to frequent our house in the summer, you quickly learned, "shoo fly!" and how to whack at them with a towel. 

Last night, you shocked me when you decided that you were ready to sit on your potty. I have been asking whether you'd like to sit on it every time before bath time, and you've always been adamant about saying, "noooo..." Last night you sat on it for several minutes, not wanting to get off as you tried to make peepee. I am tempted to start helping you learn to use the potty (by the way, I really dislike the term potty "training"), though I am hesitant considering that your little body is already adjusting to a new sleeping pattern right now. 

It's worth mentioning that your favorite things to watch are "Mowgli!" and "Lil Beah!" (The Jungle Book and the show Little Bear.) You are now so in tune with the world that you find things in the movies hilarious and you act out animal noises and sing along with the songs. You are also really enjoying our art and sensory projects that involve coloring, gluing, sorting and more. When we start the weekly homeschooling preschool we've planned with our new friends here in Germany, I just know you will love it! You get so excited about a "fwriend" coming over for a play-date, so I can only imagine the level your enthusiasm when we start getting together with four of them at once!

The last few weeks have been so full of your bright energy and smiles. It seems that so often these days, you do or say something new that causes your Papa and I look at each other with proud smiles, as we share in the experience of your growing. We love you.

twenty-two months.

I'm not sure exactly when it happened, but some time between last month and this one, something shifted within you. You are starting to firmly grasp independence, really taking chances on your own by initiating change. 

Thus far in your life, you have seemed to be more intellectual than physical. While other kids your age run around, getting into everything, you prefer to watch and talk about what you're observing. Now that you are becoming more interested in socializing, you're taking more chances and stepping outside of your usual comfort zone. At a squadron picnic this weekend, there was a bouncy castle. You screamed with joy - "TOY!" while laughing and pointing at the other kids "BOUNCE!" You wanted to try, so we took your shoes off and placed you on the edge of the castle... but the first two times we tried, you got scared and immediately asked to get down. It was apparent that you still really wanted to try. The third time, you connected with another toddler who was throwing herself joyfully around on the bouncy castle and you joined her, tentatively at first. By the time we left you were bouncing around all by yourself. 

On top of this new breaking of your old boundaries, you are further amazing us with full sentences. For example, the other day you patted my arm and told me "it'll be okay," as a loud motorcycle went by us. You are asking for specific food items that you want, such as "cheese and bread?" We usually walk to the market together every few days, and you excitedly name the fruits and veggies in the product section, "carrot! apple! tomato! pepper!" while also saying "hi!" to everyone we pass. You've also got remarkable manners for your age, demonstrated by your energetic "thank-you!!!" every time one of your needs or wants is met. You are also learning to say "please" when asking for something. When you want one of us to do something for you, you push our legs in the direction you want while commanding, "go!" or "come!"

Your favorite foods at home are yogurt, oatmeal and waffles. When we go grocery shopping, you know to ask for your other favorite foods - "a yummy?!" I usually buy you a little treat to keep you entertained while I shop, such as a carton of raspberries or a little chocolate pastry. You enjoy lounging on the beanbag in your play area while talking to your stuffed animals. You've learned to simultaneously run across the lawn and kick your ball while exclaiming, "kick it!" We draw with chalk on the patio almost daily, and you tell me that you're drawing "blub blub" (fish) or "meow" (cats), even adding recognizable little details such as eyes and whiskers. When you want a change of scenery, you will ask to "go room?" to play upstairs in your room. 

You have also learned to tell your first knock knock joke! You say, "knock knock!" and we reply "who's there?" You throw your arms open wide and say "...a little baby!!" Your newest word obsessions are pointing to an insect and saying, "a bee!" or "a fly!" and you shoo it away. You have also started being a copy-cat for language, repeating things that we say like "not cool!"

The most illustrative and surprising change, is your own decision to night-wean. Since your birth, you have woken multiple times a night for me to nurse you. I would go to bed with your Papa, and you'd wake me crying not long after. I would spend the rest of the night in your bed with you, and I so enjoyed those nights we spent snuggling. You whimpered and nuzzled me a few times every night, until your need for milk and comfort was met, and you would fall back asleep. The last two nights, instead of crying out for me to come to your room for milk, you took a different route. You found your ladybug nightlight, turned on her soft light and fell back to sleep all by yourself. Without me. Without milk. 

I got the first full nights of sleep I've had in two years - except for when I abruptly woke up wondering how I could possibly still be in my own bed! The first night, your Papa and I jumped up to make sure you were okay.... and there you were curled up in bed, bathed in a blue glow and fast asleep. I never imagined you would give up your nightly feedings and cosleeping so easily, that you would transition so beautifully. This is truly an example of my belief that children will hit milestones when they are ready. I have been so patient, and this reward is more than I could ever have asked for. 

I am so very proud of you.

a warm head and a pink coat.

It's 8 o'clock at night and I am sitting alone on the couch. Iris fell asleep twenty minutes ago, almost an hour earlier than usual. My baby had a low grade fever of 101 all day, but we brought it down to 99.0 with a dose of Tylenol. I gave her some more before bed and may have to give more throughout the night to be sure it doesn't spike while we are sleeping. Bed-sharing really pays off at times like these; I will be by her side all night long in case she needs me. 

I think the cause of the fever is teething. She has always taken the process and pain of teething very hard, since she got her first tooth at five months old. She had a low grade fever last weekend too, so it's not completely out of the blue. I'm glad I decided to buy some Tylenol then, or I wouldn't have any in the house. She is acting completely normal otherwise, maybe a bit sleepy compared to her usually vibrant state. She ate plenty of fruit, avocado, cheese and drank plenty of milk today. I'm not concerned and we will be going to the pumpkin patch tomorrow, as planned, unless something changes. I'll just be sure to wear her in the wrap most of the time and ensure she takes it easy. Like today, we spent most of our time cuddling in bed or lounging on the couch watching movies - whereas usually we would be outside at the playground or running around.

We did go out early for a short walk this morning, though. It was in the 40s - cold enough for Iris to need a real coat and hat to go outside! I had to get a video because she just looked so darn cute! 

Near the end when I say, "you want to fly?" means that I grab her hands and swing her over the step and over to the next block of sidewalk. If you watch again, at the end she looks up at me and bounces with her knees a little bit, asking me to fly - too cute! She adores it and much of our "walking outside" now consists of her leading me back to the step, trying to get me to swing her into the air!
Hope my baby is feeling better tomorrow for her big day picking out pumpkins with her friends!