Happy Half Birthday, Lainey girl!! A year and a half. I can’t believe it!
I know I say this everytime, but this is a really special stage! I feel like Lainey and I have so many little inside cues and jokes and things that make us laugh together. Lainey is a fantastic communicator, and I honestly can understand so much of what she is asking for. She has a really big personality, is orderly and particular, and is as sweet as honey! We don’t call her bossy, but rather a leader. And she is quite the leader!
Lainey, as of 18 months
In the past month, Lainey transitioned to one nap. She's handled it very well! Her nap is anywhere from 2-3 hours long. She is really tired before bed so we have pushed up her bedtime to anywhere around 6:15 - 6:30 pm. Here schedule, in more detail, is are follows:
7:00 - 7:30 am: wake
8:00 am: breakfast
8:30 am: brush teeth, get dressed
9:00 - 11:00 am: activity, books (we try to read at least 5/day), playroom, outside
11:00 am: prepare & eat lunch
11:30 am: start naptime process
2:00 - 3:00 pm: awake from nap (Lainey's nap are usually at least 2 hours, sometimes as long as 3)
3:00 - 5:00 pm: outside play
5:30 pm: dinner
6:15 - 6:30 pm: start bedtime process (bath, PJs, essential oils, wind down with Mom in rocking chair)
Milestones
Told me when her hearing aid battery died, 15 months old
Started using the ConnectClip to amplify my voice in noisy settings, 16 months old
Transitioned to one nap, 17 months
Loosely started potty training, 17 months (more below)
Started eating at the table with us, 17 months
"Mama", 17 months
Sign & speech (see below)
Weight & height: TBD at this afternoon’s appointment
Lainey knows the sign for 31 words. Though she does not need sign to communicate, she picks ups sign so quickly! She knows all the words I have taught her. Lainey's verbal speech has also really ignited in the past three months. Her B-3 teacher says she's right where she needs to be or is ahead. So far, there has been no indication or need for additional speech work.
The words she can sign are:
Milk
More
Please
All done
Music
Mama/Dada
Apple
Water
Bath
Eat
Drink
Bed
Brush Teeth
Pretzel
Orange
Blanket
Berries
Light
Monkey
Fish
Cookie
Open
Help
Playroom
Cracker
Wait
Thank You
Juice
Potty
Shoes
Lainey loves hearing, locating, and identifying sounds, which I think is so amazing! She's learned to point to her ear when I want her to focus in on a sound or when she hears something (like the water running, the garbage truck arriving, the microwave beeping, the birds chirping). When she hears something now, she points to her ear, telling me she heard a sound. It's incredible!
She also has been saying "bah bah" (ba-bye) to everything we leave (the roomba, the bathroom, the river)! She will tell me when she’s ”all done“ with something, even if we can’t leave yet. For example, at her Audiologist appointment, when she’s ready to leave, she starts saying “all done”, starts waving bye, and blowing kisses! Lainey girl sure knows what she wants and isn’t shy to tell us!
I started to hear "Mama" for the first time this past month! She still likes to use "Dada" when she wants me to do something ("Dada, Dada, Dada, Dada..." while pointing to the ground where I should sit) but she's been calling for "Mama" when she really wants/needs me! It is so amazing to hear!
Memories
Lainey waves to every dog she sees. Every book where there is a dog or cat, she stops to give the page a kiss. (So you can imagine how many kisses Mack gets each day!). Her love for dogs is heart-warming and makes us so proud!
Along those similar lines and not very surprising based on her infinity to dogs, is that Lainey continues to love being involved in training dogs. She watches Tyler train from the front door if it's too chilly out or she's marching around between the dogs and placeboards while he's training, stopping to kiss each dog along her route. She loves climbing into Tyler's truck to dig for bumpers and dockens or sitting on Uncle Jake's trailer by all the dogs, watching them drink water after their training session.
We're very excited for the warming weather because on nice days, we are outside for multiple hours. Lainey loves being outside! She loves making laps around the house and on the driveway, and she loves going for rides in our wheelbarrow. My dad gave her one ride in it and the rest is history. We ride up and down the sidewalk every day, as well as check the mail multiple times per day.
We have visited 10 parks so far this year and are on our way to reaching our Bucket List Goal of 25 Parks in 2021. I think Lainey’s favorite thing about the parks is finding a spot to tell me she wants snacks and that she will “wait” for me to go get them!
Lainey continues to love music. She now has has sounds or gestures for every song she wants to listen to. For "Circle of Life", she trumpets like an elephant; "Do you Wanna Build a Snowman", she clicks her lips like the clock; "As Far As I'll Go", she snorts like the pig; and I could keep going......
This past month, we loosely started potty training. She's a little young to know the sensation yet, but she will sign and speak "potty" to me. We go to the bathroom together and she sits on her little toilet. She knows how to wipe and flush and has successfully gone potty a few times! But she's still very young and needs a little more time to learn the sensation. We will get there!
Her hair continues be wild, and I absolutely love it! It tends to be on the curlier side, especially since we started using a leave-in detangler.
Alaina Tyler, you are my everything! Though some days can be incredibly exhausting, I have an absolute blast with you EVERY SINGLE DAY. You are the first thing I think about each morning and last thing I think about each night. I am so blessed to have you and am so thankful for the opportunity to be home with you and raise you! I love you more than I could ever explain! Keep shining, my darling!!
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