Big Girl Bed

We finally transitioned Rilo into a big girl bed.  She's been able to climb out for 2 months now, but she often still stayed in it if I told her not to get out on her own.  We took her to pick out a comforter and a pillow and a new stuffed animal (or strawberry).  She was so excited and did great the first day.  Yesterday was a different story.  It wasn't too bad, but she did get out of bed a few times.  Hopefully it will get better with time!

22 Months

On Tuesday, Rilo turned 22 months.  How does that happen?!  I haven't done an update post in months and so it seems like it's about time!

Here are the 3 most common things that people tell me about Rilo:  1. "Wow, she talks A LOT." or "Wow, she says a lot for her age." 2. She is so busy!  3. She is so independent.  And really, those are all very true.

  

Rilo's verbal skills have totally exploded since about 15 months.  She talks all.the.time.  She forms some pretty complex sentences, though most are about 4 or 5 words.  My favorite thing she says right now is "Mmmmm...how about..." when suggesting something other than what I was suggesting.  For example, I'll say "Would you like some yogurt?" to which she replies "Mmmm...how about...oatmeal?".  Really the funniest part of the whole thing is her tone and inflection, since it is clearly mimicing the way I offer her options.  One of my other favorites is her answer to any question about where someone or something is.  "Rilo, where's Daddy/your cup/the moon?" "He's/It's stuck".  Always, without fail..."it's stuck".  It cracks me up because she definitely uses "it's stuck" when something is actually stuck.  She also LOVES to sing songs.  She knows all the words to the ABC's, Twinkle Twinkle, Wheels on the Bus, Ring Around the Rosie and a bunch of others.  Rilo is also super polite.  In a crowd she will say "Scuse' me people."  If you are getting her dressed and she's holding something, she'll say "Scuse' me cup. Scuse' me book.  Sorry arm."  It is so funny.  She likes to say "Thank you Mama" and "Bless you Daddy".

She is busy.  This girl never stops.  Never.  She is always on the move...always onto the next thing.  Her favorite toys are things like strollers because playing with them means she doesn't have to be still.  Her mind is always going a mile a minute.  She is clever and so interested in how things work and figuring things out.  She loves to climb and explore.  You've probably noticed pictures of her on the counter/table/desk.  By some miracle, she makes no attempts at escaping her crib, even though I know she could do it in a heartbeat.

She is fiercely independent.  She likes to do things all on her own.  I can't tell you how many times a day, she closes her door to her room so she can read and play on her own.  Playing with Rilo is really playing along side Rilo.  She likes when I come in her room with her but she doesn't actually like me to do what she's doing.  She just likes to have me talk and watch her.  On rare occasions, she asks me for help stacking her blocks or coloring, but those days are rare.

She can be trouble!  I am in for it in the next year or so.  She loves to dump things and spill things.  She loves messes, mostly because she likes to clean them back up.  She definitely knows when she's up to no good because she closes doors so I can't see her or tells me "No, Mommy, go back."  Sometimes she'll do exactly what I just told her not to do with a smile on her face, looking right at me as if she's innocent as can be.

Somehow, I can't get enough of her!  She is happy about 98% of the time.  She sleeps like a champ (about 12 hours at night and 2-3 at nap time).  She loves to go to bed and often asks to do so.  She still loves to read books or have them read to her.  It's about the only time she sits still.  She requests her books by their names and recites the funny parts of the story.  She is a ham and is funny as can be.  She loves to make me laugh.  Most days I can't get over how smart she is...she remembers the most obscure facts and names and knows words to things I have absolutely NO idea how she has ever even heard them.

Mostly I love her because of who she's made me.  She's made me a mom.  She's made me more patient, slower to anger, more loving, and more selfless.  Essentially, she's made me better than I thought I could be and she makes me want to constantly try to to be even better than the day before.  I love you more than ever Rilo Jane.  Happy 22 months little girl!

{Side note:  These pictures are from her first bike ride with Adam.  This was an early Christmas present from Adam to Rilo.  Let's just say she asks me to ride the bike with Daddy every single day now.  She loves it!}

Day at the Park with Dash

Last Thursday was especially warm and lovely.  We met up with our friends/neighbors, Nicole Dane & Dash.  We had a little picnic and then played with the kids.  Can't wait to have more days like that!

AND, I've failed to mention that at 13.5 months Rilo is FINALLY getting teeth.  One poked through on the bottom, followed by a fang on the top and then another one is peeking through on the bottom, all within a few days.  She is handling them like a champ!  In fact, she's actually taking longer naps, I think maybe because of them!?  I have a feeling they will all soon follow...but I'm okay with that.  Let's get them all over with at once!

Rilo's Words

We took this video a little bit ago of her saying "dog", "cat", "ball" and "dad.  She also plays the "Mom-Dad" game with me.  She still has NEVER said "mom" when I've asked her to say it.  Not even once.  She only says "mom" when she is sad.  Sometimes she says the words as clear as a bell but this is not one of the times...You can still get the idea though.








My favorite is anytime she sees a cat or dog in one of her books, she has to hug and kiss the page.  I don't know where she got the idea but it's pretty cute.  She can also recognize all the words she says in picture form.  Way to go Rilo!

Digging

Nicole was so nice to watch Rilo when I was a in a bind the other day.  She just sent me this set of photos from when she was watching her.  I've actually never seen Rilo do this, so I was cracking up!

Swings

I've been dying to take Rilo on the swings...I just knew she would love it.  And she did!  She was the happiest girl!

iPhone Friday

I can't remember if I have mentioned it yet, but Rilo can say "ball" now.  That puts her word count at 6.  Her favorite word is still "dad"... I think she says it at least 30x a day.  Our new favorite game is the "dad-mom" game.  She says "dad", I say "mom" and this goes back and forth repeatedly.  She thinks it's hilarious.  How does she know that it's funny to torture me?!

Rilo is sporting her new Pierce shirt from Gpa Cyle.

These are really cute pj's my Mom and Tali sent.  However, I think Rilo kind of looks like a boy in them.  Adam and I had fun calling her random boy names.  Like Steven and Christopher and Robert.

This picture cracks me up.  I walked out of a room for a minute and came back in to find this little girl.  She had pulled down a bowl of strawberries and was helping herself.  Gotta love her!

Videos: Dancing + Walking

Love these 2 videos.  The first one is Rilo turning up the music and dancing in the car while we were waiting for an appointment.



The second is her walking!  Don't mind the really high shrills coming from me!  She is getting much more confident and is walking more often.  Such a big girl!

Bows and Binkies

You'll notice in these pictures Rilo is wearing a bow without a headband!  She barely has enough hair, but it stays put!  Now mind you it has to be in the back middle of her head, but yay for her! 

Also, in a few of these pictures she has a binky, but we are pretty much binky free these days.  She has not had a pacifier for naptime/bedtime for the last several weeks.  I had planned on weaning her from it around 1 year, but she had a plan of her own.  She started chucking it as soon as I would give it to her.  At first I thought she was just playing a game, but then Adam pointed out that maybe she just didn't want it.  So we just didn't give it to her one night and that was that.  If she finds one around the house, she'll put it in her mouth.  But she definitely doesn't need it anymore.  Go Rilo!


We were a little grumpy after afternoon naptime!

Thanks Dollar Store for these cute cat slippers.

iPhone Friday

So I can't believe I have not mentioned this yet, but a few days ago Rilo took her first steps.  I think it may be a few weeks until she's confident enough to really go for it, but she definitely can take a short walk in between Adam and I.  She is getting so big!

Getting into trouble.  This is why we normally keep the bathroom doors shut!

She loves Mrs. Potts!

Rilo found the box and decided to help herself to some of her crackers.

Rilo's First Snow Day

Yesterday morning we woke up to snow everywhere.  And it didn't seem to want to stop!  We've had some snow in the last couple of months but this was the first big snow!  We had over a foot to play in.  For some reason we hadn't ever taken Rilo to play in the snow, so we decided yesterday was the day!

Of course, she loved it!  She crawled all around, stuck her face in it and smiled and laughed as Sawyer hopped all over the backyard.

And the aftermath...