Paisley the 20-month-old

OK, so I realize that most parents stop doing monthly updates on their children when they pass their year mark or whatever.  But I feel like by the time Paisley's year mark came around, I was just barely getting the hang of this blogging thing!  And besides, the things she's doing now are just so much cuter and funner to write about!  I imagine some day I'll look back and be so glad that I wrote all of it down, while at the same time laughing at myself for what silly young mother I was.  I hope a few of you (grandparents especially) appreciate it too!  On that note, here's Paisley at 20 months!

Paisley's newest loves:

• Pumpkins! (See picture below)  She is obsessed.  If she could, she would spend all day walking around the neighborhood looking at all of the different pumpkin decorations, reading books about pumpkins, or looking at pictures of different kinds of pumpkins.  No one knows where this fascination came from.  I was excited for her to be Tinkerbell this year for Halloween.  I think she would make the most adorable Tinkerbell!  But with her love for pumpkins, we decided that Tinkerbell can wait till next year.  It looks like this year we'll have two little pumpkins for Halloween.  
• Snowmen.  As we were getting the Halloween decorations out, she saw a little life-like snowman that Oma puts out at Christmastime.  He is her newest friend.  Every morning she is excited to go to the cupboard and wake him up.  She then proceeds to put a blanket around him, read him books, and give him hugs and kisses.  She often tells him spontaneously, "I love you, Snowman". Once, while picking him up, his head popped off.  Not realizing how horrified she was, I said something about him being hurt.  This prompted a flood of the saddest tears I've ever seen, along with several apologies and hugs to the snowman once she was consolable again.  Needless to say, she cares deeply about her new friend.  The only way to get her to put him away is to tell her he's tired and needs to go to sleep.  
• Smelling flowers (See pictures below).  She will go to great lengths to be able to smell flowers she sees.  I don't even think she's really smelling them, sometimes she just kisses them. 
• Books.  OK, this is not new. But it seems like the older she gets, the more she loves them.  She has a short attention span when it comes to playing with toys, and especially watching movies.  But she can sit for quite a while just flipping through books.  She'll often bring me a book, sit down on my lap, and say, "Read a book gether, Mama". Often she'll add a "Please?". Try saying no to that!  
• As I write this, I'm realizing how futile it is to try and write about all of Paisley's loves.  She's amazed and excited about so many things, and it's so much fun to relive the magic of these things we've come to see as ordinary.  Pumpkins, snowmen, bubbles, balls, or trains, or even friends for example.  It's no wonder God tells us to be like little children.  If we could all appreciate those little things in life, the world would be a very happy place.  

On Tuesdays we go to a singing time group at a friend's house.  The best part about this singing time is that the people live on a little farm with cows, chickens, ducks, alpacas, and lots of other fun animals that make farm life so magical for little kids.  Paisley's favorite part?  The giants pumpkins out front.  Every time we go to see the animals, she says hello to all of them and then tells me "See punkin first".  Of course, she never tires of seeing the pumpkins so we never really get much time with the animals.  

On this pretty Sunday morning, Paisley and I went for a walk around the neighborhood.  She had to stop and smell every flower, low or high, fenced or not.  

Our Little Sponge

When it comes to learning, Paisley is just a little sponge.  She soaks up everything!  I don't say this to brag. OK, forgive me if I brag a little.  It's just so thrilling for me to see her developing and becoming her own little person!  Lately she loves to count everything.  She counts up to ten, though I'm not sure she always gets the right number when counting objects!  She's putting little sentences together.  Some we've heard lately include:
"Mama, putchya shoes on please", while handing me my shoes in bed.
"No, don't want it."  We hear this a lot lately, especially at bed time.
"Happy Birthday to you, Opa!"
"Sing 'I a Child of God', Mama." Or whatever song she feels like hearing.  If it's one she knows she'll often tell me the words to each phrase before I sing it.
These are some of many little phrases that we hear from Paisley, and every day she's stringing together new words.

Bed Time

If you read my last Paisley post, you'll know that switching to a big kid bed was a bit of an adjustment.  Thanks you to those of you who made helpful suggestions or comments!  I'm happy to say that after a few days of being consistent about letting her cry herself to sleep (I know, it sounds awful and it was agonizing), we have developed a routine that she's happy with, and she goes to sleep like a champ - most days.  She loves her bed and wakes up happy, and if she wakes up at night she can put herself back to sleep.  Just in time for the new baby.  Let me just say, God answers prayers.