20 months (aka almost 2)

Yes, Amelia is turning 20 months old tomorrow. It still feels awkward to me if someone asks how old she is. There's no way I am going to say 20 months. I just say she's one and a half. Or that she'll be two in October. But for the purposes of keeping up with what she's doing, I am doing a 20 month update. So, at 20 months old, what is Amelia up to? Well, she:

• has hit a language explosion. She will repeat anything we say, which is totally scary! We are really having to watch every word we say around her. Having a little imitator really keeps you on your toes! She also says lots of new words on her own, and strings together some short sentences. She is able to communicate with us like a real person now, rather than us having to guess what she needed as a baby, and that is so much fun.
• is so funny! I had really hoped and prayed for a funny child, and she totally is. She is already saying and doing some of the funniest things, and I know that this is only the beginning. She has learned what it is to "poot" and she thinks it's hilarious! Where do they learn this? The other day Katie was keeping her and after Mimi pooted she said "Mama pooted." She BLAMED me for her gas! Omg, I wanted her to be funny, but to still act like a little lady! She also blamed a couple on Cliff that day. Silly girl.
• is SUCH a picky eater.  Some days she will go all day with only eating a few bites of food. I keep offering different things to her, but she either says No and won't open her mouth, or she will try it and then spit it out. I don't know how she survives, but the experts say they will eat when they are hungry. She does drink lots of juice and milk (which she calls "malk" by the way, ha!). Two things she will never turn down are Cheetos and cookies. I have been trying to limit her snacks to make sure she's hungry at meal times, but sometimes even that doesn't work. I guess I'd rather her eat a few Cheetos for supper than nothing at all!
• loves to sing and dance! She doesn't mind if she doesn't know the words, she will just sing along anyway. Her favorite songs are the ABC song and Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. She still loves Jay-Z, but now that she repeats everything, I don't want to catch her spouting out his questionable lyrics. Here's a video I took of her singing in the tub the other night:
  Singing in the tub from Angela Furr on Vimeo.
• loves to swim more than anything. See previous post for photos.
• thinks her Papa (my dad) hung the moon. Of course she loves all her grandparents, aunts and uncles, but it is pretty obvious that Papa is her favorite. It is partly because he is awesome and partly because he lets her do anything she wants!
• is quite the expert at throwing a tantrum. She's never been a fan of the word "No," but these days she will go limp if you're holding her and just fall out in the floor if she doesn't get her way. Not cool! I was so embarassed at a birthday party recently when she was the worst behaved child there! She refused to share anything and fell out in the floor throwing a fit when it was time to go. In her defense, I drug her there when I knew she needed a nap, but still that is no excuse. She often behaves that way when she's completely rested.
• spends time in the naughty corner on a regular basis. My co-worker has a little girl who is a year older than Amelia and she has told me about Adleigh's time out spot, so I thought I'd give it a shot with Mimi. Guess what, it actually works! When Amelia is throwing an unnecessary fit (really, what fit is necessary?), all we have to do is say "Corner!" and she stomps off to the corner of whatever room we're in and sits there to finish her tantrum. We tell her she can get up when she's done crying and usually she gets right up and goes about her business. A couple of times during a fit, she's actually marched off to the corner on her own. I think she actually likes having a designated area to throw her fits. What am I going to do with this girl?

I don't want to end on a bad note, because although this is a tough season for us as far as tantrums go, she is still a joy to be around most of the time. From what I've read, this is just a tough age for kids because they don't really know how to handle their feelings yet. We miss getting to go and do some of the things we used to, but she makes just hanging out at home fun. As the saying goes, this too shall pass. And as I've already seen, it passes way too quickly!

And now a few new pics:

Playing with my friend Coutney's little girl Brantlee. Well, kind of. Neither of them really wanted to share and they each threw eerily similar tantrums, but it was so funny to watch them together. They're only three weeks apart in age, and they talk and act so similar.

Amelia made herself at home in B's princess chair!

Hanging out with Katie and Papaw Bob yesterday. Don't let the watermelon fool you. Katie said she only took a couple of bites.

We're well on our way to two years old! How did this happen so quickly?!