Such a Fun Age

Sarah is at such a fun age!  During the newborn phase you get so much holding and cuddling in, but right now in this 18-24 month stage Sarah is just so FUN!  I'd say at around 16 months old she really started getting a big personality.  Since she's getting older I haven't done monthly updates on her, but I just wanted to share some random thoughts and memories so I don't forget.  Maybe you'll get a laugh out of some of them.  This also seems like an appropriate place to brag about her. :)  Don't get me wrong, she can throw a fit and not listen, but you don't want to hear about that.  Let's focus on the fun stuff!

On April Fool's Day Robert had DNow weekend going on, so I had morning duty by myself.  When Sarah was waking up I could hear her saying, "Diaper.  Poo poo."  Not super unusual since she's been alerting us when she needs a diaper change lately.  I went in to find her without pants or a diaper, so I turned on the light and found poop on the floor!  I don't know how she did it because her hands, crib rails, and sheets weren't dirty.  I cleaned up the poop and took everything out of her crib to wash.  Then I got out Sarah and gave her a quick bath.  It was a memorial April Fool's Day Prank!

Sarah had been a little extra fussy for a few days.  I decided to check for teeth, and sure enough, her bottom set of second molars were totally in.  It had been weeks since she'd gotten a tooth so I had stopped looking.  Who knew when those things had popped in!  Just two more teeth to get and teething will be over!

Showing us her food.  Seriously?

One day we went to Bass Pro to walk around and explore.  We got near the polar bear and Sarah asked to go see it, but when we got close she got scared and buried her head into Robert's shoulder, so we walked away, but she asked to go back, and she got scared again.  This happened a few more times until we just left.  For days she kept saying, "Scared.  Bears."  She would tell everyone she saw.  The story increased to, "Scared.  White bear.  Big feet."  One day she even said, "I'm scared of bears."  It was heartbreaking but also very endearing.  We have a tool store called Grizzly near us, and there's a big grizzly bear statue in the parking lot.  We drive by it nearly every day.  Sarah started to notice it and would talk about being scared.  We asked her if she wanted to go see it to see that it's not scary.  She told us she did want to see it, so we parked next to it and watched it for a bit.  Afterward she said, "I'm not scared of bears.  I'm brave."  We were so proud of her for conquering her fear!

Some of Sarah's current favorite things are blowing bubbles (she's learned how to do them herself), going down slides all by herself, helping me water flowers with her own little Minnie Mouse watering can, playing with her baby dolls and stuffed animals, music, and hide and seek.  She loves Minnie Mouse and Barney.  Robert and I both loved Barney, so it must be an inherited trait.

I hadn't painted Sarah's nails because I figured it would be a mess, her nails are still super tiny, and she hadn't seemed interested, but the other day she grabbed a bottle of nail polish and said, "I want pink toes," so I went for it.  She sat so still, and it only took about one drop of paint.  She was very proud of her toes, and wanted everyone to know it.  One night at church she took off her shoes, walked over to some boys, stuck out her leg, and said, "I have pink toes."

Showing off her pink toes

She has some phrases and words that she uses all the time:

• I want some more
• I don't want to
• I can't
• I need some more
• See ya later
• I'm coming (while running to us)

Another funny one - "Morange" = more orange :)

Sarah loves showing affection, but she doesn't always know when to stop, but I know she'll learn that eventually.  She was touching my wet hair after I had taken a shower.  She was saying, "Wet," and touching it gently, and then all of a sudden she whispers, "I want to pull it." :)  Another day she wanted Mittens to drink her milk, and she was holding her straw to Mittens' mouth.  Mittens obviously didn't want it and ran away, so Sarah went after her.  I hear Mittens squealing, "Rarrrr," and Sarah comes back to me with her fist closed and smiling saying, "Hair."  Oh no!  Sarah loves giving hugs and kisses.  She knows that they go together.  The other day I gave her a hug but not a kiss, and she asked for a kiss.  Robert has taught her to do a tight hug where she squeezes so hard.  She likes hugging and kissing her friends and family.

We've taught her to show off her muscles.  She sticks out her arms and makes a fist and says, "I'm strong!"

She's very interested in the potty and can say all the words she needs for it: Diaper, potty, pee, poo, wipe, flush, wash.  She's had a few successful tries, but mostly she only sits on the potty for 5 seconds and moves on.  She'll get it one day, but it's cool that she's interested.

A few months ago she started saying, "Hold you," when she wants to be held.  Apparently I also said that around Sarah's age.  She'll add, "Hold you, Mommy/Daddy," or, "More hold you."  How can you resist that?

It's always awesome to hear compliments from other people.  Sarah's Bible study nursery teacher told me that Sarah is a great talker but also a good listener and obedient.  She loved hearing the stories and repeated her memory verses.  It was so encouraging!

She really likes Ride a little horsey, go to town.  I bounce her on my leg and then drop her down, but Robert gets on all fours and lets her ride around.  When Robert tries to leave for work she begs for, "Ride a horsey town."  It gets him every time!  He's also taught her how to do flips.  She stands on the bed, bends over, and he rolls her forward.  She thinks it's the best!