Leighton is 21 months today, and this is the last update before she turns two. How is that possible? I feel like I ask myself this question every time she hits a new milestone, but I really cannot believe we’re on the brink of having a two year old. No more baby… a full-on toddler. With toddler attitude and sass, to boot. 🙂 But above all else, I’m just thankful we have a healthy, happy daughter who brings more joy and laughter to our world than I ever imagined possible. Without further ado, here’s a little (actually, a long) update on LL at 21 months.

Height + Weight: approx 32 1/4″ // 27 lbs

Milestones: She’s adding more words to her vocabulary by the week. Her current favorites: love you (“la la”), bowl (“boooow”), car (“caaah”), truck (“cuck”), cake, cookie, bubble, ball (“baaaah”), more (“mooooe”), puppy, and night night. She can say “Pop” for Craig’s dad and is working on “Na Na” (pronounced Nay Nay) for Craig’s mom. She can sign a few words as well, like “more” and “yes.” One of the funniest things she likes to say is “NAAAAW” for “no” in response to silly questions. She’s such a goofball. My favorite word, though, is MAMA!! I waited 19 whole months to hear that sweet word, and now she says it constantly every day.

She has finally started to name my parents, too, which is adorable. She calls my dad “BaBa” and says his name any time she sees ice cream (ha!) or Easter eggs (he helped her hunt them this year). She accidentally named my mom “Me” after my mom tried to get Leighton to refer to herself as “me” when she was looking at a photo that she was in. 🙂 Hehe — I kinda hope it sticks because it’s so cute. She’s OBSESSED with Me and asks multiple times a day if Me is here or in our car.

She’s getting her last 4 teeth in, other than her 2 year molars. She’s been the best teether ever — you’d never even know she’s getting new teeth until you catch a glimpse of them in her mouth. What a blessing that has been!

We’ve hit the shy phase with strangers (probably a very good thing) and even with people she knows but just doesn’t see every day. It’ll take a good 10-15 minutes for her to warm up to them, and then she’s acting a fool as normal.

Likes: She LOVES to jump! It started with holding onto the handle of our freezer for leverage, then she added a big bouncy ball into the mix, and now she just hops like a bunny all over the place. She got to jump in a bounce house at a friend’s birthday party a few months ago, and I’m pretty sure she’d still be in there if I’d have let her stay.

Leighton is the best little helper and loves to assist us with unloading the dishwasher and dryer. She also insists on handing me the decorative pillows that go on our bed each morning when I make it up (then climbs onto the bed to jump on it).

While she has gotten pretty picky with food, she does love a number of things: cheese, cheerios, blackberries/blueberries/strawberries, watermelon, grapes, grilled turkey/cheese sammies, Chick-fil-A nuggets, grape tomatoes, cheese dip, black beans, yogurt, spaghetti, and pretty much any dessert. Girl cannot say no to some ice cream.

She still really enjoys Music Class and has started participating more by clapping along to the songs, playing with the instruments, and doing “bum-bums” with our teacher, Mrs. Anna.

She loves bubbles, her plush puppies, puzzles, books, balls, and doing buckles. I got her a turtle buckle toy for our trip down to the beach, and it’s been the best $25 I’ve spent in a long time. It occupies her on car rides and when we’re out to dinner, and she’s gotten so fast at buckling different types of buckles. Craig is the resident book reader before bedtime each night, and she’s quickly learned that by sweetly saying “mooooe,” she can delay bedtime with more books. Smart girl. She also recently took to sleeping with one of her baby dolls and requests to hold her while she’s being rocked to sleep.

Dislikes: Being told “no.” She’s gotten quite independent and wants to do most things on her own, so she does not appreciate being told that she can’t always do what she wants when she wants. She is also not a fan of getting in trouble and doesn’t care for her new time out spot, her high chair — because it’s the only place we can make her sit for more than one second.

Other fun stuff:  Leighton got to have her first sleepover at Grandma’s (“Me”) house back in March while we hosted a wedding shower at our house. They had the best time, and she’s since gone back to spend the night a couple more times. I think it’s as awesome for my mom as it is for Leighton — maybe even more so! 🙂

The most exciting news of the past 3 months is that Leighton got a cousin!! My brother and sister-in-law had their first baby, Jack Bryan, on April 18th and we could not be more smitten with him. He is perfect and snuggly, and Leighton is enamored with him. Every time she sees a video or photo of him, she shouts “Bobby!” (baby) and loves to point and look at him when she sees him in person.

We went on our annual trip to the beach house in St. Augustine in April, and we brought my mom and Craig’s parents with us this time. We stayed for almost a week, and we had the best time together. Leighton loved playing on the beach, walking in the sand, picking up shells, and looking at birds. She did not like the ocean in the least bit.

Ever on the go, Leighton has now decided that she wants to actually walk on our walks with Coco instead of being pushed in her trike. It takes about a billion times longer to make the loop in our neighborhood, but it’s fun to see her running and exploring. She also demands to go up and down the stairs all by herself now (we of course stand right by her anyway), and when she comes down them, she makes the most hilarious face and sound with every step she conquers.

It’s finally pool season, and she is getting used to the water and learning how to behave at the pool. I think it’ll be a fun (and exhausting) summer in the water this year!

She does the absolute cutest princess wave, and she is such a little flirt with strangers once she warms up to them. Her hair is really starting to grow in, and it’s the prettiest shade of strawberry blonde. We can rarely go out in public without someone commenting on it or her big blue eyes.

I’m sure it’s quite obvious, but I just love this little girl more and more with every passing month (or day??). She’s the light of our lives and continues to bring joy to everyone around her. It’s life’s biggest blessing and honor to have a front row seat to watch her grow and take in the world around her. Here’s to the last 3 months with a one year old!