Hannah is 21 Months!

Sweet Happy Hannah is 21-months old! She is SO much fun. Alex and I absolutely adore her bright personality. She has become so independent and is really starting to round the corner to acting like a two-year old. This last month with Hannah has definitely been a favorite.

Hannah’s 21-Month Stats:

  • Weight: 26 pounds, 6 oz {88th percentile – as of 1/22}
  • Length: 32 inches {60th percentile – as of 1/22}
  • Clothing size: 2T
  • Shoe size: toddler size 5 – new sunny sandals this month!
  • Number of teeth: thirteen – proud new owner of her first canine
  • Favorite foods: smoothies, pasta, cheese, any fruit – new love of pear
  • Least favorite foods: beef, chicken
  • Favorite things/activities: playing anything with Ben, building with blocks, digging in the sand, climbing, swinging, hanging from the rings on the playground, watering, visiting the animals on our street {chickens, turkeys and horses} and taking baths.
  • Least favorite things/activities: waiting, not getting what she wants, getting her diaper changed

This has been such a big month of development for Hannah! The most dramatic growth has been with her language. Starting about two or three weeks ago it just exploded! She is saying 5-10 new words a day and has begun speaking in complete sentences. It’s incredible, especially since at her 18-month checkup I was telling the doctor I was concerned about her speech and vocabulary. Hannah has officially become part of the conversation in our family and it is a game changer.

One of the biggest new words Hannah has begun saying {this goes to the top of the list for “most commonly used words”} is “stop.” This is both helpful for us and Hannah to know that she wants to stop and see the horse across the street for a little longer, or for her to tell us when she wants you to stop doing something. She hasn’t quite put the “st” sound together so it’s “bop! bop!” And often it’s with tremendous attitude.

For a while I’ve been asking Hannah to say “thank you” in appropriate scenarios, like if I’m getting something for her. One day, without a prompt, she begun saying it all by herself. I can’t get over how lovely it is when she says “thanks mama!”

Out of nowhere it seemed Hannah started speaking in complete sentences. Granted, she’s still pretty hard to understand out of context, so I wouldn’t be surprised if she has been trying to string together multiple words for a while.

One afternoon Hannah came up to me and said, “mama, I want my baby” and I was completely taken aback. Sure, she’s said things like “hi mama” and “not that” before, but a real, legitimate complete sentence threw me for a loop.

At the beginning of quarantine I sort of joked that I was going to potty train Hannah this spring “with all the extra time I had.” Well, the joke played out a little and I am two weeks into a very loose beginning of potty training. It turns out it’s extremely difficult to focus on a very young potty trainer while also watching her mischievous 3-year old brother across 3 acres, all by myself. So, my expectations have been drastically adjusted and I’m going to see if Hannah takes the lead.

Hannah is SO ready to potty train, I just can’t focus enough of my attention just on her to make it happen. She is extremely aware of what’s going on in her own body, as well as others – she’ll even point out when our dog is going to the bathroom.

Diapers seem to be largely a thing of the past for Hannah. She is over them and has demanded to only be dressed in pull-ups.

Play has been extra fun this last month. Since we’ve been up in the mountains our routine has changed and the activities we do on a daily basis are a bit different than they would be if we were still in Seattle. Hannah and Ben have been playing together so much more lately. They are absolutely adorable together and it brings me tremendous joy watching them sit in the dirt together or jumping on Ben’s bed together.

For as long as I can remember Hannah has been a terrific sharer, in particular with her brother. If Ben asks calmly for Hannah to give something back to him or to share something 100% of the time she will give it to him. They are developing the sweetest bond and they adore each other so much.

Multiple times a day Hannah will go through the list of our family members and ask where everyone is. She’s started saying “Ben” {though it sounds more like “Den”} all the time and I can’t get over how sweet it is hearing her call for “Den! Den!” or “Puppy!” {Jackson has been renamed “Puppy” by Hannah.} She has such a big heart and is so friendly.

Hannah has gotten really into playing with blocks. Most mornings she’ll sit down on the floor and build a small tower or a little road for her small cars to drive on. I love watching her get into new things.

A big favorite of Hannah’s right now is digging in the dirt. Out by our new raised garden beds is a massive unintentional sandbox that the kids are practically living in. They drive the wheelbarrow and their big tractor or dump truck and then scoop up little shovelfuls of dirt into their pails and then wheel them all over the place. It’s like being at the beach, right?

Hannah is also very much into water and watering things. She waters all the things, except for the ones that need water. Her favorite is to water the deck or the empty planters awaiting their herbs.

This girl is ever the helper. She always wants to be involved in whatever is going on, whether it’s baking, cooking, emptying the dishwasher or cleaning. One moment I want to remember forever is the day last week when Hannie finished her snack, carried her plate into the kitchen, deposited the remaining unwanted snack in the trash, then she opened up the dishwasher, pulled out the little drawer and stuck her plate in. I didn’t so much as prompt her to do any of this. She is extremely observant and watches what everyone else is doing as a way to figure it out for herself.

It has been so fun to bake with Hannah while quarantining. She absolutely loves it and wants to do everything all by herself, of course. It’s almost a guarantee that she’ll briskly whisk whatever is in the bowl so that more of it ends up on the counter and more often than not she’ll reach her little hand into said bowl for a fistful of dough. She’s also been known to pick the M&Ms off the top of the cookie dough, awaiting the oven.

This girl is so bright and spirited and loud and sweet and friendly and absolutely delightful. She brings us tremendous joy and an abundance of love. We’re so enjoying these last few months of Hannie’s second year.

Ben is 21 months old