23 Months
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| Headband--70's style |
Today is one of the first days I can honestly say, it's starting to feel 'less hot.' I would not venture to say it feels cool--but it feels pleasant! September and October have been touch and go for us in the health department---allergies and colds have been cycling through our house and have not completely evacuated! We look forward to the change of seasons being complete and maybe alleviating some of this sickness! This month we began our essential oil journey. So far, we are enjoying the benefits (and smells!) that come with them! We hope to keep using them for the majority of over-the-counter needs. We also had a fun visit from Taylor's mom and Timothy--Atley counted down the days until their visit! She could not wait! We moved around slowly with the heat but enjoyed the extra company.
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| Loving on an MTR cat |
Stats: 36 inches and 27 pounds. Atley seems to be growing like a root. Her newer shoes already look small! I am sure this is common for parents but we cannot believe she is already in 3-4 year old clothing. We could probably squeeze her into smaller ones but with her pickyness in attire these days, we find she picks the bigger items. Atley's outfits are usually adorned with a cape, cloak or 'dress' (a blanket wrapped like a tube dress). She loves wearing our shoes.
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| Sweet girly stickering up after the doctor |
Favorite Words and Other Milestones: Lately, I love communicating with Atley. She repeats just about everything we say--and then we hear it later in the week, again. She has a system of telling us things and we know we're understanding her if she continues to say the same word. For example, the other day, she told Taylor when she woke up that she, "Was on a bus in the typhoon!" When he repeated the same sentence to her she replied, "Yeah!" If we have it wrong, she will let us know! She has started asking, "What's this? What happened? Who's this?" for just about everything. Her response is almost always, "Oh, I see, I see," if she understood us--too cute! She has this game she likes to play with Taylor where he pretends he is sleeping and she will wake him with a kiss! When she kisses his arm, he doesn't wake up--so she says, "Not working anymore!" so she kisses his cheek and his eyes pop open. She is such a gentle, sweet, cuddler. She has also been super funny when she says something or asks for something but does not like our response. One day, she asked to watch the movie Frozen (no surprise here) and I said, "No, not today." She got wide eyed, got very close to my face and slowed down her question. "Waaaaatch Froooooozen?" as if I clearly, did not understand. Hysterical! She also informs us when someone (including herself) is, "Speaking Chinese." I have done a few letter activities with Atley and she is starting to be able to match the letters in her name. She still thinks everything is green! And, she is starting to notice when there are, "No seats on the bus!" Love this age!
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| Waiting for the bus, "All by myself!" |
Favorite Foods: No big changes in this area--although she has started eating her raw peppers in salads and some cucumbers for snack. She has been requesting milk like crazy and strawberries are now allowed! She still loves anything over rice and likes it spicy! We went to the beach a couple times this month and she asked for noodles on the beach after seeing others eat them--only our child, on a hot, beach day would request this! She even passed up a Subway sandwich!
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| Loved wearing NaiNai's glasses--looks a bit like her Mama in this one! |
Favorite Activities: Atley has been very interested in walking around outside lately--she loves the cooler weather! She likes to go watch the "sunset" and "sunrise" though we discuss the differences every day of those words (everything is a sunset)! She can spot the moon easily and we've even seen a few stars from our rooftop. She loves to 'fly' through the hallway wearing a cape of some sort and yell, "You can fly!" while watching the cape trail behind her. She loves to point out every McDonalds we pass and always reminds us that they have ice cream there. In the evenings she loves to go out for a walk in the village after dinner. We collect rocks and toss them into the weeds and play Simon Says. She has SO much fun following directions (totally my kid!!). She has started to dialogue between her dolls, babies and figurines. It's so sweet to watch her play alone. When we come home from work lately, she insists we all wear capes and dance around to music. It's such a 'magical' age. Everything is so exciting to her--we love it!
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| Playing at the Ikea--a favorite store because of all the free-for-all toys |
Favorite Things: One day, Atley kept repeating the words to a song I wasn't familiar with. Turns out, she loves her some Katy Perry! She likes her song, "Roar" and constantly belts the chorus. Her dance moves that coincide with the song are perfect--including her hands over her mouth for a 'roar.' She loves a crowd and uses a microphone sometimes! Atley asked for her first pair of flip flops this month (a dream come true to us!! we wear them year round AND got married in them!) which ended up being too tight to fit her feet into. We journeyed out for a 2nd attempt and she's pretty content with them. As with all of her shoes, they come and go in stages and somedays they work and somedays they rub and get thrown off. I'm thankful we can stop talking about getting some! With the addition of oils in our house this month, Atley has become fond of them, too. She calls the diffuser her 'puff, puff' and reminds us to fill it each night. She barely makes it through her books after we've rubbed lavender on her temples. Atley is also in love with her first backpack--Princesses, of course. She got to go to Toys R Us and pick it out with Taylor--a sweet date. She wears it proudly and walks a lot more when strutting it. We've started packing her diaper and snack in there--what are kids for, right?!
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| All smiles for her first backpack! |
Least Favorite Things: Atley is starting to begin the long, avoidance process before bed. She avoids the shower, getting pajamas on, brushing her teeth and chooses the longest books lately (by the time she finally chooses!). We're onto her, though! She also tries to convince us that every morning is Saturday and as we tuck her into bed she says, "Saturday morning cartoons!" So, needless to say, the girl does not like week days! She does not always like to walk and would much prefer to be carried by mommy than daddy or the stroller. We're juggling this and will hopefully get over this hurdle prior to Lively's arrival!
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| Loves to run and play ball! |
Random Unforgettables:
Atley was caught staring at Mom's belly and when asked if she saw Lively and if Lively was getting bigger she replied, "Lively's huge!"
Sweet kisses for her sister.
Asks for Taylor every night after I sing with her.
Insists on snacks and breakfasts at the small table--big meals in high chair.
Plops down on the ground for diaper change as soon as it feels heavy/wet.
Says, "I just tripped" after a fall and when asked if she's ok replies, "Yeah I am."
Lovebirds Corner: Taylor and I have been resting, working, and resting! With getting sick, we've been taking turns on having the energy in the house. Hopefully, with the cool weather, we will begin to move around town more again. We are both teaching cohorts this month for our online instructor positions and will have a busy season coming up with the holiday months--but that just means we're getting ever so closer to being a family of 4! We still make time for a date breakfast/dinner/errand once a week and we really value our commutes to and from work together. When I'm home with the girls next year I am hoping we can be creative and still prioritize our quality time. This month, for our 27th date (every 27th of the month we do something special!) we hiked to the top of Amah Rock. It was a really pretty view of the city and a fun morning to get up and move around! We are excited to start talking about summer plans in the States--it's around the corner! Much love to all!
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