Zooey is 19 months old! She had her 18 month well check this month, and she weighed in at 24.4 lbs. and is 30.5" tall. The doctor also confirmed my suspicion that she is indeed getting her first 2 year molar.
Everyone always asks me if Zooey's into everything, and the answer is yes, she is. I turn my back for a few seconds, and she usually is into something new. Most of the time this is a new toy, but the other day it was her climbing & standing up on the open dishwasher! She is filled with curiosity, and she takes everything in with those big blue eyes. Yesterday we were singing one of the songs from the library story time. It is a counting song, and when I got to four, Zooey held up her hand with 5 fingers up, then with her other hand, she folded her thumb in, so that she was saying four, too. I think she's pretty smart. :) Zooey seems to be beginning to say more words. The other night at dinner she said "please;" tonight she said "done" twice. She has a new lovey, Tiger, that she got last month. After a trip to the ER for her first stomach bug (it was as awful & pitiful as it sounds), she really bonded with Tiger, and she calls him "Ta-ga." Zooey also started giving out kisses this month. This is the BEST! She blows kisses, she kisses our cheeks, she kisses her toys; she is just full of love, and it is wonderful. I love Zooey's kisses. It also seems like she's starting to remember places. When I tell her we're going to Little Gym or to see Grandma, she gets very excited. She also gets excited when I tell her we're going to the park. She really likes push toys right now (like the Fisher Price classic push popper), and today she tried to help me push around our little sweeper. Speaking of that, she really just wants to be a part of whatever it is we're doing - vacuuming, cleaning, feeding the animals, talking on the phone. She tries to help me or imitates us doing these things. It's pretty cute.
Zooey's a very determined little girl. When she is trying to do something she can't quite achieve, she gets so frustrated she throws a frustration tantrum. When I ask her if she wants help, she usually signs "please," only to get more angry when I try to help her. She's like her momma like that; I like to try to accomplish things on my own. She's also pretty strong-willed and throws her share of temper tantrums, which we combat with being as consistent as we can. She "comes by it naturally," as my mom says, because Ryan & I are both pretty strong-willed. I think both of these qualities will be good for her as she grows up, as long as she can learn to direct her determination in a positive way. She also needs to learn how to graciously accept help, which I know can be hard to do sometimes. These are some new goals for us as her parents.
Zooey is such a loving child. As mentioned above, she loves to give kisses now. She often checks in with me while she's playing, just to get or give a little snuggle or hug or kiss before she runs off to play again. I was at dinner with my parents this week, and she wanted me to blow her kisses, so she put her hand on my mouth, then when I bent down to her, she snuggled her little cheek against mine. She loves to wake her daddy up with snuggles in the morning, which she follows up by climbing and stepping all over him. She is so much fun, and I am really enjoying this stage in her life.
On Easter, Zooey wore an adorable yellow dress. She came out of her independent play after church to see my mom & dad. She walked down the hallway like it was a catwalk, grinning at my mom and even stopped to bend down and touch her new shoes. She KNEW she was cute in that little dress. It cracked all of us up. She was pretty adorable. My mom thought it was awesome. :)
Zooey loves:
~Tiger
~Tiger
~Shoes. She even gave her friend's shoes a kiss at the library this week!
~Books
~Bath time
~Fish
~Her Bible. She squeals in delight to have it read to her each morning - and this is the only book she does this with.
~Playing outside
~Opening and closing things, like the stuffed-with-treats Easter eggs. :)
~Almond milk; beans
Zooey doesn't like:
~having her hair rinsed during her bath
