22 month newsletter

Dear Trixie,
Today you turned 22 months old! So in two months you'll be 2 years old. That is so scary to Mama! I find it hard to believe that you're nearly two, which I know is a giant cliche, but I still see you as my little baby. Although by the time you turn two you'll have a little brother and everything will be different for you, however I am sure you will love it.
This month has been a busy one for you developmentally. You've cut 3 of your 4 canines, currently you are working on 2 of them, so sometimes you wake up at night a little grumpy, but you're always happy in the morning, and you also finally cut your 4th bottom tooth. It confirms that you have some funny crooked teeth on the bottom, but I have some hope that your big ones will come in a little straighter! Physically you are about the same size, but you are developing so much more with your motor skills. You love to run and will given any chance. You're trying your hardest to do two foot jumps, and sometimes you manage to get both feet off of the floor. You've learned to walk down stairs holding a rail or Mama's or Daddy's hand. I am sure that this is a late development, but it is all my fault. I am a little paranoid of you falling so I would always carry you, but now that I am so pregnant, I've had to let go a little and of course you were able to do it just fine!
Cognitively you're amazing. The other day we had the power go out briefly and then later in the day you were sitting in the kitchen as I made dinner and you kept telling me "4, 9, 4, 9, 4, 9", so I looked at the clock on the stove and it was flashing 4:19! So the next morning I showed you your number book and on a whim I asked you where the 4 was and you identified it, then the 9 and all of the other numbers! So it's become a game for you and I to point out numbers. Yesterday at a restaurant you showed us our number and told us it was 5, 1, and it was. Daddy and I are quite shocked that you've just decided to demonstrate your understanding of numbers. We've known for a while that you could count, but we didn't know that you could identify them by sight.
A few weeks ago Daddy hung up a giant wall map in your play area and you've been learning the countries of the world, so far you can identify: Canada, USA, Australia, New Zealand, China and Brazil. It's a fun game for you, and you like to tease us, pretending to point to one country, only to change and point to the correct one.
In getting ready for Christmas this year I took you to see Santa and you were completely uninterested in him, then on our vacation to Southern California we tried with another Santa and again you were uninterested. The Santas assure me that it's a phase, and you'll soon be happy enough to see him. You will be happy to know that I didn't push him on you and there are no crying Trixie photos on Santa's knee.
Your vocabulary continues to grow as always. I've noticed that you've started to understand more abstract concepts. For example we were talking about some of your friends at a playdate and you were able to tell me who wasn't there, you used "not". "Not Tyler, not George...." It's interesting for me to see how your mind works. One day I gave you some dried kiwis and I watched you look at it, taste it and say to me: " Mama, not apple?" and I told you that it was kiwi, and you responded telling me that you had kiwi with Nana. I was shocked because you did, a year ago, and you haven't had kiwi since then. I wonder how far back you can remember, and for how long will you remember that trip to New Zealand a year ago. I guess we'll see when we go back there in a few months!
Tomorrow is Christmas and I hope that you have a lovely day. Daddy and I thought long and hard about what presents that you would love the best and narrowed the list down to a few. I hope that you're not too overwhelmed by everything!
Okay my sweet girl. I hope you have a wonderful day tomorrow and I promise that the next month you and I will continue to have some amazing Mama and Trixie time, it will be the last we have before Baby Brother comes, then the three of us will have amazing time together!
love,
Mama.