Makenzi at 22 months...wow.

Makenzi has turned 22 months old and she is growing by leaps and bounds.  She is starting to have name recognition with colors and letters.  She is counting more clearly and is singing along to her favorite shows.  She loves to color and plays with her toys with such imagination.  she is just shy of 3 feet and weighs about 25 pounds.  She takes naps when she needs them on her own, whether or not I put her down for one, so some days she naps and other days she doesn't. I have found that having a free flowing day within a schedule keeps my kids from getting bored and allows me to get things done, like updating my blog for all of you. 

Makenzi loves her animals and enjoys making them sit on her lap, I don't think they mind though since they don't run away from her once she catches them nor do they bite or scratch her.  I love the relationship she is having with them because it allows me to give a little less attention to the animals during the day and focus on the kids a little more. She also is understanding that if the animals run from her they don't want attention right then and she will leave them alone.

The relationship building between Makenzi and Gabriel is amazing as well.  She loves her little brother, though doesn't always want to let him play with toys. When I get on the floor with the kids, she will come give Gabriel hugs and kisses and tell him "its okay baby" even if he is just hugging her back.  She also pets his head and says soft and makes me rub his head too.  She is also listening to my requests at giving her brother his toy back and will return it after a few minutes.  I love sitting back and watching them interact without me sitting right there and Makenzi will talk to him and calm him down if he starts to fuss, it warms my heart to see her care for him.  She also will hand me his bottle or burp cloth if I drop them when I am feeding him a bottle and lets me know when he wakes up from a nap, even if I already know he is awake.  She runs to me and says mommy baby, mommy baby. 

Makenzi has started to eat more things too.  She no longer is tied to just eating chicken nuggets, popcorn shrimp and pasta, with a few snacks.  Now she will eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and quesadilla, she also will take a bite of whatever I am eating though she doesn't normally take more than a bite but at least she is now trying things.  She loves to eat pretzels, veggie straws, fruit snacks, chips, carrots, and loves popcorn.  She is eating pretzels and drinking milk as I write this too.

So this next month will see the beginning of her potty training as she likes to sit on the potty while she brushes her teeth and when I asked her to go potty while she brushed her teeth she did. I am so proud that she emptied her bladder into the big girl potty. So here we go with another mile stone.  We will also be continuing with building her vocabulary as well as letter number and color recognition.  I know with her next update we will have so much more accomplished.  She seems to be learning a lot in these past few months. I can't wait to see what happens next. 

Stay tuned next update will be for Gabriel at 5 months and oh boy what he is accomplishing.