three thousand miles: ++Twenty-Two: too close to two!++

Our little one is growing up too fast. She's in the vocabulary explosion phase so we ALWAYS know what is on her mind.

At twenty-two months she still loves purrrrrple. Like I said before I think the joke is on me as it has never been a color I have cared for all that much.
She is still so into her babies. She definitely has a favorite. She likes them best with "clothes off". I happened upon this the other day and had to grab my camera. She is reading a story to her baby. The best part is she was pointing things out in the book "see it?" My heart was mush.

Along with her increased ability to communicate has come her ability to tattle. She comes to us and says "Wyatt took it!" Gone are the days where she just has to sit back and put up with it I guess.

She is such a Princess and the Pea sleeper. She'll wake at the little sound to tell us "heard noise" "outside" "noisy truck" "birds kack kack". We are LUCKY to get an hour nap out of her. Feel free to send your sympathies my way.

We're also not exactly sure what she fuels her body with, mostly crumbs, fumes...and treats. She just can't be bothered with sitting and eating. She still loves her pickles (it has become a banned word in this house) and salty meats though.

We are still obsessed with Cora at our house as well. She often tells us to call her Cora. We need to talk about what Cora is doing all the time. Everything we do, she wants to know if Cora will be there too. Cora's kitty is a close second. Every time Cora comes over, Claire is convinced the kitty is coming too. There is no talking her out of it.

She continues to check off those little developmental milestones that make us glad that she will at least be average (although I secretly know she'll never be just average). She is slowly figuring out colors but does best will purple, yellow and orange. She can count to ten (thanks to playing hide and seek with dad and Wyatt) and can sing the ABC song.

She has a great sense of humor and finds humor in telling us things that aren't right, knowing that they are wrong. She points to something red and says "yellow" with a smile. Knowing it's not yellow. She thinks it's so funny if you put a piece of clothing on the wrong body part, etc. Her latest is to assign all of us the names of the corresponding members of Cora's family. She is Cora, Wyatt is Larson, Daddy is "Bett" and Mommy is Soozoo.

A few more things I want to be sure to remember about this age:
++She does a really nice job playing on her own. Reads books, loads up her baby gear, wanders around.
++After a snit loves to come tell us "all done crying!" She does the same for her brother too.
++Loves soft tickles on her feet, tummy, back---tells us "again" if we stop.
++Whenever she gets in a little back-and-forth with Wyatt she starts in with "my daddy" knowing that he'll respond "my daddy" and it will go on and on.
++Likes her fuzzy pink blanket almost as much as her lovey. Likes to be "warm and cozy".
++Does not like to leave her socks or shoes on. I just discovered a pile (no joke, 3 or 4 pairs) of socks between her crib and the wall.
++If you ask her how old she is she tells you "months". So funny.
++Wakes up in the morning and from naps and calls out "Mommy, are you?" until we come to get her.
++Is a total lap kid. If I am sitting down she NEEDS to be on my lap. Also wants to be held and carried a lot. "Mommy, carry you". So not used to this. Wyatt never wanted to be held or carried after he learned to crawl. Good thing she weighs the same as Wyatt did when he learned to crawl.

Can't you tell that little one is just up to something?