Dear Sirena,

You have such a caring, empathetic soul and it warms our hearts how much you show care and compassion for others, especially babies…you LOVE babies!  You got a baby doll for Christmas and you care for her better than any parent could (other than when you drop your baby on the head on the wood floor, haha).  Every time you see a picture of a baby, you have to point it out and say “Baby” in a very sweet voice.  If you ever hear a baby cry (like in a store) you call out “Baby!” and pout your lips because you feel so bad for the sad baby.  And you love (and I mean love) changing your baby’s diaper over and over and over again.  You say “boo boo” (which is anyone’s booty/privates according to you) and grab a new diaper and a wipe, wipe the baby’s boo boo, put on a fresh diaper, and then repeat.  You’ve put diapers on not only your baby doll but your monkey doll, Dumbo doll, and you’ve even suggested putting a diaper on Lalo (Lola) which I quickly put a stop to knowing Lola would not be a fan!

For all the sweetness lately there is definitely a side of you showing through that, in a word, has been difficult.  You have been testing us like any 20 month old does and at times it can be pretty trying.  You have been showing your defiance more and more, outright saying no to something we tell you to do or running away when we ask you to do something.  Sometimes it’s hard not to laugh because in a way it can be pretty comical having this little person show so much independence and defiance but we don’t want to encourage the behavior.  At your worst you’ve hit me and Daddy with your little hands when you are so frustrated with us and luckily it was only a couple of weeks with you doing that consistently and you haven’t done it much lately, but boy do those little hands have power behind them!  And lastly, it took us a while to figure out how to tame your wild behavior at mealtimes (demanding [and I mean demanding] food, screaming for more, not being able to wait a few minutes for us to put a meal together for you, crying inconsolably for mealtime, etc.) but your preschool teacher enlightened us to the fact that we weren’t feeding you enough throughout the day!  We have since been following your preschool’s feeding schedule (breakfast at home, morning snack, lunch before nap, afternoon snack, dinner at home) and you have been a dream at mealtimes!  Poor thing, you were just too darn hungry to focus and be calm.  So thank you for your patience with us as we figure this whole parenting thing out!

Love,

Mama

New words: Me, Mine!!, ‘xcuse me, “Aye” (She says this instead of “Yes”), “Mow” (Minnie or Mickey Mouse), “Mow mow” (Hello Kitty or any cat)

Monthly Photos

See past photos in her mini armchair here:

One Month ::  Two Months ::  Three Months

Four Months ::  Five Months ::  Six Months

Seven Months ::  Eight Months ::  Nine Months

Ten Months ::  Eleven Months ::  Twelve Months

Thirteen Months ::  Fourteen Months :: Fifteen Months

(No Sixteen Months!)  ::  Seventeen Months ::  Eighteen Months

Nineteen Months