22 months: Exapanding vocabulary, Tamil, and our desert park vacation

I can tell you about the flowers. The white ones and purple ones. The ones with bees humming around them. I will stop and look for more on the way to drop off Anna. More bees. More bees.

I can tell you about pockets, which I like quite a lot. Pockets on my pants, or shorts. Pockets that are the perfect size for little blocks or rocks.

At night I tell Amma when I am thirsty. More milk. Please. Okay? Pillow. Blanket. Bear. Then we are ready.

In the morning I might be nursing and then be distracted by Amma asking me if I want to read a book. Like one of my favorites about the penguin. Personal penguin. (Imagine me your personal penquin from now ooooonnnn!) Or I might go for the train book (choo choo!). Or I might be distracted by the sounds of trucks in the back (building the new elementary school). But if Amma tries to put on some clothes I don't like I'll let her know I don't want that.

If I fall down and it isn't too bad, I will tell you I have an Owie, and then show you where. Sometimes it can be little worse, like when I got distracted looking at the neat lizard cooling himself off with small pushups at Gooseneck State Park in Utah and then fell down through the bush. In those cases I will cry. And then other times I may say "I'm okay", a saying that I picked up from Trisha in Zion with Appa's friends.

I really enjoy fans - they spin! The one at home in the living room and the one in my room. At the playground, when I am swinging I may ask to go higher.

Other times in the morning I might ask for corn, or granola, or blueberries, banana (nana), or a new favorite avocado. When I am done, of course I will let you know I am All done. Then you will definitely want to wash my hands.

My Tamil speaking is coming along as well. For example, I can say venum (More), count to three (Una renda mundi) and even a little higher, say I want some palum (fruit), point out the mon (deer) or a nayee (dog), ask for my topi (hat), respond to Appa when he says the parts of my face, and answer Appa when he asks Au payer enna? Mano! (What is your name? Mano!). But the cutest of all time is to hear me say Anna kanno? (Anna is missing?) when we are hiking. (Apologies to the Tamil speakers for my poor spelling!)

This month we took a week-long vacation and visited parks and other beautiful places throughout the Colorado Plateau. I saw rafters and the rocky walls of the Royal Gorge (CO) from the open-car train. We hung out with Uncle Chris and Rocky dog hiking in Crestone (CO). I traveled back in time (on the back of Amma) as we went down the cliff walls in Mesa Verde National Park (CO) to see a cliff dwelling. We had a lovely hike around West Mitten Butte in Monument Valley (Navajo, AZ) nearing sunset, which brought out vivid red colors. I pointed out motorcycles (especially the Harleys) on the road. I saw birds flying the updrafts from the great Grand Canyon (AZ), got to touch the rocks from so many millions of years ago on the Trail of Time, and enjoyed playing in the natural springs at Indian Garden (3k feet into the canyon). We dropped into a red, skinny, cool canyon (Antelope Canyon) that had undulating pretty walls (though also some sand coming from above that gets in your eyes). We had fun in the hot tub in Zion East and everyone loved going through the long Tunnel! everyday on the way to adventures in Zion National Park (UT). After the shuttle bus ride we wound our way up Walter's Wiggles on the way to Angel's landing (we didn't quite make it all the way, but at least tried some of the challenging sections). Tara played with me a bunch on the hike and at the house with lots of friends (and their families) from Appa's school days. Amma and Appa got wet in the river as we got almost everyone to do the hike into the Narrows, where the trail becomes the river. On the way back home we even stopped in Arches National Park (UT), hiked to a pretty arch, saw petroglyphs, and I even got to run along the trail in my cute park ranger outfit. 

Thank you God for national parks, backpacks, arches, canyons, gorges, waterfalls, sunshine, lizards, family, friends, and gummies.

PS. My words (mostly new, a few are repeats) this month are in italics.

21 months: Hungry Caterpillar, great grandma and grandpa, and tractors

My new favorite book is The Very Hungry Caterpillar. "Up came the sun and "Pop" (pop pop), out came a tiny and very hungry caterpillar." And my other new favorite is the one with the farm and the tractor. What does a duck say? Quack quack I reply.

That brings me to my expanding vocabulary. I have a lot of new words. Tractor, backpack, boots, rocket. Knee. Pants. Ok. Help. Up. Down. Moose. Mango. Welcome. Careful. Hat. Coat. Nose, truck, bike, train. Zipper. Trash can. I even have a few two-three word sentences like "me too," "water please," and "Amma car vroom." Amma loves each and every new word.

At the beginning of the month we had a big party for great grandma and grandpa's 70th wedding anniversary! This is quite a long time, so long it is hard for me to fathom. We heard good stories about their lives. And there was cake too.

We had a super big snow storm (in April, can you believe it?) that covered up the flowers. We went sledding too, which was fun. I went with Amma down the hill.

Around home, I like to move and like to dance. I'm dancing, I'm dancing dancing dancing. I move my arms and do little squats. Sometimes I sit down and hang onto Amma's foot and having her drag me around the floor, which is a hoot. Sometimes Anna even joins in. If I decide that I want Amma or Appa to come with me in the other room, I go ahead and grab their legs and pull them where I want them to go. It is pretty cute. I am even starting to learn how to pedal on the tricycle and try my hand at walking the Strider bike around the living room.

One of my favorite songs is 'wheels on the bus' along with its associated movements. When we are driving in the car, sometimes I will just start moving my hands and then Amma picks up that I want to sing. Anna joins in.

We took a trip to see Robots! at the museum of nature and science, which I enjoyed a lot. There was one robot that climbed a big ladder, others with pinchers, and even one that flew through the sky.

Outside, I like to hike. Sometimes at school we make it all the way to the park. We went hiking in Chautauqua and White Ranch. Along the way I picked up lots of sticks, and I like to carry pine cones too. I am working on being a good hiker.

Ayyamma arrived from India at the end of the month. So now we get more Dosai! Yum.

Thank you God for trails, pine cones, sticks, mud, sunshine, Anna, dosais, and family.

20 months: Sand box!, family visitors, and Goodnight Moon

Amma made Anna and me a sandbox in the backyard (from what used to be the pond)! It is really cool. I love digging in it and playing with dump trucks and dumping sand. (And there is a lot to dig in - 1,100 lbs worth of sand.) Sometimes I even want to go play in it in the morning before school.

While getting out the door in the morning can sometimes be challenging, I really like my morning walks with Amma and Anna. Sometimes Anna is on his bike so we have to go quickly to catch up. We walk by mamma bear and baby bears and the two owls (hoo hoo) that are carved in the tree. We walk through the park and under the tree tunnel. While Amma drops off Anna, I get to play with the toy kitchen. Then we make our way to Homestar and Amma narrates our walk. Once there I usually get breakfast right away (unless we are early, in which case I play). And then I enjoy playing with snow, mud, singing songs, and dancing in the circle.

Appa's cousins visited from India and we had a grand time. We had a snowball fight at Bear Lake (on the lake) in Rocky Mountain National Park. We hiked to Bluebell shelter at Chautauqua and got to eat oranges. We went to the zoo and saw snakes and giraffes and got to sit in a rickshaw.

My bedtime routine now includes the classic book Goodnight Moon. I just love it. Especially the colored pages. And the socks (I touch my feet) and mittens (I wiggle my hands). And the toyhouse!   

My vocabulary continues to expand. Some of my new words this month include airplane! (I'll point them out whenever I hear one in the sky), cheese, house (inspired by Goodnight Moon), boat, shoes. I even uttered my first full sentence - I want more (you can hear it if you are familiar with me). And I am saying more sounds too - like ggroooaaar for bear.

The month also included a good Easter celebrating Christ with Jay, Saori, the boys, and grandpa. We celebrated Amma's birthday at the beginning of the month (including chocolate cake for breakfast, yum!) And I got to play in a bunch of cars at the auto show with grandpa.

Thank you God for books, sand, and family.

19 months: Rocks, socks, and pineapple

I like to play with rocks. Especially near streams (occasionally I walk right in the water). And I like to get dirty. Another place that is cool to dig is the at the museum of nature and science's discovery zone, where you can find dinosaur bones underneath their fake sand.

Some of my new words this month were rock, socks, and car. I like socks a bunch, and occasionally try to put them on, or put them away after Amma has done the laundry. I like to hold them when getting my diaper changed in the morning too.

Amma took a trip to California in the middle of the month, so Anna and Appa and I hung out. We even watched the Superbowl (go Broncos!).

My growth expanded as I settled into the new routines of the Toddler Room. Like sitting down and singing before food, washing my hands when I get called, playing outside a lot in the bigger playground, painting, playing with mud, hearing more stories, and generally exploring a bunch. We even occasionally walk all the way to the playground and back.

I found out that I like pineapple. Grandpa gave me some when we were visiting grandma, and it was tasty! This month also included hiking in Boulder, an IMAX movie about airplanes, and snowshoeing up near St. Mary's glacier with uncle Chris.

Thank you God for streams, routines, and backpacks.

18 months: Toddler room, carousels, and shoes

Big news on the daycare front. I moved up to the Toddler Room at school this past month! I transitioned about mid-month. Lots of things are different there. We take naps on mats instead of in cribs. We eat at a table instead of in a highchair. We have a bigger playground. We have more and older kids (~1.5-~2.5 years old). And I have new teachers. It is great fun.

Some of my words this month include Appa, Amma, and Anna. And coat. If it is time to go, I will bring shoes (for me or Anna or Amma). And sometimes I will bring the coat too.

After a snowy hike in the mountains, Amma took us to the carousel in Nederland and I got to ride on a rabbit! It was fun. For some reason, Anna doesn't like to ride up and down, but I do.

Occasionally I go pee on the little potty, learning from Anna. Nothing regular yet, but I am learning more.

At 18 months old, I weigh 22.5 lbs (~25%) and am 31.5" tall (~20%), following right along the normal growth curve.

Thank you God for carousels, big boxes, and comfortable shoes.

17 months: First 'words', Christmas, and Sleep!

Here are my first words: more (it kind of sounds like 'mahr'), ball, and woof (okay, not a word, but you get the point). I like to eat, play, and see animals. And I continue to sign different words, like signing for help if I need it.

I am getting more adventurous. Like sliding down the little slide in my room on my own. I also like to ride on the back of Anna's tricycle. And I like to play in the snow.

We went swimming as a family, and I can float around on my own with inflatable wings! Amma thinks is is super cute.  

This month we worked on sleep a whole lot. I moved to my crib in my own room, which is a big thing. This means that we are beginning to wean me from nursing at night. Unfortunately I still wake up a whole LOT (sorry Amma) and need comforting still. And usually Amma breaks down in the wee hours of the night and brings me into her bed or lies down with me.

Christmas was a lovely time. Seeing colorful lights at the Botanical Gardens. Opening presents. Making cookies. Eating with family.

This month we also had a party at Appa's house with friends and we hung out in Denver with uncle Chris (he even shared his peanut butter cookie with me). And I have a lot more teeth, including incisors and molars.

Thank you God for Christmas, lights, rides with brothers, and cute outfits.

16 months: Blowing kisses, climbing, and Thanksgiving

When I leave or someone leaves, I like to blow them a kiss. Or if Appa is on FaceTime and it is time to say goodbye, I blow him a kiss.

This month I kept signing more - for things like up or milk. As a result, I ask for milk from Amma more. :)

I am a climber (I think it runs in the family). I started climbing everything! Amma moved a chair and table set into my bedroom (from the living room) so I have a softer landing in case I fall down.

My hair is growing back pretty rapidly. Now it looks like I just have a short buzz cut!

This month we celebrated Divali and Thanksgiving at Eryn and Steve's house. We explored the museum of nature and science (and I played with light boards). We visited grandma at her new memory care center. And we went snowshoeing up at Brainard Lake (and I fell asleep in Amma's backpack).

Thank you God for snow suits, grandparents, brothers, and good food.