Life with a toddler

Katya is just about 19 months old now! She is growing like a weed and oh so cute. She has turned into one of those picky eaters that is so common at this age. Great. It is very frustrating; oh the good old days, when she was a baby and would eat everything! She all but refuses vegetables although we are diligent about offering them a few times a day. Sometimes when she just sees me put them on her tray she starts with her emphatic "NO! NO!" She also eats very little meat or legume protein. She still loves fruit, cheese, plain yogurt, and some bready stuff. We are following the rule that "the parent says what and the child says how, if any." They say if she is really hungry she will eat and all we can do is offer her healthy choices. Many days she eats only bits of her lunch and dinner and we have to resist the urge to fill her up on fluff or milk. Things she use to love like beef, beans and broccoli are out the window (or on the floor to be quite literal). Breakfast is her favorite meal (just like her mom!) and she usually eats a good amount. She like oatmeal which is nice. She also likes eggs and cold cereal.

She continues to hit whoever is within her reach when she gets mad. We are doing our best to patiently and consistently give her time outs. Her latest thing is to hug and kiss me immediately after hitting to try and make up for it. I thank her for the hug and kiss but give her a time out for the hitting. I have taught her that it is okay to stomp her foot when she is mad and we talk about how that is an appropriate way to express her anger. She has not been able to control the hitting and use stomping instead yet but when with I ask her "what can we do when we are mad?," she stomps her foot. We want her to know it is okay to feel upset but she needs to learn to channel that emotion in a non-distructive way. She also says "mad" now. She signs sorry after her time outs (with prompting) and gives kisses.

Katya's latest obsession is "walk" which is her general term for not only walking but being outside. We have been spending a lot of time in the backyard so that I can be close to a bathroom. Taking her to the park or on walks in the neighborhood is fun but challenging since I only last about 20-30 mins between bathroom runs. She throws an absolute fit when we have to come back home. She continues to enjoy books and often wants to take a book to bed with her. It is so cool that she can sit through a whole story now (when she wants too). I like reading longer stories to her while she is in the bath. She still loves her baths which I try and give her everyday.

She is also obsessed with the color yellow (which she says really well) and talks about it all day long. She points to things and says yellow (whether they are or not) especially if the object is orange, or actually yellow. It is fun to work on her colors with her. I have also been teaching her about emotions and she does the cutest face for sad or crying. I taught her "weep" because it comes up a few times in her favorite book, "A Christmas Carol." She squints her eyes and rotates one fist as if crying. She has displayed some concern for characters in her books who look to her to be precariously perched. It is pretty funny. She first noticed the mouse in "Goodnight Moon" sitting up on something high and she said "boom." Now she thinks Crochet (Christmas Carol) is going to go "boom," off his stool and the "Geiling on the ceiling" is going to go "boom" in "There's a Wocket in my Pocket."

That's about all the news with Katya!