Eliana is 22 Months Old!!!

Eliana and I waved at the animals we saw at the Vintage Days last weekend.  We also got to see some former students and fellow teachers.  Yeah for unexpected meetings!

Words Eliana has said this month:
"Where's Harry?"  She is still wondering where Harry, Judy's husband, is even though we haven't seen him since Easter.  I think the sounds of the airplanes remind her of him.

"Later, Later!!!" This is because Rachel tells her, "See you later alligator."

"GramE."  Finally after months of not even trying, she said GramE, or her version of it, today!

Things Eliana has tried this month:
She has successfully tried to not nap on multiple days.  With the baby coming in the fall I'm really hoping she will still be napping.  Sometimes after she has played and whined for some time, I can go into her room and lay on the floor while telling her, "Mommy is laying down.  You need to lay down."  Most of the time this works, and once she is quiet for a few minutes, we are both asleep.

She has tried ignoring our directions like, "Come here." or "Pick up xyz." or "Put your feet down (off the table)."  It isn't that she doesn't hear us.  She looks at us and watches to see what our reaction will be to her disobedience.  So, she has gotten quite a few finger flicks and swats to the bottom for ignoring us.  She is then reminded that we love her, and we expect obedience.

Rachel, Ruli, Sarah, Bryce, Kyle, Eliana, and I went swimming for the first time this year.  Eliana forgot all of the fun she had last year and was unwilling to get in the water for quite some time.  I think it had to do with the water still being cool since it went from 60 degrees to the high 90s in a week.  Once she got in, she enjoyed herself thoroughly.

Eliana has successfully rerouted our return path from getting the mail to include seeing if her two wee friends are outside to play.  We met a few neighbors a few weeks back, and Eliana affectionately calls their names as we walk toward their apartments.

Other Eliana updates:
She eats breakfast and lunch pretty well on most days.  She tends to not be a big fan of dinner.  Breakfast is often oatmeal with occasional pancakes or waffles on special days.  Lunch is often sandwiches and fruit for her and leftovers for me.  I don't tend to try and give her leftovers unless she actually ate them the night before.  Even if she LOVED the meal for dinner, she isn't likely to even LIKE it for lunch the next day.  Complicated, but she is growing.