Kelsey at 21 months

I've missed the more traditional 18-month update by a smidge, so we'll go with an update on our sweet Kelsey at 21 months of age:

• Kelsey's bedtime is closer to 7:30-8. She generally wakes around 7:45 or 8 a.m. (Hubby visits her a couple of times during some nights. We think she just gets cold.)


• She naps every day from 11:30-noonish until 2-3ish. I love those three-hour naps!


• She certainly knows how to communicate with us, even if she can't say the words clearly (or in some cases, at all). Some of her words include brother, daddy, mommy, choo choo, Papa, blankie, dog (pronounced more like "bog"), nana (for banana), truck, bus, please, thank you, ball, this, that, want, and flag. We often search for trucks, buses and flags during car rides to keep her from crying.


• She is using a pacifier, but sparingly. I think she's very close to giving it up. She knows now that she can only have it in bed and doesn't throw a fit once I remind her of that.


• She eats all morning long -- ALL morning long. I spend my entire morning in the kitchen between her and Ryan. She likes yogurt, bananas, grapes, apples, pineapple, applesauce, bagels, turkey, Honey Nut Cheerios, apple cinnamon breakfast bars, green beans, carrots, celery, Honey Bees, pumpkin bread, graham crackers, fruit snacks, Salsa-flavored Sun Chips, salsa, ketchup, BBQ sauce, meatballs, pasta, breadsticks dipped in marinara sauce, ice cream, cookies, anything chocolate!


• She never walks anywhere. She dances, prances, jumps, all while singing her own little tune.


• She's a climber. I cannot keep her off the coffee table. Sometimes, she climbs onto the kitchen table. Where does she get these ideas?!?


• She loves playing in the boys' bedroom, which causes very unhappy brothers. We've started keeping their door closed, because she also loves jumping on Ryan's bed. Ugh.


• She's quite attached to Mom these days. That said, she did great with Grammy and Papa during Christmas when Hubby and I were away.


• She likes to draw on paper a little, but spends more time drawing on her hands or face and biting off the tips of markers.


• Lately she is attached to a battery-operated Thomas the Tank Engine. She follows it around saying, "Choo choo."


• Her favorite books: Baby Faces, The Foot Book (a Healy fav), Moo Baa La La La, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, the Gerald & Piggie books, and just about any board book you'll read to her.


• She loves playing outdoors, even when it's freezing. Kelsey also loves the snow. Often, we have to bring her in kicking and screaming, even though the boys are frozen solid and ready to come in.


• Kelsey loves the water. She enjoys bathtime and is our biggest splasher yet. She also loves the pool. I will have my hands full this summer with her!


• I mentioned she sings. All the time. At Target recently, she sang her own song called "Mommy" for a good 15 minutes.


• Kelsey is a bit aggressive. OK, very aggressive. She doesn't stand by and let her brothers pick on her. Often, she starts the fighting. We're working on it, but I think she'll get better when she picks up more words.


• Along the same lines, Kelsey can get a little rough when she's tired. That's always her first signal that it's nap/bed time.