20 months

Holy cow...Marissa is 20 months old! I can't believe how close she is to turning 2. Just crazy. We had a good Christmas. Marissa got a bunch of new toys (which she needed!) and Dan and I got some really nice things too. Dan's parents gave us money to buy Marissa a play kitchen, and we got that the day we got back from Georgia. So far she is loving it, and puts just about everything she can fit into the cabinets, stove, and dishwasher it has. It's so fun to watch her enjoying it and pretending with her baby. Thank you Granny and Pop-Pop!

She's starting to say a lot of new words, but even more than that, she's starting to understand a lot more. While we were gone, we slept in the same room as her, so now everytime she goes "nigh-nigh" she asks if we are going too. Lol.

And after every meal she eats, she IMMEDIATELY gets her baby, puts her in her high chair, walks over to the pantry, and says "ummmm" trying to figure out what to feed her baby. I eventually just gave in, so now we give baby a few crackers or goldfish after every meal so Marissa can steal them and laugh hysterically about it.

We are not allowed to buckle her in her high chair - she MUST do it.
We are not allowed to put her pants or socks on her - she MUST do it. She says "I DO IT!" over and over til we let her, although if I'm in a hurry and say "Mommy do it" she'll usually let me. Hehe.

She's a ball of fire these days, and has really started asserting herself even more. Mainly for my own knowledge, I've continued keeping a list of words/phrases she says. So here is the original list, with the new additions at the bottom.

her pronunciation = real word
tee = tv (oops)
boo = spoon
poo = poop (yes, she tells me when she poops! very convienent, but I'm really not ready for potty training!)
tish = tissue
shee = seat (carseat, or booster seat for a meal)
peas = please (she also usually signs it at the same time)
mah = more (she also usually signs it at the same time)
all doh = all done (she also usually signs it at the same time)
tank ooo = thank you
shoes = shoes (definitely her favorite, good grief!)
house = house
bah = ball (also sometimes says bah-bah for ball)
choo choo = choo choo train
baby = baby (another all time fav)
hi = hi
buh-bah = buh-bye
no = no
yesh = yes
puh = cup
ssssss = nurse
Dada = dada
Mama = mama
Ah-ra = Aunt Ra-ra
dee = ding (oven timer)
apple = apple
tash = trash
ell = help
nye-nye = night-night
Cheeeeeeze = cheese (for pictures)

NEW ADDITIONS:
pull and push - and she knows what each one means
hot and brrrrr - and she knows they are opposites
gentle
george (curious george)
ming-ming (the character from the wonder pets to tell me she wants to watch it)
tasha (the character from the backyardigans to tell me she wants to watch it)
ming-ming (when she wants to eat freeze dried mango)
shir = shirt
sweh-shir = sweatshirt
da = socks or crackers, depending on context
boo = book
poo = "I pooped! Change me!"
pee-pee (when we change her diaper, and she asks if there was poop and we say no, she asks about pee-pee + she does it every time we put her in the tub)
spoo = spoon
bow = bowl
poh-poh = pillow
I gotcha = anytime we're chasing her, or anytime she picks up something she dropped
juice = anything she drinks, no matter how many times I correct her with milk or water
keys
jep = jump
yo = yogurt or phone, depending on context
essie = sticker (can you say obsessed?!!)
eyes
nose
mouth
toes
poh-poh = pillow
MOM! = Grandma (guess I called her "Mom" too much)
Pah-pah = Grandpa and PopPop (can't tell the difference when she says it, but we're calling both grandfathers different names, so she might just be confused too)
Jep = Jeff (my bro)
cheerio (I forget how she says it, but we can sorta tell what she means)
dada = hot dog
bah = bath
ch-ch = brush teeth
ap ap = A Nap in a Lap (naptime and bedtime book - more obsessed!)
awwwwwww = complete with high and low tones to complely "awwww" over any baby she sees
ha = hat, although today she actually said the "t" part a few times!
duh = stuck
yusch = lunch
hee = hand, usually she wants us to give her our hand so she can drag us somewhere to get something she wants, lol
gate
cow
clap
boo-boo = anytime she hurts anything even a tiny bit, it's already a boo-boo, said in a very pitiful voice
I know

And she sings Twinkle, Twinkle with us, and by herself. It's so cute. She says "up aboh the" ("up above the") and "ga ga guy" ("like a diamond") very clearly and repeatedly. She's also beginning to sing Ring Around the Rosie too, only that mostly consists of very high-pitched squeals, followed by "ah, ah, DOWN!!!!"

I guess that about covers it. I can't wait to come back and read this in 6 months or so, and see how much she's changed.

Haha, oh man, I almost forgot to post this little story from our trip to Georgia. We ended up coming back a day earlier, and this is why. Marissa slept like an angel for the first two nights. Then the third night, I put her down normal time, but when Dan and I came to bed, she woke up (remember, same room). We told her over and over that it was still "nigh-nigh" time, and that usually does the trick, but not this time. She cuddled with me for a little while, but eventually became hysterically upset, to the point where she would just not calm down, for no apparent reason. It was Dan's night/morning for early duty, so he ended up taking her outside in the car for a quick drive, and then they both stayed in the car all night, til she woke up at 6am for the day. Dan however, only got 1 hour of sleep. The next night, I was so paranoid about the same thing happening that I laid in bed for over two hours, too tense to fall asleep. So instead of spending one more night and leaving in the afternoon to come home, we left Christmas evening around 7 and made it home by 4am. And honestly, we were much more rested that day than before. Lol. I guess that's not really so much a funny story, as it is a miserable one. But it was certainly interesting. She also had a few issues in the car ride down there, so needless to say, we have decided that we are not doing any long drives or staying over anywhere for at least 6 months!


*EDIT* Wow, that was a really long post. Sorry people. Anyways, I realized I forgot to mention the fact that she is saying ME and MINE alot these days. Everything she picks up is "MINE!!!" and she points to herself and says "me." I guess I shouldn't be surprised anymore, but I'm still amazed at the things she picks up without us ever using the word, like MINE. We certainly don't go around saying "this is mine" but somehow she just knows! Wow. She had some issues sharing her toys with the other toddler down in Georgia, and only wanted to play with whatever he was holding. It's so fun to watch her little mind develop!