stella at 19 months

This morning when Stella was putting on her shoes she paused and said, very matter-of-factly, "I like shoes." In case there was any doubt, she is my girl for sure.

We checked out this book at the library last week and it spawned a whole slew of "I like" phrases, the first being "I like books." Others include "I like Kaikai," "I like pools," "I like Dada," "I like parks," I like cars," and "I like mac'cheese." Stella can mimic most sounds now so teaching her new words is an everyday affair. I love it. I love it when she surprises me with a word I didn't know she knew. As is evident above, she is also putting words together: "our car," "Pap-pap's chair," "Dada's clothes," "cracker please," "shoes off," "bye bye Dada," etc.

Stella is also her Dad's girl. She loves homemade mac-cheese, cheese toast, broccoli with cheese sauce, pizza from here and here, and cheese sticks. If it has cheese on it, she usually likes it. That's not to say she doesn't like to eat other things. She also eats grilled fish, cherries, strawberries, guacamole, dried mango, bean burritos, and rosemary crackers with gusto. Blueberries and grapes are more of a game to her; she attempts to stick as many as she can in her mouth and then holds them there until it becomes necessary to spit them out. She also likes to drop them off the side of her highchair (when she actually agrees to sit in her highchair) and watch them roll.

Stella still sleeps in bed with us which we love (aside from the occasional foot in the face). And still wakes up between 2-4 times most nights wanting to be soothed back to sleep. Which I don't love. It's not a habit I'm proud is still lurking around, but I am flummoxed as to how to make it stop and get her to sleep through the night. I'm not a big fan of crying and tears, so crying-it-out isn't an option. At this point. I just started reading this book in hopes that in the not-too-distant future I will have my first full night's sleep in over two years. Crazy, right? I'm pretty ready for it.

In other news, our girl has perfected the most amazing squeal. It combines over-the-top excitement and the thrill of hearing her own voice. The highlight of my day is hearing Stells squeal "Rubeeeee" at the top of her vocal range as soon as her friend comes into sight or "Kaikaiiiiiieeee" when she finds out we're going to Orinda to see my parents' dog. Sometimes when we are walking up our front steps she points to our neighbor's yard to where she's seen their cat lolling around and screams "kitttaaycatttt" as if she's at once calling it by name and calling attention to the fact that she remembers a cat lives there. I relish that unfettered joy. The world is such a wondrous place in the eyes of a toddler.