22 months

So Tommi at 22 months is....a handful to say the least....if you can't tell from the picture!

She is the sweetest, most caring and loving little girl....with quite a bit of spice thrown in for flavor. She is SO funny and knows it. She is super polite...including please, thank you, and excuse me (at all the right times). She is brilliant and SO much fun!

I could not even begin to list all the things she is doing these days. She LOVES to sing, dance, dress-up, and color. With the warm weather she begs to swing as much as possible. Our life is full of princesses and dolls these days. I'm LOVING life!

She is a talker! I catch her singing and talking to herself all the time. She even has started to get a bit embarrassed when I do catch her. But goes right back at it.

She has an opinion and you better listen! She knows what she wants to wear, how she wants her hair, and there is no other way. Ok so if I pushed it I could make her wear or do what I needed done (she does listen well). But "pick your battles" has been the best advice I have ever heard with a head strong little girl. I mean seriously why can't polka dots go with zebra stripes? She gets more compliments on her crazy outfits than the boring ones I put her in!

So now some awesome Tommi pictures!!!


Note the amazing outfit selection :) Yes those are tap shoes (thanks to Big Mama)




The "cheesey" face...she does it anytime you have her pose for a pic.


Again note the amazing outfit! I LOVE it!

Don't blink...

Don't Blink by Kenny Chesney

This song is totally the theme song of my life right now....These 2 lines especially...

"Don't blink. Just like that you're six years old and you take a nap and you
Wake up and you're twenty-five..." SO true! I feel like I was only a kid yesterday.

"Don't blink. You just might miss your babies growing like mine did" Seriously I know Tommi is only 22 months but I feel like these have been the fastest 22 months of my life....well actually 32 months including pregnancy. She is growing and learning so fast!

I heard this song while I was in the shower today and it made me cry b/c Tommi really is becoming a kid...she is not a baby anymore! And I thank the Lord for allowing me to stay home and be there for everything. Yes sometimes being a stay-at-home mom is far from perfect but I love it! I can enjoy working, reading, alone time, etc. later in life. Right now I have an almost 2 year old that makes waking up early, ruined trips out, pure frustration, boredom, living on a budget, watching endless kid shows, etc. worth every moment! These are times I can NEVER get back...these are the most important times in her life...they set the tone for the rest of her life! This IS the most important job in the world!

No mumpin...

While at church on Sunday Tommi asked to get into the crib while we were in the nursery...this sounds crazy but our church has a crib with a trampoline-like mattress. So Tommi (and all the other toddlers) like to get in and jump like wild monkeys. Well it gets a bit out of hand when you put my monkey in there...the WHOLE crib moves across the room. So before she got in I said 'what is our rule?' she looked me right in the eyes with all seriousness and said "No whining" hahaha so after composing myself. I said 'well that is a good one but what is our rule in the crib?' she said "No mumpin"

She got in and didn't jump but bounced a little and I could see it was killing her. So I told her to get on her knees and bounce that way since I know she can't get too much air that way. She enjoyed that, but it definitely was not the same.

It amazes me how much she absorbs of what we tell her...No whining has been a HUGE rule in our house recently b/c Tommi can communicate so well but forgets and whines. But she is doing so well "using her words" now, I'm really proud of her. We mainly now have trouble when she is tired and well she is only a toddler so I try to let those moments slide a bit ;)

Watch....

Tommi has been telling us to "watch" alot lately which is so funny b/c she is usually not doing anything special just likes to have our attention.

Yesterday while swinging Mandoline was running around the yard and Tommi yelled "Watch me, Man-man!" haha It was so sweet! Mandoline came over after a bit and sat by me and Tommi said "Man-man watch me too!" She loved it!

That is her other thing she is saying she just started understanding the word "too" like if we are dancing she will say "Snow White dance too" or if we are heading out the door and TJ is staying home she will say "Daddy come too" Maybe it is normal for kids to understand that word but she totally gets it and it amazes me.

She also can identify a few shapes...a star, a heart and a circle (which she sometimes calls an oval but that is close enough for me)

She really is getting quite the vocabulary! I guess all my talking to her is paying off!

Miss you...

Tommi's vocabulary grows everyday but today I was really impressed...she is now saying "I miss you" It is clear as day too. Sometimes it is just "miss you" but alot of times she can throw in the "I"

Another new word for the day that is clear and impressed me was "Dinosaur" seems like it is hard to say but she has no problem with it!

Too smart...

Tommi is getting to be too smart...she will repeat everything we say and knows so much! I know I'm bias but she seriously can look through books and name almost everything in pictures, knows tons of animals and their noises, etc. It is so amazing! She has tons of two and three word sentences...she is really turning into a little girl...bitter sweet!

She is now saying "I not" when I ask if she will do something or if she is doing something. It is actually really cute! Basically her way of saying "No I won't"

She has also learned to address people like "thank you Lydia" or "bye bye sam" It is really cool.

I think she is gonna be gifted...and the thought excites me!