A shameless brag post: my daughter is so rad!

By Liv

Stella is 22 months old now. In my eyes, she is the most amazing person in the world. I've seen her grow from a helpless newborn to an ever-growing independent toddler. I'm proud to say that she has hit 3 huge milestones that I'm excited to share with our friends and family.

First, she now sleeps in a "big girl bed". I was worried that this transition would be difficult, but as with most anxieties that I have had with her, my worries were unwarranted. She did a great job. She now wakes up in the morning, toddles in to our bedroom and softly pokes me in the arm, whispering, "Mama, go downstairs and play?" It's a lovely way to wake up.

Second, she is potty trained! I write this with an exclamation mark because it's one of the most exciting things that has happened in my life recently. I dearly miss her cute fluffy cloth-diapered bum but keep reminding myself that maybe one day we will have another baby to use those adorable dipes, and I can re-live my cloth diaper addiction all over again.

Third, Stella now speaks in full sentences. Some of her favorite things to say are:

"Mama, I love you." or "Mama, I miss you."
"Oh no! The doggy fell down!" (or insert whatever noun you can think of in place of "doggy". She's big on making her toys fall down and then hugging and kissing them to make them feel better.)
"Dadda! Time for goat-meal!" (She calls oatmeal goatmeal.)
"Come here, Mama/Daddy/Tenzing!"
"Mama, please call Papa!" (She loves talking to her Grandparents on Skype!)

Nick and I have been amazed at how quickly she has turned from a baby to a little girl. We are soaking up every second of this beautiful time in our lives because we know that all too soon, she will be a bigger kid and will heading off to school, high school, college and moving out!