Months 22 and 23

We have been busy the past two months! Halloween whizzed by, then a mini family vacation in Encinitas. Then we put in an offer on a home in Bay Park! The offer was accepted. Before long we will be living in a house with a front porch and yard! Uncle Don and Aunt Sarah had their baby girl, Maeve Elaine, on 11/13/15. We have not met her yet but Amara knows about her and has seen pictures and said, "Maeve". Amara has been talking in sentences, engaging in creative play, playing with other girls and boys, enjoying time at "Kids Club" (child care the gym while Mommy works out), dressing up in hats and her Thomas the train costume (Halloween was a blast). There is so much going on these days but I will stop writing for now and post some photos! The first photo is of baby Maeve:

Twenty one months

Amara is almost two! We cannot believe how fast she is growing up and how each day brings new developmental changes. Amara started using the potty and loves it. She gets excited and celebrates each time. We are still using diapers but won't need to for long...! In other news, the fascination with trains continues. Amara has been enjoying riding on the mini trains at Balboa Park and UTC mall. She especially loves the tunnel. She has taken her first Carousel rides and continues to enjoy the playground and petting Zoo as well. It has been a fun and busy month -- we get together with friends for play dates as much as possible. Amara craves time with other kids. As her verbal skills grow, she frequently makes us laugh with her cute statements and requests. Here is a fun story -- a few weeks ago, Mom came to check on Amara when she woke up from her nap. Amara had been quiet for a few minutes... guess what she had done? Amara had reached through her crib bars, peeled off a leaf decal from her wall "tree" and stuck in on her shirt. When she saw her reflection in the mirror she thought that the kitty on her shirt now looked more like an owl so she said, "owl" proudly. Amara loves playing with her toy stove and serving others food and tea.

Twenty months

We have had a wonderful yet busy summer. In August Amara and Mommy traveled to Maine to visit Aunt Anne, Uncle Carl and cousins Nathalie and Carter. We had a great time! Amara loved playing with her cousins. We went to the Botanical Gardens on Fairy Friday (see photos). We also enjoyed great food including homemade muffins and blueberry pancakes (Carl and Anne are great cooks), soft pretzels, a lobster roll, and whoopie pie. We also went to the Boothbay Railway Museum and rode a train and played in old train cars. This was probably the highlight of the trip for Amara. She loves "choo choos". We also were able to see cousins Melissa, Mike, Claire, and Ryan Moran. The kids played at Knickerbaker lake and in the fun house and backyard of Anne and Carl! Amara tried popsicles for the first time. Thanks Aunt Anne! She loves them. She also took many walks in the woods with Mommy and cousins and picked fresh huckleberries. Maine is so beautiful in the summer! Amara also played with all sorts of new toys, including a pink baby stroller that she loved. One of the most special memories of the trip for me (Mom) was walking at Porter Preserve with the girls. This is a gorgeous natural space of hiking trails -- woods that leads up to the water and spectacular Maine views. Amara was so relaxed here that she fell asleep in the Ergo. This gave me a chance to say hello to Grandma Jean. She was a fan of Porter Preserve and took walks here with Grandpa Bob and Anne in the later years of her life. Amara has only met Grandma Jean in photographs but surely she felt her spirit presence in Maine. I certainly did!

Nineteen months!

I am running behind on the blog! Amara is 20 months old but here is an overdue update of month 19: In July we celebrated 4th of July and we enjoyed many beach dates with Grandma Patty and many fun play dates at parks, the Zoo, yoga class. Amara has been also attending a "Splash into Summer" music class at Baby Garten in South Park. She loves it! Amara is saying some sentences and asking questions too! She asks, "Where is it?" or "Where is she?" or "Hear it?". The latter she says often when she hears an airplane go by or hears the Balboa Park bell ring (which she calls the "Ding"). Amara is a more confident walker and climber now too. She can walk quite fast. However, often on walks she prefers to stop and explore what is on the ground or around her. The other day on a walk she exclaimed, "Walka walka walk -- GO!" as she walked. Then she stopped to play with the neighbors' mailboxes, pointing to numbers as she recited them -- "Eight, nine, ten!" Amara can recognize at least one 1/3 of the alphabet and often gets the numbers 1-10 correct. She loves her alphabet and number videos. And she loves going to the library and reading books. Amara is also having so much fun with her family and friends these days. Tonight when Mom and Dad came home from a dinner date, Amara was dancing in the living room with Grandpa Patty and Grandpa Hamid. She was holding a number 4 card, watching a Sesame Street video about the number 4, and wearing a hat. According to Grandma, "she saw the chickens wearing a hat and asked for her hat." That's our girl. Lots of fun and full of ideas!

Eighteen months

Our little girl is a full fledged walker! She has changed so much over the past month. She truly looks and acts like a toddler. It is so fun to hear her say new words and phrases and to watch her develop socially. Amara is a great communicator! She lets us know when she is ready to take her nap or be done with an activity. Recently when she got tired on a play date she said "bye" to our friends and then gave Alexander several kisses. Amara loves learning too! She is enthusiastic about books, the alphabet, numbers, and the library. At the library Amara sits and colors at a desk and looks so happy! She also pointed to the number 1 and said "one" and then to the letter B and said "B". Not kidding. Amara also sings "ABC" and the beginning of the Itsy Bitsy spider song. Amara loves spending time with family members. We have recently been to the Zoo, Balboa Park, breakfast at Swamis (see photo), and our local park. Amara was recently given a pink tricycle and she loves it! She said the word "bike" right away. Today was walked home in the rain and she said "rain". She seems to understand just about everything we say. When we ask her questions she responds (often with the word "no"). We love her independent mind!!

Seventeen months

Amara is 17 months old! She has enjoyed a lot of time with family this month. "Boppa or "Poppa" and Jan visited in May. We also have enjoyed visits with Grandpa Hamid, Grandma Patty and Uncle Cyrus. Amara says, "Walk, outside" when she wants to practice walking. She is not in a hurry though. She loves her one arm "scoot" which enables her to get around very quickly without the wobbliness of learning to walk! Amara still goes to Gymboree has become quite a climber and socialite there. Amara LOVES being around people-- especially kids past the toddler stage. She likes to watch their advanced skills and listen to them speak in full sentences. Sometimes Amara befriends an older kid at the park. Quite a skill! Amara loves to explore new places and things. And she has begun using pronouns and short sentences. For example she says, "Me no want" or "I do it". Go Amara! We love hearing you talk and learning what is on your mind. She is also becoming quite independent. In the photo below she climbed up on the sofa, found the remote, turned on TV and started watching the news with a serious look on her face.

Having some serious fun!

Sixteen months

We have been busy at the Dawidowicz house having fun! Amara continues to delight by making us laugh with her playful sense of humor. She finds new ways to play with her toys (often talking to them or pretending to talk on a phone) and new ways to play and talk with us! One of the cutest things she does is say "Happy, happy!". She learned this word by watching the Pharrell Williams dance video. This is her favorite song! She also uses the word to let us know when she is pleased with something. Amara says a new word every day, it seems. She can say "butterfly, avocado, eat, more...." to name a few. When she really wants something she will make the sign for "more" and say the word several times. Cousin Nathalie did the same thing around this age. Last week we spent in Encinitas at Grandma Patty and Grandpa Hamid's place. Amara and Mommy enjoyed lots of beach time and saw cousin Pattyann and her kids. Daddy had to work but he enjoyed seeing Amara excited in a new environment. This girl loves to travel! Since she is getting ready to walk on her own, Amara picked out her first pair of shoes recently. Light pink moccasins -- great style, kid!

She loves muffins and feeding herself with a spoon!

She loves the beach!

Elmo wrestling!!