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!!

Fifteen months

Amara has a lot to say these days and we have a lot to say about her! She is using new words every day and she understands a lot of what we say to her. Some new words include, "baby", "tree", "car", "wawa" (water), "okay", "more" "baba" (bottle). Amara often repeats a person's name after she hears it. At Gymboree she said, "Bye Jimbo" and she said, "Chase", "Audy" (Audrey) when seeing her cousins and "Shaw" (Charlotte) when greeting her friend. We enjoyed a visit with Boppa Bob last week. Amara loved being read to and playing with him on the floor. We took Boppa to the Zoo and the beach.

We also took a family trip to the Safari Park last weekend to see a special butterfly exhibit. Amara loves riding on her Daddy's back in "Poco" (a fancy baby pack).

We visited the Birch Aquarium today. Amara has been learning the ABCs and this is so exciting to her. She was exclaiming "A!" "E!" "I!" while we toured around. She recognizes letters everywhere and likes to "sing" the ABCs-- her own version!

Fourteen months

Our Amara just loves the Moon! It is the word she says the most frequently along with "hi", "bye", and "Dad". Almost every time we set foot outside she looks up at the sky and searches for the moon. She often spots it during the day even when it is hard to see! Amara's fine motor skills are developing so well. The other day I watched as she took my planner off the coffee table, found 2 pencils inside and held them end to end (imagine a giant pencil), and began to scribble inside. She loves to learn to use new items and do "grown up things". When we are in the grocery store she typically says "hi" enthusiastically to everyone we pass by. People do not expect this and are very pleased to be greeted by her. I have begun to keep a journal of stories and new developments since this blog is only updated monthly. There is so much to report on these days as Amara grows in her vocabulary and motor skills. We have been regularly going to the Zoo, parks, Gymboree, and our usual outings to family friendly restaurants. The weather has been nice and slightly cooler.

As you can see, Amara can stand, spoon feed herself, and even give "massages".

Thirteen months!!

Amara had her first birthday party in January. We waited to celebrate until after the holidays to make sure that friends and family could attend. It was a lovely event held at our local park at Morley Field. The theme was "Picnic-- BYOB (bring your own blanket!). Amara has quite a few little friends these days who are the same age and seeing them crawl and play in the park was a delight! Amara seemed to have a great time and enjoyed visiting each blanket :) She also seemed to enjoy her first birthday cake! It was a white cake with vanilla icing -- very light tasty!!

She loved the balloons too!

Just to add a few more words about Amara these days-- new WORDS and MOVEMENTS are happening every day! Amara now says "Moon", "Bubble", "Bath", "Done", and a few others. Sometimes she will repeat a word right after you say it to her. The other day she did this with "Cheese" (which she loves to eat). Amara has begun to climb stairs (with help! yikes!) and pull herself up to standing. She carefully watches other kids run and climb and walk at the park and plans her next move! It is so much fun to be her parent :) And here are a few more photos from Coronado beach. Forgot to mention that she is a sand lover!!