21 Months with our big girl!

This month has been super emotional for me, and every time I look at Grey, I am reminded at how fast babies turn into children.  She is getting so BIG, and not just in size.  Her vocabulary is finally taking off, and we add a new word every week!  She realizes she is entertaining and eats.it.up.  She is a ham, loves everyone to be happy (when people are sad she gets REALLY upset!), and her energy level is out of this world.

Some big accomplishments lately:

1. Expanded vocabulary---WOOHOO!!  We are still considerably behind the curve, but we are trying hard.  When she learns a new word she will repeat it 10,000 times.  It's fun.  Her favorite word is "mine"…and boy oh boy does she know the meaning to that.  ;)

2.  Growth:  Chet weighed Grey in at 22.5 pounds a few days ago (we thought she was much bigger, but I guess not)!  We fit into 18 month clothes perfectly, but we are starting to break out some 2T outfits (I am not handling that very well).  We are still in size 4 diapers.  Longest lasting size of any diaper.

3.  Empathy:  Grey's had a sense of empathy for months and months (probably over a year) now, but she is acting upon others' feelings all the time now.  She seems to know and understand needs and is always willing to help.

4.  Finding objects in books!  I love that she can find most animals, the moon, and familiar objects.  It has made her love for books grow tremendously lately.

As I type this, Grey is holding a screw driver and helping her Dad fix one of our bar stools.  She loves being a part of every moment, and learns things so quickly it is sometimes frightening.  She has reached the stage of picky eating (thankfully she still chooses mostly healthy items - we aren't telling her we want her to eat those!), and wanting to pick out her own outfits and shoes for the day.  We often go through ten items to wear before she decides on one.  I guess this is something I need to get used to for the rest of her life. :)

Her best friend is Rusty, and they play ALL day long.  When we put Rusty outside, she screams at the back door like we have slammed her finger in the door.  Rusty sleeps under her bed and is equally in love with her (either that or he's just being heroic). ;)  She has been fascinated by Christmas lights and trees this year.  It is CRAZY how much she's' changed since her fuzzy-headed self last Christmas.  We've only had one tree destroying incident, and it was right after I proudly told another mom, "Grey's not touched the tree all year!"  Go me.

Her will is strong and her heart is soft.  I love being her mommy and I am soaking up each moment of this stage.  Even if it has proved to be one of her toughest.

What a year it has been for the Erwins.
New home.
New jobs (for both of us).
New school for Grey.
New beginnings.
So many blessings.
MERRY CHRISTMAS to all of our friends and family!

Some jewels from this month:

Pajama day at school!

We can take selfies now! 

When Momma picked up her new Lexus

I just love this one.  Her cheesy smile is my favorite thing on earth.

Today I attempted a few since tomorrow is her official 21 month birthday, but we just didn't cooperate much at all.  It was cold outside, so I don't really blame her. :)

Fascinated by the tree and ornaments this year.