Jenna 1.8

Age: One year and eight months
Milestones:  Putting two words together...sort of.  She doesn't exactly say them together together, but she definitely will say words separately, pausing between each one for confirmation, that show she's trying to articulate a complete thought.  For example, she'll say, "Water. Water." (and then I say, "yes, water")  "Mama's."  ("yes, that's mama's water bottle.)  Or one we've been hearing a lot lately, "Dinosaur!" ("yes, we went to go see the dinosaur!") "Touch it!" (yes, you touched it!") Or my most recent favorite from when we were in the shower the other day: she placed her hand on my bottom and said, "Tushy.  Tushy." ("yes, that's Mama's tushy.")  "Big!"  (-_-)
My Favorites: Her arm movements when she dances.  Oh my word, you guys...they have gotten so goofy recently.  It's like she's at a rave.  I have got to get a video one of these days.  I love cooking with her, reading books, hearing her sing along with songs, and hearing her say I love you ("la ooo!")
I also love just how tender her heart is...she accidentally dropped a maraca on Jacob's ankle bone the other day and it hit in just the right way to be really painful.  He said, "ouch!" automatically and then sweetly added, "Whoops, be careful Jenna!"  She was so so so upset that she hurt him.  Her face got sooo sad and her eyes started welling up with tears and she buried her face in my chest.  She's so sensitive and empathetic...in those moments my instinct is just to comfort her, but I don't want her to think that those moments are about HER.  I want her to know that it's ok that she feels bad and then to turn that outwards to care for others.  Tough to teach when she's feeling so upset and embarrassed and sad!  
Actually, after the maraca incident we tried to talk to her about how we knew it was an accident and it's ok that she felt sad about it and she just needed to say sorry to Daddy...she couldn't even look him in the eye, much less say sorry.  After asking for what felt like a million times I just needed her to say SOMETHING so finally I said, "Jenna...say bird."  "Bird!"  "Ok, now say sorry."  "SORRY!"  and with a big smile she went to give Jacob a hug.  ...sometimes with toddlers, I don't even know.
Her Favorites: Jumping (well, trying to jump), dancing, cats, waffles, Olaf, shoes, helping with cooking, taking pictures ("press it?!"), baths, and of course everything Frozen.  She also loves playing with her tea set and play food, ESPECIALLY when she get to take care of others with them.  She loves helping Olaf drink tea, giving her baby a bottle, feeding her stuffed kitty some of her snack, or serving me food.  And, inexplicably, having us drop all of her toy animals down the back of her shirt.
Surprises: How confident and independent she is.  We went to the park the other day and she was completely fine playing without me.  Never thought that would happen, I'm not going to lie, but it's so fun to watch her.
Other Notable Moments: Well, going to see the walking dinosaurs twice was a huge hit.  It has occupied a LOT of our conversations!  We also went to the mall to see Anna, Elsa, and Olaf, but that was a total zoo.  Oh, and she graduated car seats!  She still fits in her infant carrier, but we switched so she can pass down the other one to Baby J.
 Looking Forward To... Having potty training successfully behind us!  We've been gearing up to it for a while because it really seems like she's ready, but I just can't pull the trigger and commit to it.  

I LOVE getting this kid up in the mornings

Literally my worst nightmare.

I had to include one of the pictures Jenna took.  Olaf is her favorite subject.

That ponytail kills me

Why does she always cry when she takes pictures with them??

Meeting the "doughy-yours"

Yeah, just look about 200 feet away through the enormous crowd where every other person is dressed like Elsa and you'll see the people from Frozen.  Got it?  Awesome, let's go home.