Ivy is 21 months old!

21 months, that's 1 3/4 years, which is almost 2. And that gets me started on the slippery slope to 3, and then 4, and then 8, and then...

Ivy is displaying her independence and wishes to try everything her older siblings do.

Ivy often speaks in 2-word combinations, often an adjective + noun.

mama's chaussures (shoes)
papa's apple
my socks
big ball

Sometimes she uses "my" as a substitute for "I"

my draw
my walk

My favorite thing she's said recently: "orca whale." She loves to sing the Orca Whale song.



Her favorite word: encore (more/again). Voila is also high on her list. Also "underwear," which she loves to put on. She speaks lots of French, almost as much as English.



The most startling thing out of her mouth happened today: she was standing up in her high chair saying what sounded like château blanc very emphatically. The blanc was drawn out a bit like bllllanc. I kept asking her questions trying to figure out what she wanted. No, she kept saying château blanc very insistently. We finally figured it out--she was asking to watch the movie Le Château Ambulant (Howl's Moving Castle) by Miyazaki!

She loves to draw. First thing in the morning, even before she eats, she says "Draw. My draw."

We're working on pottying. Peeing is going well, but she's started to hold her poop in, which makes her constipated and even more scared to poop. I have to force her into a squatting position over the toilet. She screams and fights me, but it helps her go. Poor girl. I've tried to sneak chewable magnesium sulfate tablets in various foods, but she has an uncanny radar for them. I've crushed them and stirred them into sorbet, put little fragments inside frozen raspberries, mixed the powder into fruit juice, etc. And the thing is, they taste good! The other kids beg to eat them.

Sleep: still waking 1-3 times a night. She is the trickiest of all our kids both getting to sleep and staying asleep.

She love to nurse. She also gets very upset if I tell her no. Sometimes I have to...like when it's 50 degrees and windy and I don't want to open up my coat.

Ivy has a stubborn streak (nothing news-worthy, just typical of her age & development). I can't make her do something if she refuses; I can only distract her or wait until the tantrum is over.

ps--I spent New Year's Day sanding the wood beams that support the mezzanine in the master bedroom. Do you like my makeshift dust mask? 1 layer of fleece + 1 layer of linen.