20 months

She's 20 months on the 20th.  Is this like a mini golden birthday?

Kate is...busy.  And darling.  And funny.  And persistent.  And loud.  And crazy.  And we love her.

Her baby vocabulary is exploding.  She's not speaking in sentences or anything, but has clear words for body parts, articles of clothing, directions (up, down, etc.), animals, and lots of things in the kitchen.  She shakes her head for "no" and nods for "yes," and also says "uh-uh" and "uh-huh."  She repeats (or tries to repeat) everything we say.  I was pretty concerned about Kate's lack of words two months ago.  I'm not worried any more.

Kate is Gavin reincarnated.  She never, ever, ever sits still.  She climbs and takes apart and rips and dumps and jumps.  I find her on the counter all the time.  Today she was sitting in my bathroom sink, water on full blast, wet up to her knees--and grinning, of course.  She was furious when I interrupted her fun.  She can open doors now, so we have super annoying knob covers all over the house.  The trick is keeping the doors closed!  Sometimes we refer to her as a bull in a china shop.  It seems she's often on a seek-and-destroy mission.  But she's just so cute....

Kate has entered the "do it myself" stage, which is handy when I need her to do something.  I'll ask her if she can do it herself or if she needs my help.  That will get her out of the car, up the stairs, etc.  Notable exceptions include anything that might restrict her movement, like the car seat or the high chair or the crib.  She hates those things and refuses to be involved without screaming and writhing first.

She loves to watch TV--or at least the idea of it.  Only a few shows capture her interest for more than a few minutes, but she likes to sit on the couch with Gavin and Lexi and pretend to be a big kid.  Last week Garry turned on a "movie" that looked like an aquarium.  The swimming fishies captivated her for a long time.  She especially liked a yellow one and would shriek every time it came into view.

Because Kate is constantly moving, it's hard to get a picture of her infectious grin, her adorable dimples, her thick, golden hair, and her gorgeous blue eyes.  I wish I could capture her giggle and the way she snuggles and the way she says "Mommy!" when she wants me to get her out of bed.  Instead I have blurs and whirls and the back of her head.  I guess I'll take what I can get.