MacKenzie Memories: June 2013

I'm constantly finding myself in disbelief that my teeny-tiny precious little baby is now a {gulp} TODDLER! She is 18 months old today & I love her more and more as each day passes! She is turning into a funny, silly, affectionate, sweet, smart, adorable little girl.

Dafney is now in the Toddler room at daycare and has been for about a month now. I saw immediate changes in her vocabulary & actions, which is really fun! It took her a little while to adjust to her new room, teachers & fellow comrades, but she adjusted and is doing great!

They keep her so busy in "class" now that she's in the Toddler room. They do more art projects than I have room on my fridge ;), they have a "theme" each month (this month is water) and learn everything there is to know about that specific theme {okay, they learn as much as a toddler can}, they get to play outside on the playground, they start to form {long-lasting} friendships and so much more!

Dafney talks up a storm now {clearly she gets that from her Father}! Most of what she says we can't understand, but she does say a plethora of actual words:

more {& she does the sign for it as well} - she has perfected this one & has been using the sign for it since she's been about a year old.
"uh-oh" - okay, so maybe Webster doesn't consider this an actual word, but it's been a big part of her vocabulary for months. Everything is privy to an "uh-oh" and we're trying to teach her the difference between an actual "uh-oh" and intentional doings.
hi & bye - probably the cutest things she says! She loves to say "hi" & "bye", especially to babies & puppies :) She gets all excited and giddy and waves along with her words...seriously, beyond cute!
baby - for a while, everyone/thing was a "baby". But, we're slowly teaching her the difference between a baby and a puppy and a "big kid" and an adult. For the record, it's not going well; everyone/thing tends to be a "baby" ;)
puppy - she used to do really well on identifying a puppy, but now she calls any & all dogs "baby"! It's a work in progress!
mama & dada - ♥ melter's, let me tell you! The firs time I heard her say "mama", tears came to my eyes! It was the coolest thing and it was like sweet, sweet music to my ears! Sadly, she's much better at saying "da-da" and she tends to point to herself and say "mama"...
no - this was the opposite of a ♥ melter...it's practically like saying a swear word for a child. For the most part, she knows what the word "no" means {even if she doesn't listen to us when we say it} so when we ask her questions, she will say "no" if she doesn't want to do something or will shake her head "yes" if she does {she hasn't perfected the word "yes"...yet}.
all-done - {which may or may not sound more like "ah-da"} and she will do the sign for this, too! She knows to say this when she's done doing, well, whatever she's doing. *Cute story alert: I went to pick D up at daycare and I happened to get there as they were eating their snacks. She saw me, stood up, ran to her teacher and loudly said "ah-da, ah-da" {while doing the sign} and waited for her teacher to say it was okay for her to be done at the table. Seriously, could she be any cuter?!?
milk - {which comes out like "mi"} and boy, will she tell you when she wants her milk!
cracker {which comes out like "cacka"} and will point to any cracker in her sight. I'm a bad mom and let her eat crackers & chips...hey, the kid could stand to gain a few pounds!
nigh-nigh - she's just started saying "nigh-nigh" and walking up to her room when she's tired at night. It's so much easier than guessing if she's tired :)
Dafney can also identify her nose, ears & eyes...she's a genius :)

Dafney loves, loves, LOVES to climb on furniture! We recently got her a new chair and I think I can count on one hand how many times her butt has actually sat in the chair. More often than not, you will find her standing on it, dancing on it, or trying to climb over it...I think we have gymnast on our hands :) She also loves to play with her babies! She is an unbelievably nurturing little girl and loves to give them hugs & kisses as well as putting them to bed {and yes, she will "shhh" you if you are being loud when she's trying to put her babies to bed}!