Landri is growing up so fast! She’s turning into a small PERSON who can semi-converse. One of her babysitters was like, “it’s so weird, she can answer you when you ask her questions!” And it IS so weird! I know I have said this basically every month for the last 6 months or so, but her language skills are still continuing to explode and are still probably the most noteworthy thing about her development at this time (although also improved are her throwing abilities which immensely pleases her father and her balance). Her latest phrase that she loves to use that drives me insane is “Don’t like it.” She ALWAYS lets you know when she isn’t happy about something. And she’s a smart little cookie too. The second she sees a look of displeasure on your face as a response to something naughty she did, it’s like she’s already anticipated it and starts repeatedly shouting, “Torry!!! Torry!!! Torry!!!” which is “sorry.” She also seems to have a very strong memory. We’ve started sending her to timeout when she misbehaves and she remembers why she gets sent. For example, Scott was watching her one day and apparently she kept jacking with all of the TV/DVR/etc remotes and taking out the batteries despite being told not to. Scott sent her to timeout for not listening and continuing the behavior and later when I questioned her the next day about why she went to timeout, without skipping a beat she replied, “Remote! Remote! Remote!” (which, btw, is pronounced “RE-mote,” with the emphasis on the first syllable, lol).  Speaking of timeout, it’s hilarious. She actually stays in the corner until you tell her to come out. Why? I have no idea. She could totally run off and fight me about it. Guess that’s coming next.  If you do something she doesn’t like, besides saying “Don’t like it,” she might also start telling you “mean, mean, mean,” or “be nice.”  Apparently she hears that a lot at school, LOL! Her communication skills are also becoming helpful! For example, she was sick, and told us, “Wa wa hurt,” which translated to drinking her water hurts, i.e. she had a sore throat! It’s also pretty amazing to hear her string words together into phrases such as, “Baby Rex talking.”  Which brings me to my next point- she’s been doing a little bit of verb conjugation!  Probably the best example so far is, “Baby Rex pooped.”  LOL! Also, she’s learning to count and is learning plurality. Yesterday she saw two dogs and said, “Two puppy dogs!” She also draws small conclusions. We were at an outdoor restaurant with misters on the patio spraying water to keep diners cool. She saw them, and the mist looking like smoke said, “Smoke! Hot!” I didn’t even realize that she knew what smoke was! Probably sweetest though, is hearing her say “love you,” “bless you” for sneezes, starting to help say her prayers, and “hold you” when she wants to be held. It also melts my heart when she yells, “Mommy!!!” from her bed in the morning! Okay. Ten interesting things that Landri is REALLY into these days:

1. Being barefoot and always having filthy feet (see pic).  Seriously.  Everyday. 24/7.
2. Being naked (see a zillion photos in this previous post: https://livinwiththelehnhoffs.com/2014/06/29/galveston-2014-naked-beach-baby-death-by-spice-seaweed-galore/)
3. Rex’s green size 9 month football shirt that she literally demands to wear like 5 times a week (notice how often it shows up in the photo collage below and realize that those were all different days, not the same day, LOL)
4. Good Greens vegan protein bars (obsessed!)
5. Flags (so July 4th was pretty cool to Landri because there were flags EVERYWHERE)
6. The TV Show, Little Bear, which she calls “Night Night Bear”
7. Getting whipped in the face by my pony tail (she thinks it’s HILARIOUS)
8. The song, “The Wheels on the Bus” (here’s a video of her asking for it: http://youtu.be/51JaKX54Urw)
9. Raw white onions remain one of her favorite foods – no joke.  She will eat them like apples with the skin on if you let her (although she also loves them already freshly diced up and raw too.
10.  She loves balloons which she calls “moons.”

As far as Toddzilla goes, I don’t have any huge updates. Actually, I take that back.  She did try to dump a bucketful of water on his face in the bathtub!  And she’s still jealous of him from time to time, but has been coming around a little bit as he’s gotten bigger and can interact a little bit more than previously. I actually found her “playing” with Rex on her own the other morning and she got mad when I made her stop to eat breakfast because we had to leave! And I didn’t see any malicious behavior towards him (like the on purpose stomping on his fingers with her shoes on as in a previous month), so that’s a big improvement! I can’t wait to see them grow and play together! On the other hand, Toddzilla still is a tricky little creature, at times needing to be handled with extreme care. I’ve found that I have to manipulate and/or bribe her into almost everything these days since she’s got a mind of her own (for example, using a sticker to coax her to leave the child center at the gym, letting her play with a coin while putting her hair in pigtails, etc.).

Everytime Scott is watching Landri alone and I call to check in, he says that “one of [his] kids is driving him crazy,” meaning Landri, LOL. Here’s what Scott Says at 22 months…My goal is going to be to get at least 50 words from him… let’s see how I do…

M: What is Landri like these days?
S: Great.
M: Scott, come on.
S: She’s good.

M: What is her best skill?
S: Landri’s best skill? I don’t know. Talking.

M: Does she have any athletic talents?
S: She throws pretty good.
M: Is she a righty or lefty do you think?
S: Probably a lefty because she seems to use that hand more.

M: Do you think she has good balance?
S: Yeah.

M: Do you enjoy putting her in time out?
S: No.
M: Isn’t it funny though?
S: Kinda, yeah.
M: Why is it funny?
S: Because she acts like she actually enjoys sitting in the corner.

M: What is the craziest thing she’s done to date?
S: I don’t know.

M: What’s your favorite thing about her?
S: Lot of things.

If I counted right, I fell short of my goal by 5 words. Damn. Apparently Scott doesn’t enjoy being interviewed, especially by me, and thinks I have lame questions. As always, feel free to submit your questions for Scott and I will ask him and publish in the next “Scott Says!”