23 months.

Last day being 23 months old. I'm sure Papa Saigh is THRILLED
that she is already flashing the camera;)

This is my last monthly post for Linna. Since she was one month old, I made an effort to write about our memories and milestones each month with our little bug. I am so happy I have these monthly updates to look back on, but now that she's 2 years old, I'll simply write as things/events happen.

At 23 months old, Linna is definitely showing her sassy personality. We've even had moments when we thought she was going to grow devil horns, as she's starting to throw some pretty wicked temper-tantrums. Both AJ and I are trying really hard not to feed into these episodes, and actually get down on her level and try to get her to use her words instead of her piercing cry. If she has a full-blown tantrum, where there's no reasoning with her (without just giving her candy or something), we just let her tantrum. Even in public, I don't care. We want her to understand that tantrums aren't a good way to communicate, but we also know that it's going to take some time for her to learn.

Linna LOVES singing. She loves singing along to songs in the car, and if anyone sings to her or with her, she becomes that person's BFF. Her favorite songs are "Wheels on the Bus", "Twinkle Twinkle", and any one of the "Silly Songs" on this CD that my dad has in his Trail Blazer. Linna surprises us with new phrases every day, which makes me realize how much she is listening to EVERYTHING we say! She loves telling us every move she makes, as she's doing it. She's basically narrating her every move (i.e. "Linna sit down", "Barney go nigh nigh", or "Walking downstairs"). I love her sweet little voice!

Linna loves running, and hates being told "no". She gets the saddest pouty look on her face if you tell her not to do something. She LOVES water, and could swim every day. She learned to swim by herself w/o floaties a few months ago in Singapore, but while we're visiting Minnesota, she's taking swimming lessons as Foss in Chanhassen, where they are teaching her how to flip over to a back-float when she comes up for air from swimming forward. She haven't mastered that skill yet, but it's really important when it comes to swimming safety (helps prevent drownings). Linna loves being in the bath, and practices her back-floats in the tub every night.

She's still taking one nap a day, usually around 1 p.m., and she'll sleep anywhere from 2-3 hours. It's great! She also goes to bed around 8/8:30 p.m. and sleeps until 8 or 9 a.m. Linna will actually ask us to go to bed, and I think it's because she gets to have her "wah" (pacifier) and blanket in her crib. We don't let her have her "wah" anywhere else but in the crib (sometimes in the car and on planes during long trips), and she knows that. I'm so glad we stuck to our guns on this one, because it's helped Linna stick to her good sleep routine. This month, however, I have noticed that she's starting to procrastinate when it comes to bedtime. She'll ask for one more song video, remind me that she has to brush her teeth, ask for more milk/juice, etc., right after I say it's time to go to bed. There are times where she'll fight us at bedtime, but it's usually because she's over-tired, and once she's in her crib and settled down, she falls right to sleep.

Sweetest face in the world.

I have a feeling she's going to be a "cat lady". This is her BFF Lewford.
He is my parents' cat.

Some of Linna's favorite foods are fresh green beans (she likes to eat beans out of the pod/shell), Plum Organics Fruit & Veggie Shredz, mozzarella cheese sticks, pot roast, french fries, oranges, these broccoli cheese noodles that Grammy Pammy makes, strawberries, hot dogs, edamame, Nature's Path Panda Puffs Cereal, and of course any kind of ice cream or chocolate. The girl has a major sweet tooth! She is still drinking whole milk, but we'll probably switch to 2% after her two-year pediatrician appointment. We also give her water mixed with a little juice throughout the day. I put juice in her water because I add a liquid multivitamin to it, and it's not the tastiest multivitamin.

We head back to Singapore in a little over a week, but we have had a great two months with family and friends in Minnesota! Linna's grandparents can't believe how big she got in the three months we were in Singapore. We're looking at enrolling Linna into a half-day preschool in Singapore starting in January, because she's totally ready for that type of environment. She's so busy, and loves learning from other people, while playing with other kids. For the next few months at least, Mama Saigh will be holding this little lady pretty close, because Linna is growing up so fast. She is at such a fun, yet challenging age, and I want to enjoy every second. Before we know it she'll be heading off to Kindergarden, and I am SO not ready for that.

We're looking forward to getting back to Papa Saigh in Singapore, but will miss everyone in Minnesota!