Wow, the last of summer and fall has slipped away from me. The Bryants are doing great! Ayla now has 12 teeth, they are popping thru one right after another. She is not grumpy, whiny or even the least bit phased by all the teeth. But she is enjoying eating all different types of food now!
Ayla had a great Labor day minus her first (and I hope last) stomach virus. We went to the beach house, and all of Robby's family was there, it was a great time. Then for Halloween she was a fairy and she and Madi went trick or treating at Towne Center. Her and Madi are so cute together!
My mom and dad and my middle sister and her husband traveled to Charleston for Thanksgiving. We hosted the big feast! I made a 23lb turkey, stuffing, potatoes, gravy, brocoli casserole, homemade creamed corn, roasted carrots, fruity fluff ( a family tradition), rolls, cranberry sauce and of course PIES! Pumpkin, pecan and apple. Then after Ayla went to bed (still at 7pm), my mom, sister, Mark and I went to Tanger Outlet mall to get our holiday shopping on! The mall was crazy but we had a good time.
So now we are in full swing preparing for Christmas!!
Here are some updates on the little princess:
She is 36.5 inches tall (99th percentile for little girls her age), 27 pounds (75th percentile)
Her hair is touching her shoulders for the most part.
She still insists on yogurt EVERY morning for breakfast (even though she eats breakfast #2 at school)
Her 18 month visit to the dr. was a breeze for her - no vaccine complications even with the dreaded flu shot. Last year that flu shot made her one unhappy little baby.
Avocado and blueberries are her favorite things, along with chicken, pizza and goldfish crackers!
She will NOT touch french fries or any type of potato for that matter and don't even offer her mac & cheese.
Her speech is the thing that has changed the most. She is actually making sentences which the dr. tells me is way ahead of schedule. That is a relief for this mommy, with all her past ear infections I thought her speech may suffer. The dr. was so very impressed with her words last month, so she put me at ease. Even so, we go back to the ENT dr. this week for another hearing test just to be sure. We are very happy to report that she hasn't had any ear trouble at all since getting the tubes in May.
Here are some popular phrases:
Ellie bite Ayla (the dog just snips at her, no actual biting)
It's dark outside
It's raining outside
Ellie leash pee pee potty outisde
Turtles live in the ocean
cow says moo
sheep says baaa
she sings the Elmo song - repeatedly......
By our estimation she clearly speaks about 50 words and understands everything we say.
She has mastered spoon and fork usage for months now. Removing her clothes seems to be her new favorite activity. We are working with potty training but not forcing the issue. Right now,she will tell us either during the act or just after. But at least now, she wants a clean diaper immediatley and she will say "ayla pooped in diaper". So it's just a matter of time. Grammy and Poppa bought her some big girl underwear and she does enjoy wearing it around the house.
She has finally stopped falling out of her toddler bed and she now loves to be tucked in and actually stays under the covers. Her sleeping is one thing that has always remained constant : 12 hours at night and one nap about an hour to 2 hours mid-day. She loves giving hugs and kisses and is so affectionate towards all the special people in her life.
The temper tantrums have made their appearance but luckily, they don't last long. She has mastered the "slide to unlock" on our iPhones and the iPad so we have had to password protect them so she doesn't start facetiming people...
I'm sure there is a lot I am forgetting..... but for now Merry Christmas!
