My twenty-first month started out with a bit of drama, as I contracted pneumonia and found myself wheezing quite a bit.  Mommy and Daddy took me to the doctor and bought a nebulizer to continue breathing treatments at home, and I’m well on my way to recovery.  I’m actually very compliant about sitting still with a mask on my face for the ten minutes it takes to complete treatments, and I like to walk around the house holding the mask up to my babies and stuffed animals in order to give them medicine.

I’ve continued to build upon my growing vocabulary, and have recently begun speaking in two-word phrases (“more pizza,” “night-night Daddy,” etc.).  I attempt much longer sentences, too, although they sound like gibberish to the causal listener (“oh nah magheeta, Dada!”)  I can sing the alphabet song all by myself from beginning to end, although I do take a few creative liberties in the middle.  And I’ve recently become much more accurate with my color identifications (I can always reliably identify blue, green, yellow, and purple, and I’m 80% accurate on red and orange).

I’m very good mechanically – I can identify pretty much all basic shapes, and I’m a whiz at getting them into my shape sorter.  When I’m thinking very hard about a given task, I stick my lips out like my Mommy does (see picture below).  My favorite activities include toys that require assembly or stacking, rocking my baby dolls, and coloring.  As the “old lady” of the Infant Room, I’m enjoying being a big fish in a small pond at daycare, while I wait to formally move up to the Toddler Room.

Current likes: getting my way, when Mommy picks me up before my brother

Current dislikes: when dinner doesn’t involve pizza or “noo-noos” in pasta sauce

Life has taken a domestic turn this month.  With Father’s Day and Daddy’s birthday both located in the month of June, there have been lots of tasty treats to prepare.  Mommy has named me her baking helper, and I assisted her in making a double layer carrot cake with cream cheese frosting.  The best part about the task was probably getting to wear an apron.  One of my favorite books to read in the car is “Mrs. Greenberg’s Messy Hanukkah,” and when I put my apron on I exclaimed, “oh Mommy, I look just like Rachel when she made potato latkes!”

I’m turning into a little adult, and I’m very concerned with my status as a four-year-old.  If someone makes the mistake of calling me a little boy I’m quick to remind them that Lena is little – I’m not.  When I ask to do things like drive the car and Mommy tells me I’m too young, I respond, “okay, when I’m five I can drive?”  I’m pretty sure that I’ll be able to pick Mommy up by the time I’m six, and that I’ll marry her sometime shortly after that.  Daddy will be cool with that, right?

On days when I’m a good helper my favorite reward is ice cream.  In fact, it’s difficult to find a recent picture of me that does not include ice cream.  My standard order is vanilla soft serve with rainbow AND chocolate sprinkles liberally applied, although sometimes I opt for the blue flavor-burst topping.

Current likes: kittens (I got to meet a bunch of rescues at Zia Stefi’s house, and I loved them)

Current dislikes: when my sister isn’t gentle with my kitty cat