Tee Dell New

We got our first snow of the year on 12/2. We woke up to a lot of snow flurries and snow sticking to the ground, roof, and bushes. Teagan was fascinated with watching it out the window and we took her outside for a few minutes. When we asked her what she thought about the snow, she said "wet." Unfortunately, the pretty white stuff only stuck around for about an hour.

Teagan loves to write with a pencil and to dictate words for us to write while she watches. She usually says "name" and repeats all the names we say when we write her name, our names, and all the names of her cousins. She is so cute when she says her own name. She pronounces Teagan Adele Knutson as "Tee Dell New."

We are enjoying hearing Teagan talk more and more now, and of course we think she's the smartest toddler ever! She says two word phrases frequently now and will even say some three word "sentences." I love it when she comes to me, hands me something, and then says "right back" before she runs off to get something else to bring to me. She is a little happier riding in the car now as long as we talk the whole time. It's fun to be able to actually have conversations with her.

Wash, Wash

Teagan has now discovered the joy of playing with running water in the kitchen sink. This is a good thing and a bad thing! On one hand, it keeps her busy. If I need to chop vegetables, or load the dishwasher, it is a pretty surefire way to keep her occupied and out from underfoot. It's a bad thing though because now she wants to play in the sink all the time! She picks up her little stool, carries it to the sink, and then climbs up and says "wash, wash." The answer "not right now" just prompts her to ask louder.

Minnesota Trip

We just got back from a quick trip to Minnesota. Teagan did really well traveling and spending time with a lot of her relatives. The first 2 days of our trip were spent in Montevideo, my mom's home town. One of my cousins recently had triplets and there was a baby shower for them. Teagan also got to see her ND aunt, uncle, and cousins, along with 2 of my cousins, 2 of my aunts, an uncle, and my great aunt. After traveling back to the Minneapolis area, we visited with Paul's grandma, aunts, uncle, and a cousin on his dad's side of the family along with several aunts, uncles, cousins andTeagan's second cousin on his mom's side of the family. It was a busy, busy trip, but Teagan handled it very well.

Fall Fun

Despite all the rain, we still managed to have several fun fall outings in October. Teagan and I spent a morning at the Arboretum with some friends, and all the pumpkins were a big hit with the Little Ones.

Teagan and I also went to the pumpkin patch at Owens Farm. Teagan enjoyed feeding the goats at the farm and now says "food" whenever we look at books with farm animals. We also went on a hay ride, but the highlight for Teagan was when she got to run around the pumpkin patch.

Paul, Teagan, I went to Huffhines Art Fest with some friends. Teagan rode around in her wagon and liked the hay bale maze.

On Halloween, we went over to Beth & Steve's so Teagan could go Trick or Treating with her cousins. Teagan was dressed as a dalmation and we pulled her around the neighborhood in her wagon.

18 months!

Teagan had her 18 month check up last week and did really well. It's hard to believe she is already 18 months old! She is now 34 1/2" tall (98th percentile) and 25lb 2 oz (60th percentile). Looks like she is still on track to be tall like her Daddy! Her doctor was very happy with her language skills and the nurse couldn't believe it when Teagan asked to use the potty while we were there. She was very impressed when I told her that Teagan uses the potty at least 75% of the time.

Busy Girl

One of Teagan's favorite things to play with is a phone. She loves the real thing, or will just pretend that whatever toy or object she has is a phone. Her conversations are always the same! "Ya, ya, ya, bye-bye."

Teagan is such a big talker now. She's plays with her dolls and stuffed animals, constantly narrating what they are doing or what she wants us to do. She still mostly says the first syllables of words, but has been learning more two syllable words lately. She is recently mastered "apple" and is quite proud of that!

Big Red Wagon

We decided to get Teagan a wagon this weekend, and she has really been enjoying it. With a cushy blanket and pillow, Teagan seems quite comfortable! We always put her in the wagon sitting up, but she seems to prefer to just lounge and sprawl out. She giggles when her Daddy is the crazy wagon driver and she loves to go around corners really fast.

Tonight when we went for our nightly wagon ride/walk, Teagan wore her Stars Jersey to show support for her team. The game didn't start until after her bedtime, but she showed her team spirit anyway.

Mothering

Teagan has recently taken a lot of interest in "mothering" all her stuffed animals and baby dolls. I made a little sling for her and she has decided that only her stuffed kitty should be held in the sling. A few nights ago she started pretending to put her doll and animals to sleep. She wraps them up in a blanket, picks them up, and then says "shh, shh" as she bounces them. Then she lays them down and says "night, night." Today I got out a doll cradle and she had a lot of fun putting her doll in that and rocking it. She also decided that the cradle would be a good thing to use for feeding her baby with a bowl and a spoon. It has been really fun watching her pretend to be "Mommy Teagan."

Mama's Helper

You would think it would be a little easier to keep up with the house as Teagan gets older, but it's not! Seems like the only way I can get anything done around the house is to put Teagan on my back. Luckily, she loves it. She often comes to me saying "back, back" or will go get the Mei Tai that I use to put her on my back. She loves to "help" vacuum, and will immediately start saying "back, back" if she hears any mention of vacuuming.

In other news, Teagan has started saying her first 2 syllable word . . . "elbow." It's pretty cute.

Having fun

Teagan is still really enjoying her playhouse. Especially now that she has figured out how to do the slide all on her own. She also loves to squeak the doorbell and roll her toys down the slide. She's not very sure about sharing it with other kids though! We had 5 other kiddos over today for a playgroup, and when another child climbed in the playhouse with her, she burst into tears.