Claire, at 20 months

At 20 months, Claire . . .

. . . likes to wear shoes.  Not HER shoes.  Other people's shoes.  If you take off your shoes at my house, she will likely be wearing them in 10 - 15 minutes.

. . . will stand still for photos, only when her mouth is full of animal crackers (see above).

. . . has an ATTITUDE.  She's learned to defend herself from her brothers and has mastered saying "STOP THAT", "I DON'T WANT TO", "I DON'T WANT THAT", "LEAVE ME ALONE" and many other things with enough edge to hold her own.  It's 1 part cute and 2 parts frustrating.

. . . is smart as a whip.  Honestly.  I can't even believe what she can understand.

. . . still loves her Mama. If I'm in the room, her arms are stretched out, asking "hold, please."  Sometimes it's inconvenient, but knowing this is the last one I'll have doing that, I usually give in.  I still use my sling to carry her in.

. . . if she wants my attention, and I'm talking to someone else, she takes it upon herself to grab me by the jaw and direct my head toward her.  This will only be cute for another year or so.  After that, it gets obnoxious.

. . . will stand at the top of the stairs or at the door and kyle, "KYYYLE!"  I don't know where she got that from.

. . . will yell, "BOOOYS!  STOP THAT!" when she hears her brothers getting rough or making lots of noise.

. . . has constipation problems.  TMI?  Perhaps.  But it's a pretty big issue for her right now.

. . . Is in 2T/3T clothing, depending on the brand.  I recently retired all of her 18 - 24 month clothing.  She grew A LOT in August.

. . . loves to put necklaces or bracelets on and proclaim herself, "PRETTY!" Something with which we all can agree.

. . . still has very little hair.  It's coming in, slowly, but surely.  I just look forward to the day that I don't have to say, "No, she's a girl" every time she isn't wearing all pink.  And sometimes even when she is.

. . . has been a little grumpy for about a month.  Which is how long she's had 2 teeth trying to push their way through.  My fingers are crossed that when they finally emerge fully, her temperament will become more pleasant.