months 31 & 32

So we have officially slipped in the monthly pictures. To clarify, there haven't been a shortage of photos, but just not our former headshot-against-a-wall routine. I'm going to try and keep this tradition up as long as possible, so consider this just the start to more candid shots and regular-but-not-quite-monthly updates.

Month 31:

Month 32 (photo courtesy of cousin LR during our Atlantic City trip. Rosie was taking photos, handed LR my phone and said, "Take a picture of me!" and stood back to pose. When LR wasn't moving fast enough for her, Rosie proceeded to teach her how to take the photo.):

Being away on vacation has really highlighted Rosie's growth. Whenever she is in a new context with new people, I notice more new behaviors. Some of the things I've seen are:

• Tone and pitch. Rosie loves to sing and can even change her pitch to match. This was a big transition from Rosie being able to fill in the blank ("Old McDonald had a _______") in monotone. She is now making up her own songs about life around her, which I adore. She has also started to try and sing along even if she's not too familiar with the song, a la Garth and Kat, the SNL skit.
• Storytelling. After spending two weeks with Di T in Connecticut, Rosie has developed into quite the storyteller ("Who wants a mini story?!"). And her stories often have the major story elements: characters, problem, semi-solution. Been wanting to try and capture one, but stories are never the same when she sees me recording, understandably.
• Dr. No has arrived. Not all the time, but Rosie has started to assert herself more, and often in the negative. We've been working on having her tell us what she DOES want opposed to what she doesn't want. It's a tricky skill to develop. When she's in a rough mood, the indecisiveness comes out and it often feels like nothing is right ("I want the pink plate, please." I give her the pink plate. "NOOOOO! I don't want the pink plaaaaaaate." Okay, give her the blue plate. "NOOOOO! I want the pink plaaaaaaate!"....you get the idea).
• Initiator. We've noticed that Rosie is beginning to initiate play on her own more now. Before she would follow along and be engaged, but now she is making decisions based and guiding how we play.
• Baby love. Rosie loves little babies. She'll see one from far away and immediately go into some major awwwwwww-ing ("S/he's so cuuuuutie!"). Even if the "baby" is a toddler taller than her. She continues to tell us she wants twins (one boy, one girl). And before you say anything, yes she'd be a good big sister, and no it's not happening yet.
• "I got it." This little person craves independence. She would love to do most things on her own. We are working on her being able to receive feedback/be taught how to do something. And sometimes it's just too soon, like when she climbed up on the edge of the chair to help me change a lightbulb.

Bonus photo: