a developmental update

So I thought I'd write about Tara today, what she is up to and what I think about it. She will turn two in about three weeks and this makes me especially homesick. We will be, and have missed, a number of friends birthdays, but there is always next year :)
Tara now repeats any word you ask her to, if there are too many sylables she just adds a la la in the middle, and if she is too tired to try she adds a wawawawalala all sing songy and smart assed. It reminds me of how parents sounded on Charlie Brown, like she wants to get the point across that whatever you are saying really does not matter to her in the slightest.
She still signs, which helps a lot because as she is adding to her vocabulary she is not enunciating any new sounds. So daddy means dad and dog still; baba means puzzle, bubbles, blanket, yogurt; bish means milk (german pronunciation: milsh), please, dish. I could go on forever. I think I'm discerning some slight variations, but with her signing or being in context she really communicates quite well. I just notice when she is with another adult and is asking for something, they just have NO CLUE what is coming out of her mouth.
She does do something strange though. We are now requiring her to say please, so when she asks for milch, we do not respond until the please comes out of her mouth. When she strings two words together they come out separated, like they are different thoughts. If she is saying a compound word this does not happen, like highchair she just says straight through, but Tara's chair, or push please, or milch please has a long silent gap in between, like she has to think about another word to say, they are not linked yet.
Her favorite games seems to be puzzles and reading and rocking on her rocking moose. I'm not sure how long the puzzle thing will last, it is not a challenge anymore, she just puts the pieces in without seeming to have to think about it. Nate turned a puzzle upside down the other day to see if it would confuse her, but she just went about putting the pieces in their correct spots, saying 'updown' 'updown' for upside down. Tempermentally she is still the same happy girl, she tried to throw a fit the other evening when she was tired, she did not want Nate to touch her puzzle or something, she laid down on the ground, quite gracefully, no throwing of herself about. Cried for a few seconds, and I asked her if she was tired and wanted a snuggle and then to go to bed and she said 'ya, seep, beez' So we started bedtime and that was it for her tantrum. She does get whiny when I walk away from her to do some errand or pick up a bike or something and I just tell her to come hold my hand and no more whining. She is still eager to please, so I guess I'm still waiting for the first terrible two temper to appear.
Our breastfeeding seems to be at an end, a few weeks ago I decided to start asking her to nurse right after dinner, so we'd still have over an hour before bed, we did this for a few nights or a week and then I just 'forgot' to ask her and she did not notice and went to bed quite easily. The second night was not as easy, she asked to 'urse' and I told her that we were not doing that anymore, she snuggled for a while, but was okay at bedtime, and now it is just routine. A week later on a weekend I stopped the after nap one. Nate was home, so I just dissapeared for as long as I could and then walked her around. As soon as I sat, she'd ask, so we just stood and walked for a long time, then I asked her if she wanted to go blow bubbles with daddy, and that got the response I wanted, a jump from my arms and a run to the door. Apparently bubbles are as great as nursing, who would have thought! Yesterday was hard, the first day Nate was not home at naptime, but we got through it and hopefully now I can just tell her that we don't do that anymore. The wake up one is going to be the hardest and I'll just wait until she wants something else more. I don't even want to bear a week of unpleasant mornings for the sake of stopping, so we'll just wait to see what her schedule requires.
Potty training, may I reccomend NOT trying this in the winter, just don't do it, no point in stressing out, it is just SO MUCH easier in nice weather. Tara was doing great until we had to spend our days inside. For nice weather, just put on a long shirt or dress and they go when they want, it is fun, they want to pee in the grass and watch their friends do the same. Now she just tells me one second before it comes, or not until her pants are wet and she is standing on one leg with a dripping sock and says peepee, mommy. We go through like three pants a day, now we're going back to diapers anytime we leave the house and wearing them inside sometimes, there are just too many layers to take off in time.
Well nap time just ended early, so bye for now

Some videos

I thought I'd try to post some videos to she the grandparents and whoever else wants to see how much fun puzzles and splashing in the rain can be

our first visitors

First I would like to say sorry, I've been out of touch a while and am feeling particularly neglectful of many of my friendships. I want you to know that I think of everyone who has ever been in my life on a regular basis and if I should be there to lend a helping hand, know that I'm thinking of you all the time.

We got our first overseas visit mid October, my parents came to stay and it was lovely. We started off slowly, resting a lot, and just playing in the parking lot. Tara took to grammy (aka me-me)quick as lightning, after 10 min's in our house they were up in her room playing together, without me!!! I don't remember what I did, I just remember being SO happy. Tara grammy, papa and I spent time in Nurnberg, Bamberg, Jena and Dresden, we also spent so time in the Frankfurt airport and trainstation, but I don't think I'll tell you all about that.
They were here over Halloween, Jena is just starting to have kids trick or treat (like for the last year or two), so they were all very excited, but had no idea what to do, most of them were either wizards (boys) or princesses. Tara was a marienkafer, a ladybug. I covered her backpack with red felt and pinned black spots to that, it was fun to make, but she did not want to keep it on very long.
My parents visit was an all too short three weeks, I don't know what I'll do until we have grandma and grandpa here in the spring.
After my parents left, Nate and Tara and I spent a week in Rome. Lovely people, lovely food and lovely weather until our last day, but walking around the vatican and center of Rome getting wet and grumpy was fun too. I'll have to say that I loved the pizza (many varieties without cheese!) and the pasta was great, but I'm now home cooking chickpea lentil curry and have plans for chicken and broccoli tomorrow night. I am thouroughly DONE with pig meat!!! I do not like it sam I am, I do not like pig meat or ham. I say that after a morning spent baking pigs in blankets for a little party tonight for Martinstag, of which I have no idea, other than little kids are carrying around lanterns with real candles inside (I hope this ends well, I'll let you know)
I've posted lots of pictures of Paris, Rome, my parents visit and our Jena friends folder has lots of shot of our complex and our friends. Tara is getting so big. She has always been independant, but now it is her way or the cry way (part of this is due to much spoiling from the grandparents :) ) She can now jump about 5 inches up or forward and her favorite game is what we like to call ribbit, she can jump for hours it seems. She still only speaks in two to three word sentences, no pronouns as of yet, if you ask her if she is a baby, or daddys little helper, or whatever, she responds with "NEIN (no), Tara" Her favorite letter for the week has been "F" and goes straght to it when we sing our ABC's.
I miss you all, and wish I could be there for all my mom's groups coming birthdays, and for all of those friends who are struggling.