Logan is at his monthly sleepover with Grandma and Papa and Daddy is away on a business trip. It's just Meg and Mommy. We left Logan around 4pm yesterday afternoon and had the evening into this morning together. Being able to focus just on Megan really highlights all she does.
Megan has been a long-time snuggler, now instead of just doing it, she asks for it. She puts her head down on my shoulder and nestles in. "Ahhh, mama. Nugg," she says. Nugg, being the way she attempts to say snuggle.
She does a lot of things. Recently, Megan had found my diaper bag, dug around in it until she found what she wanted. She came over to me. Threw a diaper my way as she said "Diap!" Then she laid herself down on the floor on her back and held her legs up in the air staring at me expectantly. She does it on a regular basis now, althoug typically the question "Megan, should we get a new diaper for you?" triggers her action. Getting her own diaper, laying down and waiting.
She's feeding herself with a fork. She stabs at her food repeatedly until she gets several pieces up on the fork. She puts the fork in her mouth and pulls off just what she can handle. I hadn't quite noticed her do it the first time and she knew it. She threw the fork down on the tray and clapped loudly until she caught my eye. Then she did it again.
She plays a mean game of hide-and-seek. Last night after we ate we set about to play. I hid on her in her room. She sought me out yelling "BOO!" when she found me. When she finds did, she held up her arms and started to climb up my leg. As soon as she was in my arms she snuggled in. I put her down and told her I was hiding again.
When she entered the room I had selected, she scanned the room with a very serious look on her face. I knew she had found me by the smile that started with her eyes and captured her whole face. She again climbed up on my lap and cuddled. I put her down yet again.
"I'm going to hide again!" I told her. Then I thought about it, we play hide-and-seek often with Logan. This game is how Logan learned to count to 10 before he hit 18 months. I ought to be counting when it's just Meg and I too. "Megan, you stay here and count and then find me! I'll say the numbers for you."
I watched her as I walked briskly from the room. She stood still next to the chair I had hidden behind moments before. "1 - 2 - 3..." I said. When I got to ten Meg let out a big squeal and she started to run towards me. I picked up my pace and jetted down to Logan's room. I sat in the dark out in the middle of the room where I knew she could find me despite lack of light.
First she went to her room. "Nope, I'm not in your room, come find me!" I called to her. She stopped moving. She focused on my voice. I figured she'd placed it when I heard her erupt in laughter. She came running right into her brother's room and to me. "BOO MAMA!" she said and she climbed up once more for a great big, celebratory hug.
She can identify several of her own body parts now. Ask her where her ears are and she covers them both saying something like "air." She can find her head/hair, nose, mouth, teeth, fingers, belly (she beats on like drum chanting bell-lay, bell-lay, ball-lay) and toes. Sometimes she can remember where her eyes are. She knows her hands, which she'll clap gleefully if asked to locate.
She loves to play blocks. She digs deep into the box of MegaBlocks and connects the pieces she gathers. Then she puts on her proverbial destory hat and wrecks her creation. She can sit on a ride-on toy and scoot herself quite a distance. She climbs up and in and out and off of nearly everything in sight.
She's become a true toddler in every sense of the word. The fun has begun.