21 months

Pancake is getting scarily close to two years old.  She had a great Christmas receiving a play kitchen and tons of accessories to go with it (cooking supplies, food, pizza-making kit, cupcake-making kit, shopping cart).  She loves playing with it.  She wanted me to put her real banana on her play wooden plate today.  Her favorite things to make are eggs, pizza, quiche and ice cream.  She also got a tea set from my mom.  She requests to sleep with either the pink or green tea cup each time she goes to bed.  She is very much into her baby dolls now too.  She sleeps with Penelope every night.  Penelope has to be in the bassinet she came with, and has her own blanket that must be shoved into the bassinet.  She has named two of her dolls after a mother and daughter who live around the corner from us.  One of the dolls, Rachel, came with her own pacifier.  Pancake is just as worried that Rachel will be without her pacifier as she is about her own. As you can tell she is getting into make-believe play.

She's not great at sharing her things, but taking turns is within her mental capacity.  Whenever Doodle wheels her shopping cart around she screams, Nooooo and tries to grab the handle from him.  When I say that Doodle is taking a turn with it, she is okay as long as the turn isn't too long.

She remembers everything.  I can't put her off without her reminding me that I told her she could have juice, crayons, a book, whatever.  She likes to watch Doodle play "video games" on PBS.org and cheers him on sometimes.

She's become a contrarian like her brother, though not to the same degree.  At bedtime I read her two books and sing two songs.  I usually ask what songs she wants and if she doesn't come up with one I'll go through the list of regulars -- Twinkle Twinkle? ABCs? Take Me Out to the Ball Game? I've Been Working on the Railroad?  She will say no to every one until I threaten to put her to bed if she doesn't choose one.  She has also taken to purposefully prolonging her bed time routine.  I'll be carrying her across the room to her crib and she'll say, "one more song, please."  It's just so cute to hear her ask so politely that I have to sing another song.

She is agreeable most of the time and if I stick to my decision -- like, "you can't keep spilling your milk on the table" (a few months ago she figured out how to get the liquid out of her sippy cup) -- she accepts it much more easily and quickly than Doodle, a result of his/her age I believe.

She's outgoing, not clingy at all, cuddly, loving and generally a really good toddler.

Pancake and Doodle wearing snowman hats a friend made for them.

Pancake is wearing a frog backpack and holding a frog hat and her baby Rachel, she is "ready to go to school."