Berlin Update

When Tryn came into my life I was very good at noticing and remembering details, especially about her. I knew how many days until her first smile, when she laughed her first laugh, the day that she crawled, the day that she took a step, the day that she started walking, how many words she knew when she was nine months old, how many more words she knew when she turned one, that she could say the entire alphabet by the time she was 16 months old, and the list goes on and on. I used to actually have a list of all the words and signs that Tryn knew, between the two I think she knew somewhere around 40 words by her first birthday – point is, there was a list somewhere to document it, so that I could remember. I had started a journal for Tryn, recording significant or cute things that she did.

Then along came Berlin.

I started a journal for Berlin too. With best intentions I recorded Berlin first smile, her first laugh, and then suddenly I realized that she had started rolling over and I couldn’t remember the day it happened. She had just been doing it for a couple of weeks and so I wrote something like, “Berlin has been rolling over for a couple of weeks now…” and so went many of my entries, for both girls.

As I realized I was not being able to keep up on the hand written entries very well, I started this blog. My goal? Besides just an outlet to get myself to write more, it was to write about life in our household. For my little girls to be able to know what life was like for us when they were little. For them to know when they first walked, talked, read a book on their own, etc. So that I could remember that really funny thing they said to me in front of all our relatives at the family reunion (if I ever actually made it to those). If people wanted to read it they could, but if nothing else, at least my girls would maybe care about it someday. It was going pretty well…

Until I realized that Berlin turned 18 months old on August 26 and I barely noticed. In fact, I didn’t notice until just a couple of days ago. Shoot.

So, here is my update on little Berlin, for her records and mine, and, if you want to know about our sweet little Berlin, please read on.

In the last 18 months Berlin has fallen off the kitchen table (twice), fallen down concrete and carpeted stairs, fallen up concrete and carpeted stairs, fallen off the couch, fallen off the living room chairs, fallen off kitchen chairs, fallen off of our bed (three or four times), and has tripped or fallen down more times than I can count and has never been to the emergency room or even the doctor as a result. She has never had more than a bruise or a scrapped knee. I am usually not one to say cheesy things, but I honestly and truly believe that Berlin has an amazing guardian angel or three watching over her. She should have required medical care so many times. My mother’s heart is so glad that she has not. It’s a good thing that I am not one who generally freaks out about things like this. Berlin is an expert at getting herself into things like this, it might have something to do with her determination to start walking when she was only eight months old.

Maybe it is second child nature, but Berlin is more than just physically resilient. She has been standing up for herself, mainly against her big sister, for a long time now. Trynica does not get to push Berlin around. In fact, Berlin can make Tryn cry, I think more often than Tryn makes Berlin cry.

Berlin is also at the age now where she is constantly trying to repeat everything that she hears us say. She is picking up new words everyday and sometimes, because I am so not caught up in the little details as often, she just amazes me by the things she is learning constantly. The other morning, right after she woke up, I carried her into the kitchen with me and she pointed at the stove and said, “Egg.” She wanted an egg for breakfast. I think that was the first time that she asked for a specific food (besides just the regular “eat” or “drink”) without any sort of prompt. The other thing concerning food that I really love that Berlin does is whenever she hears the ice cream truck traveling through our neighborhood she throws her hands up in the air and yells, “Cream! Cream! I-cream!” Oh. So. Cute.

Although Berlin is daily surprising us with new words and even phrases, she has never been a girl of many words. She learns what she needs to get by and kind of doesn’t care about the rest. Her ways of communicating though are just precious. When we ask her a question and, if her answer is yes, she will just nod her head yes. Very earnestly. It is adorable. And she does know a lot of words. I have no idea how many, but more and more every day. Her first two words that she put together, her first “sentence” was, “Help me!” She started saying this about two months ago now. Now the cutest thing in the world is when we ask her a question, sometimes just for fun (because sometimes I know that she knows the answer), she will put her hands out to the side – palm up – and say, “I don know,” in the cutest voice possible. She is just edible.

Dogs and horses are Berlin’s two favorite animals, she loves princesses, she is really starting to love to sit on our laps to read books (though she still gets really mad if she doesn’t get to turn the pages), and being outside is, for Berlin, being in her happy place. Food is Berlin’s second happy place. She loves to eat and will most often eat more than Tryn does in one sitting.

Oh, and Berlin’s newest and biggest news is that she is potty training herself! I was going to wait awhile, mainly because I am not home much enough to really focus on the whole thing, but Berlin has gotten in her mind that she wants to start using the potty like Tryn. So she does. Last night she actually went #2 on the potty!! At 18 months old. She totally understands the concept and has actually told us several times already that she wants to go potty. If her diaper is too wet or dirty she will ask us to change it. She has gone and gotten a diaper and brought it to us before we even know her diaper is dirty. She especially hates having a dirty diaper right now and won’t even sit down while dirty if she can avoid it. Every time I ask her if she wants to go potty she nods her little head yes and off we go. It’s great and so easy!

Before Berlin was born I had freaked out a little bit that it wasn't going to be "just us and Tryn" anymore. I have, however, completely gotten over that and can't imagine life without Berlin. She has made a lasting and irreplaceable impression on our little family and all three of us (well, especially me and Steve, Tryn has her moments) completely adore her.