I think I should convince some stranger to take pictures of Jordan and I at the pool just so I can share a picture.

Lately, the only picture you’d get is her screaming: “NO KICK! NO JUMP! NO WATER!” She loves the swim class for the first 15 minutes and then her mood changes. It usually changes after she gets her head fully wet. I’m pretty sure it’s a control thing. She wants to be in control at all times and when she’s underwater, she feels out of control. Obviously, that’s not a good thing in her world. Other than personality struggles in the water, she is getting stronger at kicking and getting more natural at reaching her arms out in the water.

The best part of swim class today: It was the first night when we left the building without freezing to death. Hopefully Spring is actually here. I’ve been getting pretty annoyed with this long, cold winter.

I just got back from a whirlwind trip where I had a chance to meet with a bunch of companies in California. I had hoped to meet up with BethGo, but the schedule was packed. I barely slept. I did eat well (Cliff House, Brickhouse Cafe, Circolo) and I am feeling very inspired when it comes to my job.

I got home without getting to see Miss Jordan before she went to bed. But she did make sure she hogged the phone when I called in this evening. She can talk and talk and talk but when she has a phone in her hand, all she says is: “Hi Moma! Hi Moma! Hi Moma! Hi Moma!” I think she’s just trying to hog the line so no one else can talk.

My girl
Originally uploaded by NerdyMom

Jordan enjoyed a long weekend with her Grandma and Poppy in town. Along with all kinds of attention, she got her hair trimmed a bit. It was only her second haircut ever!!

We’ve seen an increased drive for independence — Yesterday Jordan threw her first SOLID tantrum in the middle of Target. She would not let me help direct the stroller that she was pushing (I should have never let her get out of the that thin!). Obviously one and a half arms aren’t that great at pushing a stroller in a straight line… and I wanted to get in an and out of the store. We had already spent a couple of hours snacking and reading books with friends at a bookstore. But Jordan wouldn’t let me touch the stroller — It got bad enough that I strapped her screaming, tantruming body into the umbrella stroller and just let her SCREAM! Cam and I tried to giggle about it — What else can you do? But MAN! “My do it! My push! My srow-wer! (that’s how she says “stroller”) She solidly independent. I won’t change a thing about that.

She is amazing to watch — That little fire in her personality is going to carry her far.

I have been working a lot. A lot.

When I walked into the house today, Jordan squealed with excitement. She scrambled up the stairs. She babbled to her heart’s delight. She missed me.

I’ve been swamped at the beginning of a new semester – There has been a culmination of projects that need attention at the same time. Plus, my class more than doubled in size. I have so many people to train, fires to put out… I could go on and on.

But let me tell you about my girl.

She’s now 25 months old. 25 months. Can you believe it?

In this past month, her ability to communicate has SKYROCKETED! She knows what she wants and often puts together the words that helps us know what she wants. She knows colors WHEN she wants to tell us the right color. She wants to sing the ABC’s but doesn’t always feel like she needs to say the right letters at the right time. She loves to play the piano and she loves to be in charge. She warmed up to her daddy this month. She gets upset if she wakes up late and he already went to work. She hugs and kisses him more. She leans on him for comforting sometimes. She’s growing up.

She knows how to say her brother’s name and she loves him on her own terms. She’s very demanding of him and she always wants what he’s doing. Lately she gets upset about her breakfast. No matter what, she’d rather eat what’s in his bowl. Who cares if they have the exact same breakfast. She wants HIS.

We continue to talk about potty training. She is not comfortable with actually using the potty after our initial success. She is getting pretty good at pooping on the floor. (YUCK)

Jordan is starting to use her prosthetic a bit more. She uses it at dinner sometimes. She is using it to work with coloring and other art projects at school. She’s really doing great with her occupational therapist… Mainly because we’re doing therapy at school twice a week. I think I get in the way of therapy.

“Read a book” is a big deal in our house. Jordan is reading up a storm. She loves it when we read, she loves to read, she’s copying her brother’s enjoyment of a good story. Lately she’s been telling me the things she sees on the pages. She really likes Elmo stories, nursery rhymes and baby animals. Her teacher tells me that Jordan is really good at school. She transitions incredibly well. The only thing she does that’s challenging is she does stairs very slow. If I felt off balance, I’d do stair really carefully too. So if that’s the only challenge in her class, I think Jordan is kicking butt. (But we already knew that)

I’m so proud of my girl. This coming month we’re going to try swimming lessons to help build her shoulder strength. I’m considering equestrian therapy as well. I’m just looking for ways to help her continue to gain strength so she can continue to use her prosthetic in more useful ways. If she gets stronger, she’ll be able to use it more.

Beyond therapy and talking… I’m just having fun. I look forward to getting past this work hump and spending more time with the kids. They are growing in so many amazing ways.

Jordan talks. She doesn’t just talk, she has exploded with words. Everything she sees she days: “WHATSTHAT?” That’s the fast version of asking “what’s that?” If she knows what it is, she says, “yeah.” If she didn’t know what it was, she’ll repeat the word.

In the last couple of days, she’ll walk up to any of us in the house, drop a book on our lap and say: “READABOOK?” She’s even asked Cam to read to her. We’ve spent the last six months encouraging Cam to read to her and Jordan would always say no. I’m thrilled that she’s finding purpose in having Cameron around.

Anyway. The girl is obstinate. She is excited to communicate. We’re thrilled with the communication. She really can speak her mind these days. She wants to do EVERYTHING on her own: “MY DO IT!” And man, you have to let her do it. I try to patiently wait for her to ask for help. She does ask for help. More often than not, she doesn’t get that aggravated. She’s much angrier if I don’t let her try than if she does try and realizes she can’t do it. That’s the kind of spunk I hope she maintains forever.

We’re enjoying family time for the holidays — I’m doing my best not to hop online as much as I normally do. Jordan is getting better at saying words like Santa, Ho ho ho and tree. She’s also saying more sentences. REALLY fast sentences.

I wanna eat that sounds like “Iwannaeatthat.” She’ll say it rapidly five times in a row before I realize what she’s saying. There are other sentences – They are all very fast and I’m floored every time I translate it and realize this little baby is NO baby.

I’m also talking her into doing a few things with actual logic. If you’ve noticed, her hair is constantly in her eyes because I’m growing out her bangs. Bangs suck. It’s a BEAR to grow them out so I figured we’d just grow them out from the very beginning. Well, she has started complaining about her hair in her eyes from time to time – And I’ve jumped onto the opportunity to actually put a bow into her hair. Check out the picture of her at her school holiday party. I’ve been able to get her to wear a clip two times in the last week. It doesn’t always work, but it’s progress.

I’ve also found that I have to count to three every once and a while — To get her to move away or stop doing something she shouldn’t do. The down side, she screams the moment I say “One…”

She’s screaming a lot these days. It’s loud here. It’s very loud.

I always sing a lullaby to my kids at night. Each one has their own special lullaby. It really took me a while to get Jordan’s just right — But recently I think the lyrics are ready:

Go to sleep and good night
My sweet little Jordan
You are my baby
My little baby
And I love you head to toe
Sleep all night
And you might
Have a wonderful dream now
Sweet little girl
Best in the world
May your dreams make you happy

Silly I know

Then I hum the song one more time and rub Jordan’s belly.

Tonight after my little song and hum and belly rub, Jordan whispered: “I love you.”

Dang. She melts my heart.

Jordan and the rest of the family just got back from spending time with Daddy’s side of the family. You can see the girl enjoyed playing with her Uncle. For someone who moved out of state, we sure have been lucky to see him so often.

We also had a chance to spend with Jordan and Cam’s great-grandparents who can’t travel like they used to. Jordan was not into giving kisses to her Moma Dot – until right before we were leaving Moma Dot and Daddy Jr’s house. The trick: Make sure I’m not in the room. I’m hoping someone in the house got a picture of Jordan doling out the smooches. I tell you, there’s something about me that keeps her from sharing the love with everyone else.

So there are some fun things going on in the language department: Many, many words. Some of the funniest. Jordan’s Grandpa is named Poppy. Jordan has recently stopped calling all dogs Bubba in honor of our fat pug, she now calls them “puppy.” But the difference between “puppy” and “Poppy” is slight. Only an expert hear can notice that difference. Another funny one: “hot” and “hat.” Oh, and her blankey is officially named “Lamby.” She is still walking about the house assigning items: The couch is Daddy, my computer is “Mommy.” Ditto for my chair in the kitchen and of course my van and bike and phone. Now wait, the phone is “Elmo” because she can watch Elmo on it.

Anyway, during our drive home tonight, Jordan got chatty. I sat next to her to help her eat her dinner… And girlfriend wouldn’t stop talking. She talked and talked and a few times I could notice a word or two. But whatever she was telling me was SERIOUS. I just nodded my head and responded to the words I thought I heard. If this is what we’re headed into — it’s going to be tricky to think with all that chatter.

Oh! One other thing: Poppy trimmed Jordan’s hair for the second time in her life. Just a little off the back to help even out the natural layers she’s growing. It looks great and it think it will help lighten the load and help the curls pop out a little more. Hooray curls! (I only say that because I don’t have any and I think they’re cool)

This has been a really big month for Jordan. She’s really becoming her own person and this month proved it. She’s turning into an independent, strong little girl. Some of her big changes this month included a TON of words and more understanding of my words. I can also talk a little bit of reason to her. Often I can direct her to new locations with just giving her some motivation: “Jordan, come into the house so you can say hi to Bubba Dog.” “Jordan, where is your baby? It must be in that room.” Of course, there are more times when Jordan gets stubborn and won’t budge. She’s starting to fall onto the ground and just scream. Typical two-year-old stuff. What is wonderful is watching how she’s really working hard during her occupational therapy appointments. She’s trying harder to use her prosthetic. I’m excited to get her a new and improved version so she can step up her efforts.

This past month was really special because Jordan and I got to spend time with my Aunt Jan and Uncle Chuck… We even got to hang out with my cousin and her kids. It was awesome to share extra hugs and smiles to family I really care about but don’t get to see often enough.

Jordan is getting along a little better with her brother. She loves to play hide and seek and chase with Cameron. They also have this thing where they scream. It’s painful to my ears, but they think it’s super funny. Either way, I see these little brother and sister moments as a sign that they’re getting along better. We had one moment today that I thought was awesome. We were having a non-healthy picnic of burgers and milk shakes at a local park. Jordan loved the shake, but couldn’t hold it while she drank from the straw. Cam patiently would hold the cup while she enjoyed her drink. It was so kind.

Jordan is finally starting to hold my hand in parking lots and throwing fewer fits about my attempts to keep her safe. She’s still closely attached to me, but she’s more willing to go off with her Dad. While she was at work with us earlier this week, I needed to continue working while her Dad was ready to leave. So he walked her over to me, she said bye-bye and walked off to the parking lot with Dad. I almost fell out of my seat. It’s a little sign of freedom for me. I love our connection, but I’m thrilled to see her expanding her trust.

I swear Jordan is going to speak full understandable sentences in the next few days. Every hour as she grows, it seems like her words are better, clearer… and prouder.

This is so fun.