18 Months Old

Tomorrow our little pumpkin is 18 months old. I can't believe it. She is such a big girl these days. Not only does she look so much older, but she acts so big. I am going to give an update on her accomplishments, but first I would like to ask everyone to say a little prayer for Lucy - she is fighting what the doctor thinks is a viral bug. She has been sick out of both ends since last night. She is clearly uncomfortable and it is so sad. This is the first time in the 13 months we have had her that she has run a fever. (Well, she runs a fever with vaccines, but they never seem to bother her) She is a totally different child with fever. She wants to cuddle nonstop and is very lethargic. She has kept her head on my shoulder for a large part of the day, which is just unlike her since she is such a busy child. When the fever reducer is working, she feels pretty good. We were so lucky because she had an 18 month check up already on the schedule for this morning, so she has been checked out by the doctor who thinks it is just a little bug. She is currently in our bed watching TV with us because she can't get comfy in her bed. I actually love the cuddle time I have gotten today. It is such a treat.

Okay, so what is the girl up to these days. As far as talking goes, she can imitate about half of the words that we ask her to say. She can say all of her aunts' names and all 3 of her boy cousins' names. She can say all of her granparents' names, except for Grandy - which she tries to say but it isn't clear just yet. She can say three phrases with words linked together - Hi ____, Bye____, and Yeah, I do. If you ask her if she wants something and she really does want it, she will reply with a big Yeah, I do!! It is hilarious. When you ask her want she wants to eat, she puts her finger by her mouth and says, "Ummmmmmmmm". Again, it is so funny. Whenever she sees Swiper on Dora the Explorer she shouts, "Oh man!" in the funny little voice that Swiper says it in every episode. We about fell over the first time she did it. She has a large vocabulary. She can understand pretty much anything that we say to her and can follow most directions, even multiple step directions. We think she is VERY smart!

Physically, her stats at 18 months are 21 lbs 3 oz (below 10th percentile) and 33 inches long (90th percentile). This is her biggest weight gain so far. In three months, she has gained almost a pound and a half. More impressively, she has grown 2 whole inches in 3 months. That is really unbelievable to me. I knew she had grown for a lot - you can tell in the length of her pants. Due to length, she needs size 18-24 month pants, but I have to be able to cinch the waist up tight. She wears mostly 12-18 month clothes, but they are getting small because the arms are starting to get short. She is hard to dress a lot of the time because she is tiny, but so long. I can't wait for spring and summer when we can go back to dresses every day.

Her fine motor skills are really improving. She can hold a pencil or crayon correctly. She is definitely right handed, but will color with both hands. She wants to use a spoon and feed herself all of the time. It is really messy, but she is getting better each day. She continues to be a real challenge with meal times. She just doesn't like to eat. She really does not have time for it. Her favorite is still fruit. I haven't found a fruit she won't eat. She is not a fan of meat. She will occasionally eat chicken, but most of the time she just plays with it. She does love waffles and pancakes with a dab of syrup to dip it in. I stress more over her diet than anything else. I just worry about her getting the proper nutrition.

She is a pretty good sleeper. She often wakes up once in the night, but goes right back down. She goes to bed between 7-7:30 and the whole process is so easy now. Getting her to bed used to be pretty exhausting. It was a long process and you could not leave the room until she was dead asleep. Now, she drinks her milk and lays straight down and we can leave the room. It takes all of 5 minutes and it is awesome. She almost always sleeps 12-13 hours a night. Tonight was her very last bottle EVER! We have decided to give it up at 18 months. The only reason it was not gone before is because she refuses milk out of a sippy cup and I know how badly she needs the milk calories and nutrition. I think she will change her mind after a couple of days and start drinking it again. I am scared she is going to get cavities from the milk before bed, so we are going to start a new routine of milk in a sippy during books, brush teeth, and then to bed. Wish us luck!

She knows her body parts, knows most animal sounds, and can point out what you ask her to in books. She is a little sponge and absorbs everything. Her doctor said today that she is right on track and ahead in all of her development. We are so proud of each new accomplishment that she has. I say this all of the time, but it is really amazing to watch a toddler learn. She is smart in getting what she wants - Justin calls her the boss of our household, and he is right. She is full of attitude, spirit, love, and happiness all wrapped into one adorable little person. She has the all time cutest giggle which was just documented tonight in the video below - keep in mind she is "sick." She just got her second wind I guess and is feeling significantly better.

Enjoy the pictures and videos. I know the video is dark, but you can hear and that is what really matters. So many smiles! Happy 1.5 baby girl!

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