18 months

To our 1.5 year old, 

18 month check up

33.5 inches (95%)

23 pounds 15 ounces (40%)

This is a big one.  I can tell because I cried the whole day.  Not sad tears, but tears of pride.  I could not be more proud of you.  I feel like the luckiest mama.  I have just been beaming all day at what a charming, smart, well mannered, and silly little girl you are morphing into.  This month has been filled with so many accomplishments, highlights, and milestones, I know I cannot cover them all.  This explains a bit why you were so grumpy and frustrated last month…growth spurt!  So let's see what you have been up to lately…

TALKING!   You are talking so much!  Sometimes you get on a roll, talking/telling stories in gibberish, with excessive hand motions and facial expressions (like your daddy)…it is pretty amazing.  You are saying way more than gibberish though.  Your vocabulary is through the roof.  You say something new all the time and usually repeat back words to us.  Some of my favorites at the moment:  I sorry, walk, color, pocket, thank you, you're welcome, sleeping, TV, selfie, Ellen, snuggle, snacks, dancing, girl, outside,  potty, diaper, doggie, Breckin, breckie (calls herself breckie), love you, back (as in "you came back!"), muttins (muffins), shoe, milky (nursing),  eggys, (eggs), george (curious george),  water, treat, chip, guitar…and the list goes on.  You are obsessed with trash cans, especially the big outside ones that the garbage truck comes and dumps.  Monday morning is trash day and you love going for walks around the neighborhood and pointing to all the trash cans and saying "trash cans…eww".  You are so into trash cans that we made up a song to the tune of the Lumineers "Ho  Hey":

Every Monday morning now

we hear the same old sound

If you're sleeping in your bed

You'll be waking up instead….it's trash truck day. 

We put them out on Sunday

They come round on Monday

It's like clockwork 

We put them out on Sunday

They come round on Monday

like clockwork

trash cans

trash cans

One of my most favorite things is that you say "thank you" and "you're welcome".  You say them so genuinely and at the right times (well…sometimes you say thank you AND you're welcome but it is so cute!) The best part is, we did not technically teach this to you.  You just started doing it one day.  You are just the sweetest.  You'll say "what?" when you don't follow or understand something.  You throw up your hands to demonstrate "I don't know".  You love to build towers out of big things like the couch cushions.  You'll say "tower".  You built a tower out of 4 half and half creamers at breakfast one morning.  Impressive! You'll let out a "Yaaaaay" and clap your hands after songs, TV shows, movies, eating, reading…anything to celebrate.  A little girl in vegas let you play with her furbie.  You did not want to give it back to her and you ran off and said, "No, I keep".   You call cats "meows".  When something tickles your fancy you'll say "ooooooohhhh".  You say chalk and crotch but it comes out embarrassingly as "cock".  On that note, you try to say flag but it comes out "f**k".  Your dad and I were flabbergasted when you said flag for the first time.  It seemed out of nowhere and we just stopped and stared and tried to figure out where the heck that had come from!  Continuing on here…as I was getting you out of your car seat at the bank, I may or may not have not pulled the emergency brake all the way, and the car may or may not have started rolling directly towards the bank, and I may or may not have started screaming "Holy Sh*t! Holy Sh*t!" as I somehow gained super human powers and managed to unlock the driver side door jump in and pull the emergency brake up with 1 foot to spare as you were shouting "Sh*t! Sh*t!" from your unbuckled carseat.  That may or may not have happened

You love to count!  I have heard you say "1, 2…" a few times, but your favorite numbers to say our 4 and 9.  You will say "four, nine, four, nine" when you pretend to count.  You like to countdown and have me throw you on the bed or swing you around.  You say no, you rarely say yes, but you often say "O-kaaaay!".  Daddy says you sound like the counselor from South Park, mmmm-kay.  You'll be whining and asking for something and when we finally figure out what you want you'll shout "O-kaaay!".   You'll ask for snacks and treats.  You'll ask us to dance with you.  A couple of times you have asked me to put you down for a nap by dancing instead of nursing.  You are night weaned now!  Some nights you ask for it more than others, but we are officially done nursing at night.  You usually sleep through the night (until 5-6), or come back to our bed around 1 and we snuggle.  Sometimes you will get right up next to me and flip over so we are spooning.  You have even said "snuggle".  You melted your daddy's heart one morning when you said "snuggle" and cuddled up next to him.   Sometimes you will wake up without crying in your crib.  You will just start talking.  One morning I awoke to "mommy, mama, MOM, mama, mommy…" over and over.  

You ask to "color" and you have a cup of colored pencils and scrap paper at your tiny table and chairs. You will climb up in your little chair and just start coloring like a big girl.  You are into the TV, and you'll say "on TV" if you want to watch a show.  I have started to let you watch the occasional cartoon.  Your favorite is "george" (curious george).  You laugh at him and say "monkey!".  You turned the TV on all by yourself one day and found a cartoon.  When we turn the TV off you say "bye TV".  You love to be outside too.  We started to take a long walk before your nap.  You usually insist on bringing one of your dolls.  You love to walk by yourself and you will point to the front door and say "walk" when you are ready.  You practice running and you love to look at all the pretty flowers and plants.  I set up a makeshift water table in the backyard, and this turned into a daily activity.  You would say "water" and you would stand there forever dumping water back and forth through a funnel with a few kitchen utensils and a funnel.

You still love to recite all the names that you know.  You love going through your "Who loves Breckin?" book.  Your uncle brad's page still doesn't have a picture on it, but you still say "brad" when you turn to the blank page.  It cracks me up!  You'll ask to call family members on the phone.  You give us kisses and you have started saying the "mwah!" sound.  You say "siren" or "alarm" when you hear one, and get a concerned look on your face.  You get "statue" and "ah-choo" (like a sneeze) confused.  Whenever you see a statue you say "ah-choo!" and fake sneeze.  brilliant.  You love your dollies more than ever.  You bring them on our walks, pick one out each night to bring to bed, breast feed them, try to put diapers on them, stroll them around the house, dance with them…You picked out a new one from Ikea this month and named her "Girl".  She has quickly become your favorite.  

With the holidays upon us, we have been watching a lot of holiday movies and cartoons.  You love it!  You sat through the entire Home Alone snuggled up on the couch with us.  You even laughed at the funny parts.  Every time the bad guys would fall, you would shout "fall!" and fall onto the couch.  People will tell me that you look like a "little adult".  You do have this look about you where you furrow your brow all serious.  You are an observer and I love this about you.  There is the other side that loves to be tickled and wrestled and will break into fits of outrageous laughter.  You are a jokester. You will hold your hands over your mouth when you giggle like you are embarrassed.  I love all your sweet little mannerisms.  

You went from 12-16 teeth this month. Your 4 canines came in.  You got to splash around in the rain for, really, the first time.  You had lots of playdates with wilder and Isla.  You hiked around Griffith Observatory.  You ask to go on car rides.  You "pound it" with your fist.  You try to jump, but you are not getting any air yet.  You scream.  You discovered pockets and their uses.  You pick out your own clothes.  You climb.  On everything.  You slide solo at the park.  Still love to swing.  You throw things away in the trash on command.  You throw your toys and food.  You squeal with delight when we play throw and catch with the big, purple,  bouncy ball.  You eat Leon's food.  You still love your plastic swimming pool and topple head first to get into it.  You try to do "I love you" sign language.  You still love your books.  A big portion of our day is spent reading books together.  We created a special little reading nook for you, and you will often sit and read your books out loud to yourself. You try to pick things up out of pictures in your books and get frustrated that you cannot.  

You picked up a baby-sitter when we were out shopping on the 3rd street promenade.  She worked at the store and she became infatuated with you.  She wrote down her info for me b/c she wanted to baby-sit you!  You are quite the charmer.  If only I could leave you with a baby-sitter!  We have a few times, but you are usually already in bed.  You have been a mommy's girl more than ever this month.  Daddy isn't even an option somedays!

You are a pretty good eater.  You eat a good breakfast:  cereal, fruit, eggs w/spinach.  lunch and dinner are more hit and miss.  You like when we do snack trays and you'll shout "snack!".  You still nurse throughout the day as well.  We also do special ottoman lunch or dinner where we eat at the ottoman instead of the table.  You say "ottoman".  

We had lunch at Astroburger in Hollywood to celebrate 1.5.  You were saying "hi" and "thank you" to all the people in the restaurant…even the customers in the drive-thru!  I teared up over my hamburger because you are constantly surprising me with your sweetness. 

One and a half years.  It is official that I do not remember life before you.  I mean, what did I even do or think about?  What was the point...really?  Thank you for being ours and making life so happy.  

Love, 

Mommy and Daddy