18 Months Later…

about a week ago, my little lady turned 18 months old.  i don’t know how it happened – it seems like just yesterday i was dealing with nursing baby who was cutting her first teeth and now, she’s got a mouth full of teeth…and cheeseburger, or swiss chard, or whatever.  yesterday we went in for her 18 month appointment and she clocked in at 29 lbs 12 oz – all of you who guessed 30 lbs, not even close.

here’s what else the girl is up to:

• she talks – constantly.  i wonder if she gets that from me.  real words include: mama, daddy, nani and papa (again, with a french accent), more, all done, hi, bye, elmo, muno, coco, up, help, please, hike (yes, ABN beams with pride each and every time she utters the word).  i’m sure there’s more.  she chatters endlessly – to herself and to anyone else who will listen.  she knows all her animal sounds and all her body parts (ALL her body parts) and will point to them on herself or on you.  oh and she sings dayeinu (i have no idea where that came from).
• she eats – everything – but it matters on the day of the week.  i’m not sure if there is anything that she consistently turns down (except maybe cheese – which i don’t understand) but just because she eats an entire chicken breast one day doesn’t mean she’ll touch it the next.  things she can’t get enough of: cheddar bunnies, strawberries, bananas, oatmeal, raisins, butternut squash, spinach patties, scrambled eggs and ketchup.  girl loves her ketchup and has been known to dip everything, including freeze-dried yogurt drops, in it – that’s just nastica.
• she’s devoted to her boca, more commonly referred to as a bottle.  she gets a full bottle of whole milk first thing in the morning (before a diaper change – i know…it’s gross) and then 4-5oz before her nap and another 4-5oz before dinner.  i’ve really struggled with this.  i have this idea in my head that she’s too old for a bottle – but yesterday my pediatrician told me not to change a thing until she’s two.  it’s amazing that with her blessing i immediately feel all better.  she doesn’t use a pacifier and she doesn’t suck her thumb.
• she moves a lot.  EBN didn’t really start walking until she was almost 16 months old but now, girl can’t sit still.  she was a baby who stood up one day and just started strutting her stuff.  she runs.  she tries very hard to jump.  she climbs.  she loves to gives hugs and kisses to everyone.
• she knows the word keppie  and will bow her head so you can kiss her on her forhead.
• her elmo and her muno are probably her most prized possessions.  she loves to read and will sit alone reading books (out loud) for 45 minutes or more.  she loves to color and asks for mama and daddy to write her name and the names of people that she loves.  she loves to blow bubbles and she is constantly covered in stickers.
• music class is her favorite time of week.  as soon as gets within a mile of the class she starts clapping.  she doesn’t sit down once through the entire class and claps as each song starts and as each song ends.  we spend our week singing the songs from class and listening to the cd in the car.
• she looks forward to her morning hikes with daddy and has started to be an active participant.  they hike one direction and then ABN let’s EBN out of the backpack and she walks back, for quite a while, all on her own.  the fact that she has outgrown of her hiking shoes is causing major family drama.
• she knows her way around the ipad/iphone way better than i do and often shows me hidden tricks i didn’t know existed (i’m not even sure the people at apple are aware).
• when i tell EBN that something is hot she blows – even if there isn’t anything in front of her
• she counts!  well, she’s trying.  she seems to only like the even numbers – especially 8
• she thinks her name is IGGY

i think it’s pretty clear, we’re having a great time.  honestly, our greatest challenges right now are how my job interferes with EBN’s schedule (working from home sounds great and then your toddler starts really needing your attention and it’s sorta miserable) and the fact that she doesn’t seem to like cheese.  life is tough