18 months

I'm a few days late on this post because I felt like I should wait until I had a good chunk of time to commit to it. However, I'm not sure when that will happen, so I'm going to try to post now while there is at least a tiny patch of time between things today.

18 months. I have a year and a half year old. I can say, for certain, that year 2 is flying by much much MUCH faster than year 1. These last 6 months have happened in the blink of an eye. Maybe that's because she is growing so much these days, I just can't keep up.

Abs had her 18 month appointment last Friday. We met our new pediatrician since our previous one ended up leaving to stay at home with her 5 kids. Kyle was very busy at work and unable to leave, so this was also the first appointment he's missed since she was born. I know he was sad about that. Our new doc was nice, no problems there. Abs weight in at 24 lbs and was 33 inches tall. That's right around the 50% for both - so right on target.

waiting in the doctor's office, drinking milk and eating raisins at the same time.

Unfortunately, Abby is at a point in her life where she hates the doctor's office...well, not so much the office. aShe is absolutely terrified of the nurses and doctors. I mean, she's fine as long as they are not trying to touch her. She just watches them with these weary eyes. The first poor nurse pulled out the tape measure to measure Abby's head and that's all it took - she flipped. Sigh. You would think that being weighed and measured was pure torture. Abby calmed down after the nurse left and was ok with the doctor until the doctor wanted to look in her eyes and ears etc. And just when things couldn't get worse, it was time for shots.

waiting for our shots - isn't this how most of us pass the time?

I spent a lot of time apologizing to the nurses and reassuring them that they were wonderful. The funny thing is - as upset as Abby was, as soon as the nurse or doctor went to leave the room, Abby said "bye-bye" and blew them a kiss. She even told the doctor "tank-yoo" in between gasping for breaths. As the doctor left, I heard her laughing telling the nurse, "that is the most wonderful beautiful child, but she does not like to be touched, she is very strong!"

Developmentally, Abby is at or above all her milestones. I was pleased that Abby pointed to all the body parts the doctor asked her to. We don't have any concerns, and neither did the doc. So, that's all good.

I feel that I repeat myself a lot on here - especially when talking about Abby's new tricks and milestones. But, I'll try to recap efficiently.

- Singing. Abby loves to sing. She sings all the time. The Alphabet is her favorite, followed by Old McDonald, Itsy Bitsy Spider, Twinkle-twinkle, and the "Uh-huh" song. If you don't know the Uh-huh song - youtube it, But be prepared for your toddler to become addicted. Abby is getting better and better with the ABC's or the "Ace-cee-cees" as she tends to call it. She also loves to work the radio by her room - she apparently favors the classic rock station.

- She still loves her books. We read 3 books before bed every night. Right now, her favorites are the ABC book, any of her search&find books, and The Moon Shines Down. The third one is my favorite too right now. Especially because it's not really a short book, but Abby has started letting me read the entire thing to her....instead of just wanting to flip through the pages and look for things she knows. So, I enjoy that.

- She loves being outside, and I love taking her outside. We're at the point where it's hard when it's raining. It's hard to keep her inside all day. I have a new appreciation for indoor playspaces. I have a feeling I'm going to be learning where all of them are come winter.

- In an effort to teach Abby when to say Thank you, we often give her something and say "thank you" as a reminder for her to say it. And she usually will. But, now, she brings us stuff all the time and says "Tank-yooo!" while she does it - as if to remind me or Kyle to say Thank you to her for bringing us our shoes, or a stick, or a bowl from the cabinet.

-Speaking of bowls. Our kitchen is routinely torn apart daily. She plays in the baking drawer, and has recently discovered the tuperware drawer. This picture makes me laugh because I'm not sure what she just threw away in the trash - but you can tell she knows she's not supposed to reach in there. And, as you can see - she's been in destruct-o mode for a while.

- Prayers. A while back, we started saying bed time prayers with Abby in addition to prayers at meal time. Abby can make the "father, son" part of crossing herself and it's really really cute. She knows the routine, and if we forget, she reminds us. We went out to eat yesterday and Kyle and I were serving our food and Abby starts making the sign of the cross (well, the first part) over and over. Then, when she got our attention, she clasps her hands together and waits for grace. Precious.

- Food. She eats well. She usually eats wheat pancakes or french toast for breakfast with yogurt and fruit. Lunch could be anything from hot dogs, fish sticks, or PB&J to pastas, veggies, or leftovers from dinner. For dinner, she usually just eats what we eat, in some fashion or another. She still loves blueberries, and hummus, and crackers and cheese. She loves milk above everything else. She hates ice cream or anything frozen/too cold. She'll eat anything with ketchup or italian dressing on it.

first corn on the cob

- This month she has learned the word "No" as well as the word, "Noooooooo!" and the word "NO!NO!NO!NO! NOOOOOOO!" It's faaaaabulous. Really, she usually only says No when we ask her a question and that is her answer. But, sometimes, she'll randomly say No while talking to herself, and it's kinda funny. The instance she's exercised her right to say No the most is when it comes to wearing bibs. She will not. No way. Sorry. Notgonnahappen. So, we do a little more laundry or make her eat with no shirt..and really, it's not such a big deal at the end of the day.

- Other milestones and stats. She's in size 4 diapers comfortably. She is learning to climb down the stairs by herself. I admit this is a skill I have not encouraged because I kinda like that she waits for help before trying to go down, but she's gonna learn it anyway I suppose. She walks on her tip toes if she's barefoot and not on carpet. She can reach lower door handles like on our pantry and closets - but not the actual house doors. She's pretty good with shapes and knows some colors, I don't know about numbers, I should quiz her and find out. We started putting her puzzles together with the pieces in the wrong slots instead of off the puzzle. It takes her a moment longer to rearrange them that way.

- She has also learned the sign for "help" this month. Which has been extremely...helpful. :) She will now ask for help when she needs it instead of whining because she got her toy stuck somewhere. Not always, but often. I'm a fan.

Ok, so that's quite a bit to digest for one post. And I'm way out of time. In sum, Abby is a happy, healthy, growing, inquisitive, and loving toddler. I count those blessings every day and am so excited to see what the next 6 months have in store for us.