18 Months, or 1.5 Years!
So I'm a little late with this post. Keeping up with a
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Reading: Munch Bunch, Mr. Men, Karen Katz' books, Dr. Seuss and the Fisher Price Lift-the-Flap books. She also really enjoys Harold and the Purple Crayon and will often talk about going for a walk in the moonlight, usually out of the blue. She can also identify most of the alphabet and numbers from 0-9.
Eating: Fruit (nectarines are a new fave), rice, and peanut butter on bread. She also loves ramen noodles, although I always feel bad for the staff at the restaurant who have to pick up the stray noodles off the floor once she has finished "eating." Her previous favourites continue to be preferred over anything green, so the smoothies are my way of working in some spinach into her diet. Little L has recently started asking to go into her high chair, which has been extra awesome when we go out to eat.
Saying: We're onto a few 5-word sentences now, and adjectives. Examples include, "I take a walk with the pandas!" "Talk to Nana on the phone." "I take a bath naked" "No diving! Might fall down." "I go find Mommy, show Mommy!" She mostly uses 3-word phrases, but her ability to communicate with words just keeps getting more and more sophisticated. She will ask us to pick her up, tell us when she's finished eating and full, tell us (right before) when she poops, ask for stuffies by name, tell us to follow her somewhere, ask for food, and repeat back rules like "No kicking! Hurt Mommy." "Draw on the bed! No...." (while pointing to the marker lines covering our bedsheets).
Playing: Magnetic letters, stickers, and markers and crayons. She spends a good chunk of her day doing this, although she also still enjoys playing with her farm animals and reading her books. She has become obsessed with bringing a toy or two with her when we go out, and this has been both a blessing (distraction/entertainment for her) and a curse (we are hypervigilant about not losing a toy). Her stuffies have become her little friends, so that has been really cute to see. She has always loved her little stuffed animals but now she will actually interact with them (feed them, read to them, wrestle with them) and attribute things to them (like hurt paws, or sad feelings).
Wearing: Shoes EU23 (UK 7), which seem to fit just right or a little tight depending on which style she's wearing. Poor girl has massive feet like her Momma! ;) Her clothes continue to range from 24m/2T to 3T, although most of her pants are still 2T's.
Other New Things: We've begun to take Little L swimming in our indoor pool. She *loves* splashing with her Daddy, and even though she has yet to put her face in the water and take a formal swim lesson, we are trying to get her to lay on her tummy or her back (with her head out of the water) and kick her legs. As the weather cools, I suspect we will be spending more and more time in the pool during our evening family time.
I am reading Dr. Gordon Neufeld's Hold On to Your Kids and I totally recommend this book to every parent of a little kid. Although the book addresses issues dealing more with older children, Neufeld's argument to cultivate attachment and connection with your child begins during the early early years. It is a pretty radical book, in that it challenges a lot of what we assume to be "normal" for kids and adolescents in today's culture. My hope is that, armed with this knowledge, I can prevent Little L from ever becoming a peer-oriented kid who no longer values my opinion or our relationship. Take a read and let me know what you think! :)
Anyway, life with a toddler is so much fun. I honestly do not miss those early months, and far prefer my little toddler as she is today.
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