18 months

azalea, i can't believe you are 18 months old already! i don't know how it's possible, but your second year of life is flying by even faster than your first did. you make us laugh, challenge us, and make us fall even more in love with you every day. i haven't done a "formal" update on you since you turned one, so i thought now would be a good time. i don't expect anyone else to really read all these details. 

all about you:

you haven't been to the doctor in 3 months, so i don't know your exact weight and height. you go on friday, so we'll find out then. in the mean time, i'm going to guess that you weigh somewhere around 23 pounds. you wear size 18 month clothes, size 3 diaper (in disposables) and size 4 shoes. your hair is growing like crazy and it continues to be very curly, which your mama loves! i've always wanted curly hair. you won't wear bows or barrettes for more than 5 seconds, but i keep trying. you still wear cloth diapers every day. 

sleeping:
you typically go to bed at 8pm and wake up sometime in the 6:00 hour. sometimes you sleep until 7:00, but not often. however, i can count on one hand the number of times you've needed us in the night in the last 6 months, so that's good. there was a period of time where we thought you were having nightmares because you would cry for us and hold us so tightly when we try to put you back in your crib. your bedtime routine is pretty short and sweet. we change you into your jammies, get you a sippy cup of water, read 2-3 books in the rocking chair and you go down without resistance. we switched you to 1 nap per day when you were 17 months. you were still willing to take a morning nap, but we made the decision to phase it out. you typically go down for your nap around 12 or 1 and sleep for 2-3 hours. you are always happy to go down for a nap, which we really appreciate. 

eating:
overall you are a pretty good eater, but you do sometimes assert your power by refusing certain foods or playing around rather than eating. we converted your high chair into more of a booster seat a couple weeks ago. it's so fun to have you sit at the table with us. you are getting pretty good at using utensils, but still pick up most stuff with your hands. we haven't ventured into the world of cups without tops, but we will eventually. you are always up for eating (and often demand it!). you want breakfast the second you wake up, and dinner the second we walk in the door at night. it stresses me out because i would like you to eat with dada and me, but you throw such a tantrum and i know there is no way you will wait any longer, so i let you win. you do sit at the table and have "second dinner" with us, though. some of your favorite foods are: meat, pasta (mac and cheese!), bananas, yogurt, strawberries, peas, ice cream (ha!). you've definitely gotten a lot pickier in the last 6 months. you used to eat anything we gave you, but you've started to have more opinions on which foods you like and often refuse foods, by putting out your hand and saying "no no." :) one of your favorite meal time activities is feeding mama with your hand. it's pretty cute (and sometimes gross!) haha. 

likes:
reading books and having them read to you. when mama sings abc's and twinkle twinkle to you (you sing "up above" when we get to that part). dancing to the music your toys play. opening cabinets/drawers around the house and taking things out. playing in the bath tub. playing outside and at the park. running away from us outside. pointing to and watching airplanes. asking to turn on and off the light switches. helping mama put clean silverware away. watching sesame street videos on youtube. 

dislikes:

waiting at traffic lights. being told "no" or having things taken away from you. getting your diaper or clothes changed. when mama goes to the bathroom without you. popcicles. when it's time to leave the park. not getting to eat right this second. many tantrums involve a single blood-curdling scream while looking us straight in the eyes.

talking:
you are starting to talk more and more. for the most part, it's still mostly one word phrases, but you do have a couple sentences. one is "oh wow, wook at dat" which is my favorite thing you say. you are usually pointing at something. the other sentence is "what's dat?" i have a feeling we'll be hearing that one more and more. some of the other words you most commonly say are: mama, dada, hi, bye, bath, cracker, woof, night night, ball, meow, book, bed, up (which is please). you understand nearly everything we say which is so awesome. i hear there is typically a "language explosion" at 18 months, i can't wait. of course you have plenty of moments where you want something and can't effectively tell us, which leads to tantrums. 

other funny things you do:

you make the biggest "mwah" sound when you kiss us. grandpa wayne sings this song lyric you that ends with "uh oh" and you do the "uh oh" part every time. you always want to take your blanket out of your crib after sleeping, but you aren't attached to it any other time. you scream when you are frustrated or angry and sometimes say "uh oh" after if it was so loud, you surprised yourself. 

you are growing up so fast! we love you more than anything in the world. xoxo