You are One and a Half!

wow, 18 months old already! what a big girl.

you are fun and funny and sweet and silly. you learn more words every day. now your favorite thing to say is "mommy! mommy! mommy! mommy!" about 84,000 times per day. you have known my name for a long while, but you only recently discovered that you enjoy using it to get my attention. you literally follow me around the house saying "mommy" over and over and over. you don't even necessarily want anything. you just want to say "mommy."

this past weekend, some friends came to visit us. one of them is a little boy just about 6 weeks older than you, named Isaac. you two hit it off pretty well. you'd met one other time before, when you were both really little. you had a little bit of trouble seeing him sit in your chair and use your toys. you only wanted a toy if he had it. as soon as he was done, it wasn't interesting to you anymore. i hope you grow out of the non-sharing phase relatively soon. you guys did have a lot of fun together, when you weren't fighting :)

tonight, we had a party for some other friends, who are moving out of the continental US in about a week. they have a brand new baby, named edith, and her mom and i were talking about how very soon she'll be as big as you are now. the time really does just fly. here are some pictures of you having fun at the party. you liked dancing to the little jam session. ivy played the drums, and you just wanted to shake your booty.

everyone keeps telling me lately that you have beautiful eyes. i have to say i agree.

i love you! happy half-birthday!
love, mom

Everyone else is doing it, so why can't we??

your friends bella and livi and ivy have these meters on their blogs too. it is pretty interesting. 50/50. you know, it is a really difficuly thing to get a picture of your dad being normal. and me too, for that matter.

MyHeritage: Family trees - Genealogy - Celebrities - Collage - Morph

You are changing every day.

This is a really fun age. Every day is a new day of learning and growing and figuring things out.

I have really enjoyed just hanging out with you for the past several days, exploring your new communication skills, and enjoying the back yard and the sunshine.

If i smell something bad, i ask you if you need a new diaper. you nod your little head and walk to the door, then you look back at me. i follow you into your room, and usually you pull about 20 wipes out of the bag before you lay down and let me change you. it's interesting how much more willing you are to do things that you otherwise don't really like to do, when they're your idea.

If you throw a toy or food on the ground in real or pretend anger, i ask you to pick it up and put it back where it goes. you're so interested in understanding and doing tasks, you don't dwell on the fit you were just about to throw, and your mood changes.

It's so great to be able to really talk to each other! i know it is a relief to me, and i'm sure it is one for you. it seems like you have really crossed a barrier in the last couple weeks, and i am so proud of you!

we went to see the doctor yesterday, for your 18 month checkup.

you are 22lbs., 7oz., and 32 inches tall. you are right about in the very middle for all of your growth, which is where you've been since you were a couple months old. it is a little bit of a different experience, having a medium sized toddler, having watched your brother grow up being a head taller than all the other kids his age, but it is great that you can wear clothes for a lot longer than he did, before you grow out of them!

your doctor said that you are doing really well verbally. he was impressed that you know a lot of words, and you said a lot of them for him. you can say ball, shoes, eyes, no, yes, daddy, mommy, sam, hi, bye, night night, baby, uh-oh, apples, dog (though now when we ask, you always say "woof woof!" instead of dog), meow, book, wow, sit, nice, gentle, and some others i've forgotten. you said "thank you" a few times tonight. he was right in saying that from here on out, it will be about a word every day or so, and then a whole bunch all at once. it's pretty exciting!

you're getting your canine teeth right now, and those have been giving you some trouble. you've actually been drooling and biting your fingers a little bit, which is something that you haven't done with any of your teething since you were really little. once they are in, though, i think you'll be done for a while.

here are some pictures of you the past few days. the pictures of you in the high chair are to show what happens when you aren't buckled in tight. your grandma and papa came to visit, and here you are riding on the little see-saw thing they brought for sam and for you. that is your papa behind you. your grandma and papa love you like crazy! and the picture of you being sad is from sam's graduation. for some reason, it was at 2 o'clock, which is pretty near both of your nap times, and probably the nap times of every other kid there who still naps.

i love you happy or sad.
love, mom

Happy Mothers' Day to me!

you and your brother are what makes mothers' day so special for me. i'm very proud of you and love you very much!

here are two pictures from today, and also one from last May. you both have grown and changed so much!

love, mom

You and your friends are growing up.

on friday, you and i went over to bella's house to play, while her mom and dad went out of town. it is fun to watch you girls play together and think about what you'll be like when you're older, and whether you'll be friends on into junior high and high school, and beyond.

here are some pictures from friday, as well as a picture from May of 2007. you girls have sure grown up a lot in a year!

love, mom