18 Months

On Wednesday we went to the pediatrician for Brylee's 18 month well-baby check-up.

The Stats:

Weight: 25lb 11oz (50-75%)

Height: 32 inches (50-75%)

Head: 48cm (75-90%)

She was immediately scared when I put her on the scale, and our visit only went downhill from there. She absolutely hated the doctors visit this time! Even though she didn't have to get any shots, the toe prick to check her hemoglobin was not her favorite! And even the simple stethoscope and pediatrician's evaluation was very traumatic for her.  Luckily, she checks out very healthy right now. We're still battling the dry-skin issue, but its not nearly as bad as when she was an infant.

She is so funny right now, and becoming a full blown toddler right before my eyes. She loves to climb on everything, and is really enjoying the park, jungle gym, and all things dirt. She is fine-tuning the art of running, and her fine-motor skills are progressing well too. She does well with a fork and spoon, and drinks out of a straw sippy-cup, but still can't figure out how to tip up a regular sippy-cup up high enough to get liquid out versus air.

She can be a bit of a drama queen, and switch from giggling to crying in a matter of seconds if something does not go her way. She gets frustrated very easily when she cannot figure something out, but she's good about asking for "elp eeze" (help please) when she can't do it alone. She loves to try to buckle straps and fill and empty buckets or bags.

Her play is getting more creative. She makes sucking noises when she is giving her baby a paci or bottle. She also pretend-plays with her farm animals on their farm. Speaking of farm....her absolute favorite song is Old McDonald, which she refers to as "ee-i-ee-i-oh" and asks for that song by name in the car and uses that name to refer to her farm animals dvd. She knows many basic words, which include many animals and animal sounds.

Overall, she is such a love and joy to be around. She loves on her dog, Paisley, all the time now, and is really good about giving her mama and daddy kisses. She doesn't sit still very long at all, making it a little more difficult to go out to eat, but I know its just her active toddler stage shining through. She's still a mama's girl, but is loving playing a little more "actively" with her daddy these days. We're working on giving her appropriate choices to help calm the beginnings of the toddler tantrums, and I think she's actually starting to catch on. This sweet baby of mine is growing into a little girl, and we're loving every minute of it!