18 Months Old

 

At 18 Months:

*She is 32 inches tall, which is the 55%.

*She weighs 22 lbs 3 oz, which is the 25%.

* Her head measures 18.75, which is the 85%.

*She not only walks, she runs.  The funniest is when she runs across the living room saying "go, go, go!!"

* Her speech is exploding.  She amazes us every day with the words she pops out with.  She's starting to speak in sentences.

* We are full-on in the "I DO IT" stage.  She will accept help, but would rather try and do it herself.

* It has been interesting to see the differences between boys and girls.  Ryan was always GO GO GO and Madeline will play quietly and gently with toys.  She loves to pull out the book basket, empty it completely, hop into the basket and sit and read all the books by herself.

* LOVES to read, just like her big brother.  She has started reading to us, and I am amazed at how well she knows the books.  She pops out with the right words at the right time.

* Speaking of the differences between girls and boys, hello DRAMA!!  We never really had major meltdowns with Ryan.  Maddie's mood swings are truly impressive.  She goes from euphoric, to completely overcome with sadness and anger, back up to content in the matter of minutes.  If you take away something she shouldn't have, get ready for screams and tears.

* When you put her down to sleep at night, or for naps, she bats her little eyelashes and implores "Snuggle? Snuggle?"  How can you refuse that?!?!  She loves to snuggle...and mom and dad happily oblige.

* She loves her babies and carries them around with her as she plays.  But, she also loves any toy that plays music, blocks...or any toy that Ryan currently has his hands on.

* ADORES her big brother, and he's still in love with her too.

* We had a big issue with biting with Ryan, but so far (fingers crossed), that hasn't been an issue at all with Madeline.  She just screams if she's frustrated or mad!

* Just like Ryan, she thinks it's so funny to be scared.  If something startles her, she starts laughing like him.

* She's a real pain when you have the audacity to help her brush her teeth.  I am almost to the point where I want to hire someone to deal with it because I'm just not sure I have it in me to fight her every single night.

 

She is hilariously coming into her own as her verbal skills start to catch up to the speed of her brain.  We treasure this amazing time of growth as we get further and further from anything "baby" and closer to "big girl."  The last visit to the doc was the last vaccines she gets for a few years and I just can't believe we're already at that stage.  This last year and a half has flown by and I'd be lying if I said I didn't miss some of the baby stages that we're already through.