Addie is 18 months old today! Hard to believe that a year and a half has already passed! Time seems to go so fast when you are trying to keep up with a toddler!
Addie is up to so much these days it is hard to know where to begin! She talks A LOT and loves to repeat EVERYTHING you say, so you have to be really careful around her. She picks up on words and actions you had no idea she was even paying attention to! It is truly amazing watching her grow and learn all of these new things. I would LOVE to come up with a list of all the words she knows, but I have most certainly lost track! She not only has learned so many new words, but she has become better at pronouncing the words in the correct manner. She still talks in her own language and she fully knows what she is talking about! It is really funny because when Dan or I ask her what she just said, she will say it again in EXACTLY the way she said it the first time. Of course, we still have no stinkin' clue what she said to us, but we agree with her and move on! She has also learned some sign language to communicate. We have been using them for awhile now, so she typically says the word right along with the sign. I am hoping to teach her more!
We are working on her colors right now. She knows how to say the basic colors when you ask to repeat, but she is still working on identifying the color when she looks at it! The one she does know is purple. I think that is going to be her favorite color!! She always picks out purple things when asked!
We have her doctors appointment tomorrow and I am curious to see how much she has grown. Last visit to the doctor she was at 27-28 lbs. It's hard to tell when she is moving around, so the nurse called it good! We officially moved to size 5 diapers today, and she is up to a size 6 shoe!! She can still wear size 5, but they are beginning to get too small. For clothes she is growing out of the 2T and what I have bought her for summer is mostly 3T!! Some 2T she will fit into because they are made bigger, but STILL!! She is growing up TOO FAST!! Thank goodness her sizes change with the season!
As far as discipline, I really can not even remember how long it has been since I had to sit her in time out. She is a very good child. Don't get me wrong, she does have her moments, but they have become more predictable to us and we have learned how to manage and avoid those situations whenever possible so that the "meltdown stage" does not get to that point! I realize this is not always going to be possible, but I will work the system while I can. Most of our problems occur in church, which runs into meal time, and just the fact of sitting in one spot for an hour. But, we manage and do what we can!
Oh, the dreaded potty training... I am thinking it is time to take it to the next level. I have just let her sit on the potty when she wants. Some days it is a couple times per day and some times none. That really depends on what we are doing that particular day, but she comes up to me and tells me she is going and then goes and gets her diapers and wipes to be changed. I think that if we work a little harder we can get her on the potty before that point and just be done with it! Still contemplating this and have not made a decision...
She is a great eater. Minus veggies. I have to find creative ways to feed them to her, but it works. Other than that I think her favorite food is fruit, and really any kind she loves! She loves to dip meat in ketchup, and pretty much anything she can dip in ketchup. We find that she eats better if she gets to dip, so we give her a little ketchup with appropriate foods, but she still ends up dipping her fruit in it, along with whatever else she is eating. I know, gross!!
She is sleeping very well, when her teeth are not bothering her! She goes to bed around 8:30pm and gets up around 8:45am. She goes down for her nap after lunch at about 12:45, and I get her up around 3pm so that I can leave for work. Although most of the time she is up.
Speaking of teeth, she got her four eye teeth in this month!! There were some bad nights of lots of pain for those stinkers to come in, so I am relieved that they are finally all the way through for the most part! She loves brushing her teeth, when SHE is the one doing it. When mommy or daddy do it she turns her head in all directions, making it somewhat difficult!!
Some of Addison's favorites right now include:
~ Going down her slide.
~ Reading books. She loves when you ask her to find things on the pages.
~ Going to story hour and reading books there as well!
~ Coloring.
~ Going outside to the the cows.
~ Playing with Emma (our dog).
~ Playing with Uncle Max. She really missed him while he was gone!
~ Dancing in the kitchen.
~ Elmo
~ Washing her hands, which we do SEVERAL times per day!
Tonight we made cupcakes and had pizza with our friend Matt. We celebrated Addie's birthday with a cupcake and 1 1/2 candles! She stuck her fingers in the frosting and licked them off, leaving the cupcake! We ended our night showing off her dance moves in the kitchen and then off to bed our little 18 month old went. I still can not believe she is that old! I was laughed at today by a hospice patient I see when I said that to her! She is 92 years old and said that I need to wait until she hits 50, because it is then that I will feel ancient! I love that I am able to volunteer and still see a few patients, they truly make my day! I just hope these next 48 1/2 years don't go by as fast as she says they will!!
Happy 18 months Addison Marie!!
