18 Months

Today Elsa is a year and a half old - I cannot believe it's been 18 months since we brought our little girl home with us!  It's amazing how much our lives have changed in the last 18 months.  Elsa is getting to be so much fun.   She is definitely developing her own, strong-willed personality.  She loves to explore and gets excited about such simple things that it reminds Chad and I to be grateful for all the blessings God gives to us.  

Elsa - here are your 18 month memories:

*You weigh 24 pounds 3 ounces.  

*You are 32 1/4 inches tall.
*You are wearing size 18-24 month clothes and size 4 diapers.  Your shoes are sizes 4 or 5.

*You are learning to take just one nap a day (at this point you'd still prefer two, but you're getting ready to transition into the Toddler room at daycare and you'll only be napping once a day there).  So you usually fall asleep around 12:30 and will sleep until 3 or 3:30.  

*You take a bath every night at 6:30 and are in bed and asleep around 7 or 7:15 - you're not ready for a later bedtime yet.

*You still love your paci, lovie, and sheepy, and sleep with them at nap and bedtime.

*You love to drink water and milk from your sippy cups.

*Right now you cannot get enough blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries.  You would eat them all day long if Mommy and Daddy let you.  

*You're not a picky eater - you eat whatever Mommy and Daddy eat and enjoy trying new foods.  Some of the foods you like that Mommy and Daddy were sure you wouldn't: mushrooms, onions, green peppers, red peppers, and black beans.

*You eat breakfast around 7:30, have a snack around 10, eat lunch around 11:45, have another snack around 3:30, and supper at 5:30.  

*You are a chatter box!  You love to talk and sing.  Right now you know a lot of words: Mamma, Dadda, Nana, Papa, cracker, cookie, chicken, bowl, ball, bubbles, dog, baby, done, tickle, hi, hello, bye-bye, go, no, yes, and night night.
*You also like making animal sounds - cow, lion, bear, monkey, pig, dog, horse, and sheep.  

*You still use your signs for some words like: more, all done, and milk.

*You enjoy reading books with Mommy, Daddy, and by yourself.  Sometimes when it's really quiet we will peek in your room to check on you and find you sitting on the floor by your bookshelf reading books.  
*You also like to watch Baby Einstein and Praise Baby DVD's.  
*You're really starting to like baby dolls - you give them hugs and kisses and cover them up with blankets.  
*You love swimming in the water and playing with the hose!   
*At bedtime we read books and sing songs - "This Little Light of Mine" is your favorite and you even make a light with your finger while Mommy and Daddy sing.  
*You like to pray before meals and at bedtime.  You fold your hands so sweet anytime we say, "It's time to pray."

What a blessing you are!