18 Months Old!

Cecilia turned 18 months old last Sunday. I can't believe a year and a half has already gone by; I feel like she is going to be 18 before I know it! She has brought more joy to our lives than I ever could have imagined. She had her 18 month check-up today and got gold stars all the way through! It was the first time she got weighed and measured standing up like a big girl. She cooperated very well! She weighed 24 lbs and 32.5 inches, putting her in the 50% for weight and 75% for height. Which is interesting b/c I just commented the other day she seemed to be in a growing out phase. I guess all kids do it, but I can really notice it with Cecilia; she will be long and skinny for a few months, and then back to normal for a few months - out and then up, out and then up. She is in a out phase now!

Cecilia is changing and learning with everyday. Right now, her language skills are just soaring. Her doctor was very impressed with the number of words she says. They are supposed to say about 10, and 20 is average. And Cecilia probably says somewhere around 50! She is saying new words all the time; sometimes a few in one day. She says so many now that I can't keep up with them. She will say a word, and someone will say, "Has she said that before?" and I honestly don't know because she is learning ones so fast. She is also pretty good at colors. Purple was her first color and learned it a couple months ago; she added pink and green soon after, and then just in the last couple days has learned yellow and blue. It seems to be that she does not like to perform; she will be talking up a storm for me, and then I'll ask her in front of someone, and she'll just smile - little stinker!

She is starting to show an interest in the potty, but has only sat on it a couple of times, and did not have any success. I ordered her a potty last night; I think she will feel more comfortable on one her own size. However, I do not plan on doing any real potty training until she is older. She has also become a typical toddler in that she is a slightly picky eater; pretty much, she does not want to eat vegetables. She does want whatever I am eating, so I had the idea to sit down with a jar of baby food vegetables, and she came running for them! This is the child that refused baby food starting around 10 months old! I have bought more baby food in the last couple weeks than ever before! I still give her real veggies at meal time, but this way I know she is getting what she needs.

Some of our favorite things Cecilia does is say "Daddy" or "Mama," and give us hugs and kisses. Her hugs make me about as happy as I was the first time she smiled at me. There just isn't anything like it. It is so great that she can now show us how she feels about us. She will give hugs whenever asked, and will just walk up to us periodically to give you one. But my favorite is sometimes after getting her dressed in the morning or at night, when I get her off the changing table, she will reach for me and just give me a huge hug and lay her head on my shoulder like she is thanking me for taking care of her.

Unfortunately, I forgot my camera at my aunt's house over the weekend, so I cannot post any pictures. Here is a video I took of her this week. It was a night she was running around like a wild woman! She wore that hat for about an hour! She and Mazie had just been playing together, and Mazie hadn't quite realized play time was over.