18 Months

Today my baby girl is 18 months old. Wow, has it really been that long since she was a tiny little infant? I know that everyone says this, but time has really been flying and I can't believe how fast little Lena is growing. She is learning faster and faster everyday now. Some of the things she's been up to are:

- Being happy in her forward facing car seat :) One of my favorites.
- Playing "boo" and "chase" with her cousin Jimmy
- She can reach the light switch on the stairs from the first stair now
- Her 12 month pants are too short for her as of about two weeks ago
- Her three favorite toys are her Ellie (teddy bear), Monkey and Kittie and once in a while any one of her puppies. :)
- She gives hugs willingly... most of the time :)
- She likes giving Jimmy hugs even though he rarely hugs back
- She loves reading books, especially with her Nonna
- She likes to comb her hair after I have sprayed it with the hairspray
- She LOVES rubbing lotion, hand sanitizer or sunscreen on her hands or on anything else she's allowed to.
- She is constantly opening up diapers (clean ones) and trying to put them on herself... she will open them up and sit on them... but then when it's time for a real diaper change she's not happy.
- She loves giving kisses to Ellie, Kittie and Monkey
- The other day she insisted on taking the blanket that was covering Randy up so that she could cover up her Monkey, after getting her monkey covered up she came running to me saying "monkey, monkey, monkey" in a sad voice... she had lost her monkey in the pile of blanket! :)
- She LOVES to climb!
- She's fairly good at using a spoon and a fork with little mess (unless she WANTS a mess)
- She claps after her gloves are on
- Lately she holds her bottle in her hands for like ten minutes before drinking it (I think she likes to feel the warm on her hands), then the act of drinking it has to be HER decision and HER decision ONLY!!! There's no prompting or suggesting or helping allowed. Sometimes she'll fall asleep holding it before she gets a chance to drink it. If you say "do you want to drink your bottle?" she says "NO!" to which I respond "Do you want ME to hold it for you then?" and she says again, "NO!"
- She loves to pour things, water, milk, flour, powdered sugar, etc... I usually give her her own little mixing bowl and measuring cup with some flour in it and it keeps her entertained for as long as I'm baking something... she has her own little apron and stands up on a chair next to the counter with me. Then when we are done we sweep together :)
- She still really likes her fruits and veggies! What a good girl. :) I'm getting better at liking them too!
- Here are the words that I can think of that she says, though I know she says much more, I have a hard time remember them all since there are so many now:
--Gases (glasses)
--Kittie
--Duckie
--Kacko, Kacko (Quack, Quack)
--Meeeeooow (in a deep growly voice)
--roar!
--bubbo (bubble)
--babbo (bottle)
--binky (which we need to wean her off of as well as the previous)
--Daddy
--Sam
--Jimmy
--Aix (Alex)
--Osie (Rosie)
--Up!
--Down
--Gone
--Plop
--Boots
--Apri (Open in Italian)
--Bracio (Arm in spanish)
--Noce (nut in Italian)
--Ciudi (Close in Italian)
--Mano (Hand in Italian and Spanish)
--light
--Eye
--Ey (Ellie)
--Monkey
--Ooo, ooo, aah, aah (like the monkey)
--That
--This
--Nonna
--Nonno
--Gamma (Grandma)
--Jesus
--Chocate (Chocolate)
--Car
--Tuck (Truck)
--Ball
--Owe! (not when she's hurt, just when you say something she doesn't want to hear... like "no")
--Wow! (uses the same as "Owe")
--Manana (Banana)
--Spash (Splash, while slapping the duckies on her book, who happen to be splashing)
--Apple
--Pear
--Bear
--Juice
--Malk (milk)
--Push
--Buttin (Button)
--Bum
--Bye (while waving)
--Hi, hi, hi, hi, hi (just like that, you can't have just one "hi")
-- Jump! (she actually gets about an inch clearance now :) )
-- Burrrrr! (when it's cold)
-- Min (Vitamin)
-- Bread
-- Jacket
-- Walk
-- Basta (Stop in Italian)
--Elbow

Okay, I will stop there. :) Being Lena's mom for the past 18 months has been a pleasure and I look forward to the exciting years ahead of us. :)