18 months!

How is my baby already a year and a half? She is growing up so fast. I absolutely adore the stage that she is at right now... I really wish someone would hit the "pause" button. I apologize for the length of this post, but I haven't blogged in a while and I really want to remember the little things about her right now. Hang in there...the video at the end will make it all worth it!

We went to see the pediatrician today for Anna's checkup. Here are the stats:

Weight: 21 pounds 8 ounces (10th percentile)
Length: 31.6 inches (48th percentile)
Head: 47 centimeters (64th percentile)

Tall and skinny. I'm fairly certain she didn't get that from me! You can thank your daddy for that one, Anna.

Even though she is still my little peanut (she is still in 12 month size clothes-excepting some 18 month pants-and size 4 shoes), she is very healthy, and is doing excellent developmentally. Dr. Jeff was impressed with her language skills, saying she is right on track with a child who is 2 years old. He also said that early language skills are usually indicative of a child who will do well in school. I hope so!

Anna's vocabulary has really blossomed in the last month. The other day I started to write down the words that she knows and says consistently, partially because I was curious, partially because they always ask at the dr. appt, and partially because I wanted to save the list in her baby book. I was expecting it to be around 20 or 30 words. I was shocked to learn that she knows over 80 words! She is learning new ones each and every day. The words are becoming more enunciated as well. Just in the past few weeks she has transitioned from "mama" and "dada" to "mommy" and "daddy". She is starting to put phrases together as well (Daddy's shoes, good girl, what is that?, etc.) She is also starting to sing songs with me. Her favorites are the ABC's (she is great at chiming in with the "W"), Twinkle Twinkle Little Star (she says "Twinkle" and "up above the"), and most of all, Old McDonald Had a Farm ("eeieeioh" and "moo moo"). And of course Ring Around the Rosies. She always loves "ashes". Here is a quick video of her cute singing voice.

Her favorite foods right now? "Nacks" (fruit snacks), mandarin oranges, chicken nuggets, mac and cheese, broccoli, ham (pronounced "am" in Anna's world), cheese, cheetos, "emmas" (M&M's), french fries, noodles, and bacon. At least there are a few healthy foods in the mix...

Anna loves "pretties". Necklaces, earrings, rings, watches...anything that sparkles. She has a drawer full of necklaces that she is allowed to play with. She will place them over her head one by one and then prance around the house. She also loves nail polish and loves to have her toes painted purple. She loves to play with her many hair bows, and she gets excited when I do her hair and will admire her new bows in the mirror. I love that she loves the girly stuff right now!My friends will attest that I am an organization freak and a perfectionist. In this sense, the apple does not fall far from the tree. Anna loves to line things up and categorize. She lines up her green beans and her french fries on her high chair tray. She will pull the hair supplies out of the drawer and put all of the brushes together, the elastics together, the bobby pins together, etc. She absolutely LOVES shoes right now, and she will take all of my shoes out of the closet and place them in a perfect line in the hallway, sorted by color. When we did our easter egg hunt this past weekend, she refused to put the eggs in the basket but rather chose to take them over to the flower bed and line them up one by one. (Stay tuned for my Easter post...) I'm sorry to say, Anna, that it doesn't get any better as you get older...just ask the nurses who work with me...

Anna with all of her "ducks in a row"...And a few of her shoes...And of course her toothbrushes...Anna has never been a fearless child, but there are a few fears that have intensified over the last month or so. She is terrified of things that move on their own, such as the lid on the garbage can (operated by a foot pedal) and the exercise ball (she is getting better with that one. After all, it is a ball and she loves balls right now). She was fine with the garbage truck until she saw the mechanical "arms" that lift the trash can up. Now she cries whenever she hears the sound of the garbage truck. She also hates when there is a stray hair, fiber, or anything floating in the bathtub. She panics, says "uck" and then starts crying until I fish it out. I have learned to clean the bathtub each and every time. It's a good thing she doesn't poop in the tub!

Overall, Anna is such a good child. My mother-in-law (who watches her every weekend while I work) has said multiple times that whatever we are doing with her is working wonders. I maintain that it has nothing to do with my parenting style but with the nature of Anna herself. She is such a mellow child most of the time. One thing is certain - she loves her sleep! She goes to bed at about 10 pm each night and sleeps in until about 10 (sometimes 11 am!) each morning. She rarely puts up a fight when going to bed. In the afternoon when she is done playing, she will come to me and say "tiedo...nap...corner". She is saying that she is tired, she wants a nap, and she wants the corner of her blankie. I will put her in her crib, hand her the blankie, then she will find her corner (only one specific corner will do) and rub it on her nose until she falls asleep. She was even an angel at the University of Utah gymnastics meets this year...she slept through two rotations at almost every meet!

I know, right? I am lucky. She is so good. I think it is more for Trav's benefit. I don't think he could handle a child who was really naughty. Anna definitely has her moments, which I'm sure will become worse as she gets older, but for the most part she is really an easy child.

I just wish that this fun phase of her life wasn't flying by so quickly! If anyone figures out how to slow down time, please share your secret.

Here are a few more pics of our last few weeks...

University of Utah gymnastics meets - all decked out in red. GO RED ROCKS!!

She loves to put on mommy's and daddy's shoes.
She is rather obsessed with balls. It doesn't matter if it is Lily's tiny tennis ball or a great big bouncy ball...

Last but certainly not least, Anna is really good with her animal sounds these days. She loves to watch the baby Einstein movie "Baby McDonald". Here is a glimpse...so cute!