18 Months

Evie is a year and a half! 

Evie is a tiny little thing as you know

Weight:  20 lbs, 2 oz
Height:  30.75 inches

IF I wanted to turn her car seat around, I finally could, but she will stay rear facing until she is at least 2... or 7.  Thanks Rachel for being a model mother of car safety :)

I have really enjoyed the last year of Evie's life.  I think 6 months-now has been so much fun.  Her communication skills have improved so much over the last month.  It's so much easier to know what she wants now that she will nod her head for "yes" and say "doh" for "no".  Jason and I counted at least thirty words we recognize at this point.  She is very interested in language and will repeat most words we say to her.  This means we really need to watch our words!

Everyone keeps asking me if Evie knows about H2.  I doubt it.  She may notice there isn't as much room on my lap for her and I look similar to a hippo, but I don't think she has any clue she is about to have a baby brother or sister.  She thinks my belly button is really neat.  That was pretty much the only reason we got this adorable picture :)

As you can tell by her slow weight gain, feeding continues to be her weakness.  Some days she will eat her normal amount (much less than average toddler I'm sure) and others she will eat nothing more than goldfish.  As I learned from her KKI days listening to the kids in the feeding program- give them options when they eat.  I'm getting over healthy only foods at this point and will be happy if she eats anything (no candy or juice for now).  Her favorite foods are blueberries, grilled cheese, goldfish, and fruit strips. 

A noticeable change this month is her ability to point to things I ask her to find.  I've been asking her to point out certain animals or objects on each page in her books.  She is able to identify some of her favorite things (elephant, birds, flowers, bubbles).  When her G and Poppop were visiting, we asked her to find "G", "Poppop", etc.  She carefully looks around the room and points to the correct person.  She is also getting better at pointing to the correct family member in her photo book. 

Evie also inherited her mommy's puzzle wizard skills.  She is able to complete both Melissa & Doug animal puzzles (approx 8 animals) on her own.  I'm sure all toddlers do this kind of stuff, but she seems to smart to me! 

Her favorite toys this month were her push toys.  She maneuvers them around our furniture very well and likes to chase Parker around the dining room.  Good, wears both of them out and it doesn't require any fur pulling! 

Standing on chairs is another new thing thanks to her mommy.  She is fussy around dinner making time, so I let her stand on a chair and watch me cook.  She likes to play with the knobs on the toaster oven (it's unplugged) and cook along with me.   I cannot wait to give her the kitchen for Christmas!!  I have created a little bit of a chair monster though... she wants to be up on all the chairs now.  She is able to climb on her glider in her room and will read books for a while alone.  It's the kitchen and dining room chairs that make me nervous.  She is vertically challenged, though, and wants to see what we are doing!!

That's a little glimpse of Evie at this precious age.  This is likely to be my last monthly milestone post on Evie until 2 years.  You will definitely hear enough about Evie in other types of posts :)

18 Months