Happy 1/2 Birthday! 18 Months!

Somehow time has managed to fly by again and we just celebrated Lucy's 1/2 birthday over Labor Day weekend.  Our now 18 month old is bursting with personality, chatting up a storm, and makes us count our blessings every time we look at her.  

 

Lucy was a champ at her 18 month check up.  She got 2 shots, made an annoyed sound, then picked her purse up and walked out of the office waving to everyone.  The doctor said she is "off the charts" developmentally and she now weights 21 lbs. 14 oz (15th percentile) and 32 inches tall (60th percentile).  Someone got her Daddy's genes!  It looks like her molars are coming in too, so we are keeping an eye out for teething crankiness.  It was a short and sweet visit and can't believe the next time we go back she'll be 2!

 

This month had a ton of new firsts for Lucy.  Starting in mid August, Lucy had seemed to take interest in the potty (that's what happens when you have to take her with you when there is no bathroom on the main level!).  Bryan and I talked and said, what the heck, let's just get her a seat and try it for the fun of it.  Well, what do you know.  Someone pooped and peed on the toilet with the first 2 days of trying it out!  We were amazed!  Over the past couple of weeks she has gotten way quicker and smarter about it.  She's even started to ask to go now.  She has her 2 books she reads while doing her business and then she's good to go.  Cloth diapering is easier than ever now! ;)

 

This month has also been a language explosion!  Her new words include: (sorry I'm writing these down so we/her can later look back on them, you can skip reading and we won't be offended) color,car, owl, eat, hot, out, teeth, whoa, pee, go, bath, DADDY (finally!), this, that, yum, book, duck, walk, eye, ball, bye, hi, water, uh oh, stroller, boom.  She also makes numerous animal sounds/gestures, and can point out body parts too.  

 

18 Month Likes:  Animals galore!  Lucy gets so excited when she sees animals, or pictures of them.  We were at the grocery store and pulled up in the dairy aisle.  You would have thought the place was on fire or something because she started shrieking and carrying on this VERY loud and excited conversation with me.  I didn't realize what was happening until I looked up and saw all the milk cartons had cows on them.  It's the little things sometimes.  She also loves taking walks and playing in the various creeks around town, as well as pointing to every and any airplane she hears in the skies. Reading is still one of her favorite activities.  Her favorite book of the moment is "Horton Hears a Who", with "The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear" a close second.  A new favorite pastime that I am extremely enjoying is how much she wants to help now.  From feeding Bailey, to wiping off chairs and tables, to throwing trash away, she's a big help around the house (even though sometimes these activities can create bigger messes...).

 

As our summer ended, Lucy was also lucky enough to have both sets of grandparents visit back to back.  Her stranger danger is seeming to wear off, and she just showed off her cuteness for both Grandma and Papa, and Nana and Poppe.  She got to do fun things with them such as going to the park, walks, gymnastics class, Taste of Colorado, playing in the creek, and going out to eat.  It was great to see her cuddle and laugh with them and they are missed dearly around here!  Along with saying goodbye to them and our summer, we also had to let Blair go back to STL.  Lucy (and us) loved having her here and we miss her so much already!  We got to video chat with her today though and Lucy was hugging the Ipad and trying to feed Blair her apples through it.  

We had a great summer and are looking forward to all the fun things to do with Lucy now that Fall is starting.  It's already getting cool at night and we LOVE it!

Hope everyone had a great end to their summer!  Check out Lucy's photos from this month here:  https://picasaweb.google.com/101238607047988694288/20120903Lucy18Months?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCPucxaeK1s-SsAE&feat=directlink

 Love to you all,
The Finglands