18 Months

Emmeline is officially turning into a little girl! It's amazing how quickly she picks up on things and how much she learns on a daily basis! These 3 months have been filled with lots of firsts: first church nursery visit, first camping trip, first YMCA gym childcare experience (it took a few weeks for her not to cry but now she loves it!)



18 Month Stats:
Weight: 21 lbs 4.7 oz (31%)
Height: 31” (24%)
Head: 19.5” (>99%)
Teeth: 12
Words: mama, dada, bapa (grandpa), dada (grandma, in her mind it's different) 16 months: guh (go), brrrr (cold) 17 months: ni-ni (night night), buh by (bye bye), mohr (more), swirl (squirrel) 18 months: nah (no), sahy (yes, says it backward), baa (bath), wawa (water), cah (car), caa (cat), s-sss-sigh (spider), baba (bunny), cheec (chicky), hah (hot), aaaa (alligator or apple), dis (this), buh (book), gaga (Guldan). She can also make animal sounds when asked: cat, dog, duck, snake, cow, turkey, chicken, rooster, sheep, goat, lion, and horse (15-16 mo). 
Favorites:
Foods: fruit, tomatoes, peas, carrots, edamame (any fruit and veg), pasta, pizza, homemade popsicles, Chick-fil-A, goldfish
Books: any non-fiction, Barnyard Dance, search & find books, Valentine's Cat, I Love You a Bushel and a Peck
Things to do: go to MyGym & park, climb, slide, read books
Loves: cars/trucks/airplanes, animals, her baby doll, MegaBlocks & building, necklaces, stickers, puzzles
We officially transitioned to 1 nap...it took a while, but when she started fighting naps and not going to bed at night, I knew it was time. At first, she was horrible at it, sleeping barely an hour, but then we settled in on 1.5 hours and now we are averaging 2 hours! Woot! Makes it easier to get out and about during the day.

Her communication is increasing every day. She understands everything we say and is good about following directions and commands. Around 16.5 months, she started trying to imitate words, and at 17 months she was trying every word we said. Usually, she still only say the first sound, but it's a start! She seems to struggle with the g sound (grandma, giraffe) where it comes out as the d sound. You can tell she's starting to get frustrated that she can't communicate everything she wants to, so hopefully it will all click soon! We just keep encouraging her to use her words and signs, which she does well!

Routines are huge in our lives now, and you can tell she thrives on them! At 15 months, she started showing us she knew what came next in a routine (e.g. getting the keys after putting on her shoes to leave the apartment), and now she understands more complex routines or routines that span the day. She is very observant and independent, so we try to give her responsibilities in these routines. One of her favorites is helping to unload the dishwasher; it is probably her favorite activity! She'll also help with laundry and picking up when asked. As helpful as she is, she likes to assert her independence. "Nah" has become a favorite word, and this has carried over to meal time, where she is stubborn and choosy about what and how much she eats. (This is always a worry for me....she'll eat a ton of fruit and veg but very little of anything else.) She also is adamant about using utensils herself. The fork is pretty much mastered, and the spoon is close (still needs a bit of help to get the last bits). We moved her to the table at 16.5 months, which she thinks is just the best thing!

Still not a huge cuddler, Emmeline has become more affectionate, even if it is for short times. She loves giving hugs and kisses, and will ask you to give her beloved (and dirty) bunny and chicky kisses every morning as well (15.5-16 mo). She's still somewhat apprehensive/shy in new situations, but once she warms up, she loves playing with other kids (especially older ones) and is a great sharer. She is just an all around happy, laid back kid, and it's so fun seeing what she thinks is funny. Dad, of course, is one, and she can't wait for him to get home each night so that she can go up on the bed and laugh at his funny jumps onto the bed.


I know every parent thinks their kid is a genius, but I really am surprised every day at how smart and persistent she is. Anything that involves thinking and problem solving is right up her alley, and she will happily sit for 15+ minutes working on something (in toddler world this is like hours)! 1-2 piece puzzles have become a favorite (17 mo), as well as sorting or putting things into and out of buckets (16.5 mo). She is extremely detail-oriented and has great fine motor skills; she will work hard to get a toy gas pump into a tiny gas hole of a car, for example, not giving up until she's successful (16 mo)! "I Spy" type books are her favorite...she LOVES the challenge of looking for things, especially if there are multiple items on a page and she can count them. Well, we count, but she does have 1-1 correspondence down (some of my 5 year olds couldn't do this!) Her memory is incredible; whether its the I Spy type books remembering where things are from day to day, or connecting an animal in a new book to the same animal in a book we read weeks ago, or remembering where the spider was outside our door 3 months ago. She is amazing! We are working on colors now, and while I think secretly she knows them all, she just doesn't seem all the interested in showing that she knows on command. If you watch her playing independently with toys, you will see she knows how to match them up and sometimes I catch her mumbling a semblance of the correct color name. Such a fun 3 months this has been, and I know she has so much more to learn in the coming months!