18 Months!

Dear Addy,

You are a year and a half old now!  It's amazing how time flies, and before you know it, you will be a big sister to baby Emma!  I know that you will be a great big sister, because you love the idea of baby Emma already.  You hug and kiss my belly multiple times a day, and you gently pet it saying "baby" or "Emmy".  It is the sweetest thing in the whole world :)  Whenever we hang out in the new nursery you run over to the crib and say "Emmy", like you somehow know that pretty soon your sister will be sleeping there.  It never ceases to amaze me how smart you are.

Daddy took you to your 18 month doctors appointment and luckily you did much better with your shots this time.  No fevers or reactions at all!  Here are your measurements:

Weight: 24 lbs 13.5 oz (75th percentile)
Length: 34.5 inches (98th percentile)
Head circ: 48cm (86th percentile)

This month your new obsession is Popsicles.  You want them every minute of every day.  You will run to the freezer and say "poc", or if you are crying for some unknown reason and I ask you what you need, you inevitably respond with "poc".  We limit you to one or two a day, but sometimes it feels like all I say all day long is, "You are not having a Popsicle right now."  Ha ha!

Cookies come in a close second to Popsicles, so if you can't get your hands on a "poc", you will run to the cabinet, point to it and say "cook".  It's funny how you think that if I won't give you a Popsicle, maybe I'll give you a cookie, even though I never do. 

But you are mommy's little girl, that's for sure.  We both have a major sweet tooth.  The other day we went out for frozen yogurt (as we have been doing A LOT this summer), and you wanted a Popsicle when we got home.  I told you no, and that you just had frozen yogurt.  Shortly afterward, we put you to bed and I got myself a bowl of ice cream.  Daddy looked at me and said, "You wouldn't give Addy seconds, but you are gonna have some, huh?  Nice."  Hee hee.  You were fast asleep :)


Daddy and I need to be careful though, because I can see how the whole toddler diet can be a slippery slope.  Lately you have been picky, which we aren't used to, and I have to remind myself to always offer you healthy options, even if you don't eat them.  I just hate seeing food go to waste, so I now see how parents fall into the trap of feeding their kids the same things all of the time.  Because they know it will get eaten.  But we give you what we eat when possible, and if you don't eat it, then your meal is over.  I am no short order cook!  But you have become quite the little drama queen and you will throw a fit in your high chair.  So we just take you down and let you cry for awhile.  It's usually just a matter of minutes before something distracts you and you forget all about your mealtime woes.

Your favorite toys these days are balls, and you love when Daddy and I will bounce a ball for you or when we throw the ball for Daisy.  You try to throw the ball for Daisy too, which is so cute, but it doesn't go very far, so Daisy almost never fetches it for you :(  As was the case you were a newborn baby, you still love to be outside.  Despite the insane heat down here in NC (which Mommy cannot handle in these late pregnancy days), you would be outside all day if we let you.

You had your first week long trip away from Mommy and Daddy this month, and you were a rock star.  We knew you would be fine, as you have always adapted well to new places.  Apparently it was Daisy that had a tough time adapting at first.  Who would've thought?  You spent the week with Grandpa and Grandma Hertzler, and I know they had a great time with you as well.  You are growing up so fast!

After your big trip away, we transitioned you from two naps a day to one.  It has worked well so far, so I know you were ready.  We had to do that soon anyway because you are starting "preschool" in less than two months, which is Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9-12:30.  So that AM nap had to be dropped before "school" starts.  The bonus of dropping down to one nap is that you have been sleeping even longer at night.  You usually sleep for 13-14 hours (from 7PM to about 8-9AM).  You are exhausted now by 7:00, so we typically start your bedtime routine around 6:30 and have you in bed at 7.  It has been wonderful in that respect. 

However, I was secretly hoping that one nap a day would mean one longer nap.  No such luck.  While you have always been a great night time sleeper, you have always been a poor napper.  And unfortunately that hasn't changed.  Your nap is typically 1- 1.5 hours.  Sigh.  And if you even fall asleep for two minutes in the car, you won't nap when we get home.  So I try to keep you awake in the car at all costs.  But sometimes it doesn't work, and then you end up with no significant nap that day.  Not to mention that the slightest noise will inevitably wake you up from a nap.  I try to not even go upstairs while you are napping because the creek of the steps wakes you up!  It has always amazed me that you sleep like a rock at night, but you are the lightest daytime sleeper.  We have had some really bad thunderstorms in the middle of the night lately that shake the whole house and wake both Daddy and I out of a deep sleep, but you never even budge.  But yet during the day, the creek of the steps will have you popping your little head up, standing up in your crib, and letting us know that nap time is over.  It's like you don't want to miss anything.  (Which, again, hasn't changed since you were a newborn.)  It'll be interesting to see how you adapt to a crying baby.  Fun times ahead!

You are of course, saying more and more words, and your big ones this moth are: puffs, up (which you say for up and down), shoes, two (the only number you say), blue (the only color you say), Mama, Dada work (ha ha), T (for Aunt Tina), park (you love to go to the park), and Aubrey (your new friend).  You say bye-bye like a little southern belle, which is so cute.  And you are also mimicking lots of other words that we say.  Plus, you definitely know yes and no.  You say no (also in a very cute little voice), but you still just shake your head for yes.  That's fine though, because at least now it's easier for you to communicate what you want with us.

We finally turned your car seat around so that you are facing front in the Yukon.  We still have the car seat in the Accord facing back because we just haven't gotten around to it it.  But you like to face forward and see what is going on around you.  Your little legs were getting too long to keep you backwards in the Yukon, and you couldn't fully stretch them out anymore.  Your other car seat is different and your legs still don't touch the backseat in the Accord, so we haven't been in a huge rush to turn that one.

You have ten teeth (6 bottom and 4 top), and those bottom molars were a beast coming in.  I know your top ones are coming too and I am not looking forward to that for either of our sakes.  You are just so pitiful when those teeth are coming and I feel so helpless to make you feel better.  I'll admit that I gave you more Popsicles than I probably should have during those times :)

And guess what?  Still no haircut for you!  How many months have I been saying that we are going to give you one, yet we never do.  Every time I bring it up, Daddy says, "Not yet."  He loves your little rat tail and wild sides.  They get especially wild in the heat and humidity of the summer.  Someday we will cut your hair Addy.  I promise.

How I managed to sneak that bow in for these pictures without you ripping it out is beyond me.  Normally you will not tolerate any accessories in your hair.

You are loving to give hugs and kisses these days, and Mommy and Daddy are loving that too!  Especially in the morning when we pick you up out of your crib, you will give us multiple hugs and kisses.  We'll take them!!

Other things that you love lately include: any animals, planes, sniffing flowers (love that face you make!), your baby doll (you like to rock her), your toy cars, and going to the park.  Boy you are on a park kick lately.  You will say "park" multiple times a day, and I feel bad, but lately it has been too hot to go.  But we go when we can and you love the swings the most.  Plus, you are getting very brave and going down slides by yourself!

Daddy, of course, continues to be your main man.  You love him to pieces and I think that is the sweetest thing in the world.  No one can make you smile like Daddy can, and no one can make him smile like you can.  Watching the two of you together is so heartwarming, and I really love the bond that you two have already :)  When Daddy is at work you will bring me the phone or his shoes to let me know that you want him to come home.  So sweet :)  Also, anytime you are playing with your phone and I ask you who you are calling, the answer is always "Dada" (whether he is home or not!).

Here is me trying to get you to smile:

That is the fakest smile I've every seen Addy!

And here is what happened when I gave Daddy the camera:

That's the smile we all know and love!

Well Addy, this letter ended up being long winded as always, but I feel like I have so much to say about each and every month with you.  I just don't want to forget anything, and I want you to be able to look back someday and see what you were like at each stage of your childhood.  You bring such a huge amount of joy to our lives and we love you more than you could ever imagine!

Love,

Mommy