My 18 Month Old

Lucia is going to be 19 months on Friday, so it's about time I get this post up!    

  Accomplished by 16 months

• says "cheese", "up", calls dog "B" (Brandi)
• repeats almost anything we say
• loves babies, points and says "baby" (anyone under 10 is a "baby")
• points to herself in the mirror and pictures and says "baby"
• loves trying on hats
• signs "hot"
•  loves tomatoes
• climbs up on the kitchen chairs 
• babbles full sentences and reads in gibberish
• has a really good throw 
• clean freak - loves to wash hands (in the bathtub and out), wipes tray and mouth when she's done eating, stops eating to have her hands wiped clean 

  Accomplished by 17 months

• says "ow", "doos" (shoes), "happy", "bath"
• head butts! 
• put on her own socks (4/16)
•   spins around and around in circles
• loves her blocks, wooden food cutting set, and rocking horse
• loves to be naked
• "up" means both "up" and "down"
• "no" means both "no" and "yes"
• takes hand and leads you
• pats ground next to you to signal for you to sit
• opens and closes fist to say "come here" 

Accomplished by 18 months

• loves to wear her "baa baa" (backpack)
• loves "baths" and begs for them all day long
• climbs up slide on her own
• says too many things to catalog:
• foods - meat, cheese, cookie, cracker, milk, strawberry ("dobby"), eat, food, etc.
• animals - dog, bird, owl, fish, giraffe ("daff"), etc.
• other - towel, potty, blanket, "whee" (meaning her slide), etc.
• signs "cold", "sorry", "love"
• makes connections - called Grandpa "Papa" because that's what she calls my dad
• three words together, "No way, Dada"
• says, "help baby" when she needs help
• loves book No, David! and calls it "No, Dada" (knows his name is David)
• very cuddly, but only for short intervals
• lays down on a blanket, clean cloth diaper, towel when tired 
• knows all her body parts including less obvious ones - fingers, cheeks, hair, neck, nail (can both say them and point to them when asked)
• loves swing set, trees, grass 
• Nana's girl

 

These past three months have been huge for speech development.  Lucia picks up several new words every day.  For the most part, only those of us around her all the time can figure out what she's saying, but some of her words are very clear.  It's incredible how well she can communicate with us through a combination of words, signs, and pointing/grabbing our hands and leading us to what she wants.  I'm shocked at how in touch she is with her needs.  She tells us when she has to use the potty.  She lays down without a fuss (most of the time) for naps and bedtime.  She lets me know when she needs to eat.

Lulu loves the outdoors and begs to go "whee" (out to play on her swing set).  My mom has been giving her baths after dinner every night and she starts begging for one after breakfast by repeating "bath" over and over while signing "please".  In fact, refusal of baths has been what's really brought out her first temper tantrums and she's thrown herself on the floor quite a few times.  She also sometimes hits, but it's evenly split between hitting us because she's angry and hitting us because she thinks it's funny.  (NOT funny!) Usually the fits are short lived, thank goodness!

The past few months, Lucia has really shown her nurturing, mothering side.  She gives bottles to her dolls and stuffed animals and tucks them in their cradle (the cradle my daddy made for me and he just repainted for Lulu!).  She puts blankets and towels on the dogs and cuddles them up.  She'll pat our backs when we are tired and stroke our hair and cheeks.  We're starting to think she's going to make a very good big sister.

Lucia has been extremely curious.  My dad warns that in a few years she's going to be taking apart everything in our home to see how it works.  Sounds about right.  It's a little exhausting on my part chasing her around the house and making sure she doesn't get into too much trouble, but I like to see her mind at work.  She also seems to have a great imagination playing with her dolls and stuffed animals.

Three months ago, Lucia was barely walking but now she has really great muscle control.  She's able to run and climb and also do things with precision, like color, or stack blocks.  Since I'm with her every day, I forget how quickly she's changing, but these past few months have definitely laid to rest the baby and brought out a confident toddler. 

 

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