It’s pretty crazy to think that Elizabeth is 18 months old today! She’s changed a lot this past month…completely dropped her morning nap (she was in the process of dropping it last month), eating everything with a fork or spoon, growing out of her 12-18 month clothes (she must be “normal” to clothes makers), and most charmingly, developing a real love of books. You can’t be around her for more than a minute or two before she’s off to the bookshelf for one of her favorites, then returns to plop down on your lap expectantly. I don’t think she’s quite had the big language break-through yet, but she is saying lots of words and (unlike Tommy at this stage) sentences. Lately I’ve been hearing a lot of “book,” “ball,” “cheese” (=the food), “I cheese” (=you need to come take a picture of me right now because I’m smiling really cutely), “I hummy” (=I’m hungry, I’m thirsty, I want what you’re having), and “moMMY” (usually loudly).
For those who were wondering, she has not once tried to get out of her crib since the fiasco on her 17 month birthday. She still doesn’t like going down to bed, but she’s staying in really well. She’s become more clingy in social situations, sticking to me like glue when we go into church, Bible study, the playground, or the library, but once she relaxes, she’s enjoying social interactions, especially with her little group of church friends whom she sees 3 or 4 times a week. When she’s really out of whack (from daylight savings this past week), she’ll happily sit on my lap quietly through an entire church service or Bible study meeting. (Tommy would NEVER sit still on my lap for an hour at this age!) She is starting to throw huge temper tantrums, usually when she’s frustrated about how something is going. Yesterday she wanted to stay in the library instead of coming home for lunch, so she launched into a 25 minute screaming fit and then collapsed without lunch for a 3 hour nap.
Her favorite toys are whatever Tommy is playing with. If he’s doing cars, she wants to play cars. If he goes to her room and sets up a tea party, she’ll sit down and have one. If he’s cooking, she has to get her apron on, too, and she needs her own pan and spoon. If he’s reading books by the bookshelf, she’ll plant herself there with The Polite Elephant and Animal Orchestra. If he’s coloring, she wants to color (though she has a tendency to eat the crayons). If he’s building a fort on the couch, she wants to get in there, too. When he dances to “Jingle Bells,” she immediately joins in. It’s really cute to see how much she adores him. When we come in and get her up from a nap, the sight of her Bubba is enough to cause chortles of glee! Fortunately, Tommy still feels the same way about her, most of the time.
Maybe it’s because I’m so much in new baby mode with the pregnancy, but I’ve really stopped thinking of her as a baby and consider her a full-fledged little girl. She’s so full of personality that we can’t remember what life was like before. I’m blessed daily by her cheerful disposition and cute smile!
so cute and so fun!
Tommy and Elizabeth’s relationship sounds so precious!! Thanks for these updates. It makes me feel like I know her a little bit, even though we’ve never officially met. 🙂