18 Months

It has been almost six months since my last post, so I figure that it is about time that I post some sort of update.

Evelyn will turn 18 months old tomorrow! As is every parent's mantra - Where has the time gone?? Here are a few notes on what is up in the world of our little one:

• Busy, busy, busy!! This girl is on the go! The phrase "chasing after a toddler" is what we live around these parts.
• Daring - E loves to climb and explore just about anything, anywhere. She especially loves going down the slide and exploring in our backyard. We have a satsuma tree that is full of fruit right now and she loves to graze on them as she explores.
• Talking! Lots and lots of words right now and all sorts of babble that sound like sentences. Here are a few of the words & phrases she says, off the top of my head: blueberry, get down, all done, Chai, Cole, Mike, Mommy, Daddy, pasta, pee pee, cracker, cookie, bread, bath time, ball, "rock rock" when rocking in the glider, "nini" for nursing, pants, jacket, hat, hot, cold, agua, peanut butter, all sorts of animal sounds, eye, cheese, book, outside, no, elmo, love you, "night night, sleepytime", sock, shoe, and baby. I am sure there are a bunch more that I am forgetting!
• She enjoys spinning.
• At meals, much to our dismay, she enjoys balancing/smearing food onto her head.
• She can sing some of the ABCs, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, and Slippery Fish
• She love so sing/hum different melodies in general, many that I don't recognize.
• She loves to dance.
• Blueberries are her favorite food, with peanut butter being a close second.
• She mostly sleeps a solid 12-hour stretch at night, with occasional phases of having one "wake-up" if she is sick or going through a developmental spurt.
• She is a one-nap girl. At daycare she naps for about 2 hours, at home 3.
• She loves her daycare (and so do we!).
• She can be stubborn, and needs her sleep and food just like her Mommy. Her most tearful and fussy times are usually when she hasn't slept well or it is time for a snack.
• She eats most anything - except potatoes. Not a big fan of the potato. Or spicy food.
• She follows direction somewhat well (she is a toddler, after all) and her comprehension is amazing!
• She does okay with a fork, and is working on her spoon skills.
• She finally will eat off a plate when we take her out to eat - instead of just wanting to dump the food.
• She hasn't had a bottle in forever (maybe since 12 months?)
• She still gets a few ounces of breast milk from the slowly dwindling freezer stash when she is at daycare (in a sippy cup).
• She nurses about 3 times a day, sometimes 4-5 if she wakes at night or asks for ninis during the day on the weekends.

As for Mommy & Daddy - we are amazed and enamored with our little one. Balancing work and home life is really challenging and tiring at times. I am not a huge fan of being a full-time working mom and hope to be able to drop down to part time work at some point in the next few years. I do, however, enjoy the work that I do, which is a bonus if I have to be doing the work for 40 hours a week, right?