18 Months!

Hannah, our precious baby girl, you are no longer a baby! Just over the last two weeks I am amazed at how much you have grown and changed. I can hardly believe that you are 1.5 years old! You have so many words now...I'm sure I could never remember them all since you seem to have new ones every single day. I think my favorite word that you started saying last week is "octopus" although it comes out like "ock-pus". Your only grouping of words right now is "this is that". When reading books you often point to an object in the room (like a shoe) and then to a picture of it in the book and say "this is that!" It is pretty funny! The most difficult name I've heard you say is "Hershey" (my sister's dog) which comes out more like "She-she". You are still in love with elephants and currently sleep with 3 stuffed ones. Funny how when visiting family your collection grew from one to three! I love to see you sleep in your crib, on your tummy or side, with your little arm draped over the neck of a stuffed elephant, holding it close. You love, love, love to read books. Often you are not patient enough to wait if there is a lot of text to be read but you like to point out lots of details and identify all sorts of things on the pages. Sometimes it amazes me how much you know and understand even though you can't verbalize it all! You have become a much better eater and sleeper in the last 2 or 3 months. You usually average 11 hours at night and have consistently taken a 2 hour nap as of late! Not sure why it took you until 15 months to learn how to sleep well....but I'm thankful that it did happen eventually! You still love your pacifier although I'm trying very hard to only let you have it when you sleep. It seems silly for such a big girl to walk around with a paci all the time. You love to swim, play in rocks, dirt and wood chips. Actually anything that has to do with getting messy, you enjoy. But you like your hands and feet to be cleaned as soon as you are done. You are a very good "cleaner". I guess all these months of watching me clean up your messes has made you a most excellent little helper. You will cry if I don't give you your own paper towel or rag to help me dust or clean up spills on the floor, etc. Sometimes you even decide to clean your own highchair tray after you wipe your own hands and mouth clean. I hope you continue to love cleaning...'cause I sure don't! You still use quite a few signs such as please, thank you, help, more, food and drink. You have a very independent spirit and like to dress yourself and put on your own diapers! You have been successful a few times with putting on your own clothes...but the diaper thing just doesn't work. You get very mad at me during diaper changes when I have to put the diaper on myself. You can be sweet and affectionate sometimes...although not often enough in my opinion. I love when you offer a kiss or hug out of the blue without being asked. You are a very adventerous and independent little girl. I love you so much!