Everlasting Encouragement: Reese: 18 Months

Yall. My little girl is 18 months! I know I say this every time I write a post, but I can’t believe it. Her little personality is really shining through these days. Sometimes I think wow, she has the sweetest spirit, other times my thoughts are more, oh wow she’s going to have an attitude, and sometimes everything I do is wrong. Husbandy says the sass comes from my sister and I, but I can’t believe it. :)

Here are a few stats from her 18 month appointment:

She weighs 21 lbs 12.5 oz, which put her in the 25th – 50th percentile (again, I don’t like the large ranges this Dr provides) and 30.25” tall, which puts her in the 10th – 25th percentile. She can still wear size three diapers, but we are phasing them out. She is also mostly wearing 18 month clothing and size 4 shoes. Tons of teeth popped through since my last update which did not go very well (see below).

Favorites

Book: Reese still loves sitting and reading books. I’m not sure that I can pick out an exact favorite. There was one night that we read The Going to Bed Book I don’t know how many times. This one is definitely not my favorite, but Reese likes it. :) Mostly this book doesn't make sense to me. It’s about a bunch of animals going to bed on a ship. They all go down below and take baths, put on pjs, brush their teeth…ok this makes sense. But then they go up on the deck to exercise. I’m sorry….but I don’t get that. Why would they do that after taking a bath?? Then, they go to sleep. Give me another book to read, like On the Night You Were Born. :P

Toy: Her babies and stroller. She’ll take them all over the house. She also still loves her car Aunt Amanda got her for her birthday.

Activity/Game: Reese has become really good at putting shapes into their correct holes on various toys. This makes mommy so proud! I think back to when she first got the toys and had no idea how to put a shape into its correct hole. It really is amazing. Reese also loooves drawing. Anytime she sees a pen/pencil/crayon she wants it. I’m actually impressed with how she’s holding these things already. She still kinda switches between her right and left hand, but I think she favors her right. I’m being conscious to not sway her one way, but I’m really hoping for the right. It’s just easier, things are always made for right handed people! Lastly, Reese loves one of our cabinets that I purposely didn't fill with anything. She plays this game a lot:

Food: Reese still loves fruit. She eats at least one banana a day and never turns down grapes/melon/strawberries.

Things I don’t want to forget, in random order

1. We've been using the humidifier lately since the heater is on. When Reese wakes up in the morning, she looks at it and says “Bubbles!”

2. We’re trying to teach Reese different facial expressions. The only one she knows really well so far is how to smile. Annnnd, it’s adorable!

3. Reese started to get her 1 year molars mid October. It was unlike anything we had been through! She stopped eating well, which was my first tip off, but then she started pooping way more than she usually does! Pretty much every time we changed her diaper she had poop. (Sorry that I’m sharing all this, but it’s something I need to remember for Baby W #2….who is not actually on their way yet.) Not only were they more frequent, but they were softer than normal. Not runny, like a stomach bug, just softer. She never had a fever, but she did start to get a little fussy. Day care made me pick her up one day out of fear it was the stomach bug, which was a little annoying because, well, it wasn’t. I called the nurse who didn’t sound worried, then I texted with a friend whose boys had trouble with teething. They had all the same symptoms! Either way, it lasted a little over a week and both Husbandy and I were glad when it was over. Hopefully 2 year molars don’t have the same side effect!

4. Reese started a new daycare on November 3rd. I knew the transition wasn’t going to be easy, but I don’t think I was fully prepared!! The first week was really tough. Every day she came how with the same report….she didn’t eat, took a 15 minute nap, and cried a lot. L It was really hard on me, especially since I came home to a hungry, cranky baby. Gradually things got better as she became comfortable with a few teachers! It took about a month for good reports to come consistently. We also had a few setbacks when we had long weekends for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

5. It was during this time Reese became very attached to her blanket and lovey. She calls them her babies, which sometimes gets confusing.

6. Reese loves Mickey Mouse! The hot dog dance is a favorite and will run into the living room when she hears it come on. For Christmas Mimi Wagner got her a Mickey that sings the hot dog song which is a big hit.

7. She also loves “Let it Go.” I have no idea where she first heard it, I can only guess daycare. It doesn’t help that I got the Pentatonix Christmas cd and it’s on there. Every time we’re in the car now, Reese immediately says “Go, go, go??” Which does more like "Doe, doe, doe?"

8. She recently learned to open doors, so that should be fun.

9. Reese favorite thing to do is still playing with her cousins. I think it’s also one of my favorite things to watch. Their laughs and giggles are the best!

10. Reese has the cutest face when she wants a kiss. She puckers her lips and come charging for you.

11. When you ask her “what’s your name?” she’ll now say Reese. For a while she would say mama, dada, maaaama.

12. She is very smart and will follow directions. She also love to be able to help (dishes, laundry, sweeping…).

13. She also loves playing with mommy’s makeup and putting on mommy/daddy’s shoes. The way she says shoes is also really cute.

14. Her hair. It's blonde, curly, getting long, and sometimes a mess. But, it's definitely what we most often receive a comment on.

15. Since my last updated we've done lots of fun things. I think I hit most of them in my pic a day posts. But, just so I don't forget: For Halloween Reese went as a chick. We walked to a few houses with Buzz Lightyear, but that was all (picture above). We had beautiful weather on Thanksgiving and got to play outside. Husbandy's cousin, Allen, and his wife, Sarah, also drove in from New Mexico. We had fun playing with them. In the beginning of December, we went and saw ICE at the Gaylord Texan. We had so much fun and I hope we're able to make it a yearly tradition. For Christmas we went to Florida and saw lots of Husbandy's family. Reese traveled pretty well and I'm glad we went.