18 Months Old

Dear Ava,

At 18 months old you are turning out to be so much fun. You are to the age where you can now semi-sorta carry on a conversation. You definitely understand what we are saying and in turn we try our hardest to understand what you say. Most of the time it is a success- but there are times we end up scratching our heads trying to figure it out.

You love books and I hope you will always love books. Your favorite TV show is Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and watching your expression when you see Mickey, Minnie, and friends come alive is priceless.

You eat just about anything we put in front of you- except meat- you will eat meat, but you seem to be pickier about it. I am not going to point any fingers on where you get that from. You also love foods that I wouldn't think most 1 year would eat, such as okra and beets. As a matter of fact you will eat beets over candy or cookies.

You still wear 18 month clothes and I don't see that changing any time soon. I am guessing when the weather warms up for summer and you can wear shorts is when you will be progressing into 24 month clothes (or at least that's what I hope since we have been buying summer clothes at 24 months). You typically run 3 months longer than what the size of the clothes are. You are still in size 3 diapers and I wonder if you will ever grow out of them before you are potty trained. You were size 5 shoes. You weigh about 26-27 pounds and are 33" tall.

We are finally able to fit a hairbow in your hair without a headband, but they have to be pretty small and they usually come out pretty quick, it takes just the slightest movement for them to come loose. We typically just wear a headband, I guess we will have to wait a little bit longer for enough hair to wear a bow by itself.

People will still stop and comment on how cute you are and while I would have to agree with them, I also know you are a beautiful little girl on the inside as well- which is what truly matter to me.

You seemed to have nicknamed my dad (originally Poppa) Bapu...not sure if it will stick or not- but if it does, I know he will love it because it came from you. You are really starting to associate people's faces with names. We can look at a picture with you and ask you to find each person and you do a great job. You also introduce your Mama and Daddy to people. You will always point to each of us and say "Mama...Daddy"- I'm glad you know who you belong too :)

You seem to think that any other little kid is a baby (whether they are 6 months old or 4 years old), but you refuse to think of yourself as a baby. I am telling you now, you are my baby and you will always be my baby :)

You love being a little mommy to your babies and it is one of my favorite things to do watching you be a good little mommy. It reassures me that I am on the right tract in trying to be a good mommy myself.

You still have a hard time going to Waumba Land. I really wish you would love to go to church and I know it will eventually happen. Your teachers really love you and we all just want you to have a lot fun and look forward to going. I know it is just because you don't want to be away from Mama or Daddy, but I also know it is imporant to keep you going to Waumba Land becuase you will learn so much and also because Mama and Daddy need to have that time of worship themselves. I know you probably don't understand that right now- but trust me- one day you will.

You have really exploded in the vocabulary department. I have been making a list of words you say and understand (for the most part) now:

Duck, Baby, Daddy, Mama, Bath, Dog, Mouse, Bye, Hello, Go, Bird, Mess, Light, Ball, Eye, Mouth, Head, Bow, Kiss, Eat, Remote, Milk, Water, Ch-Ch (as in Choo-Choo), Keys, Shoes, See, Uh-Oh, Book, This, Nana, Bar (as in barbie), Moo, Meow, Baa, Arf-Arf, Bubbles, Down, Cookie, Nanna (as in Banana), Back, Gone, Me, Ear, Belly, Nose, Light....

I know there are a few I have forgotten, but as you can see, you understand quite a bit and can talk back to us when we ask you a question. I know we are going to have so many great conversations and I can't wait.

I new thing you have picked up that we all just love is to spin. You will put your hands on your head and spin in circles until you just about fall down. You are practicing to be a ballerina. You also have learned to mimic us very well. We have to becareful what we say because you have started repeating the things we say (not that we say bad words, just that we say things you shouldn't say) The other day I messed up something and said "Oh Gosh" and you repeated me verbatum and I realized I shouldn't teach you to say that.

You really are a lot of fun at this age and I can see you becoming more and more of a Daddy's girl, but also having a lot of fun doing Mother/Daughter things. However, like every stage there are challenges and you have a very strong-willed personality. I can see a little temper being exposed as well. This is the age that your daddy and I have to decide how we are going to discipline you and it is one of the hardest things I have to do, but I realize if I don't it will not be good for any of us. Most of the time you try to please us, but there are times you want what you want and will not give it up until you get it. You must understand that whatever we do- good or bad- as your parents- we are only looking out for your best interest.

I have learned so much about God's love for us since becoming a parent. I pray you grow up to know how much he loves you and how special you are to him and to us. We love you so much and are enjoying watching you grow up to be a beautiful girl- inside and out!