18 month stats

**Updated 2/9/12: We’re growing a string bean! At her 18 month checkup last night D was 34.25″ tall and weighed 23.7 lbs. Those put her in the 100+% (!!) and ~50%, respectively. Her height just keeps going off the charts as her weight goes down them. She started in the 90%s for both. I swear we feed her!**

Happy 18 month birthday, D! I’m finally on time with your stats update again. Good Mommy. So Happy February to all of you, too. We’ve been having such great spring-like weather, I’m starting to actually harbor a little glimmer of hope that it will last through this month as well. If it does (BIG if, there, seeing as this is still technically winter in wisconsin), then we just may have had the best winter in history. But let’s not get head of ourselves here…

Back to today’s star – our Squeaker! It’s hard to believe that she’s a full year and a half old today. We don’t go in for her 18 month checkup for another week, so I’ll just estimate her stats again. And, as was the case last month, there haven’t been a ton of new major changes since the 17 month stats. Actually not really much big since the 16 month or 15 month ones either, but it seems that it’s more just tiny subtle changes each day that add up to this beautiful, growing, almost-not-baby-anymore girl.

• She weighs right about 25 pounds and I would guess is roughly 34″ tall. We’ll know for sure next week. We stood her next to her height measurement board that R made for her birthday the other day, and she’s pretty much a full head taller than she was at 1 year.
• Has kicked the bottle habit! She successfully gave up milk in a bottle 3 and a half weeks ago, with her last bottle being before bedtime on Saturday, January 7. Good job, peanut! You made that transition much easier on us than I was expecting, and for that I thank you immensely.
• I thought hand, foot, and mouth was coming back a few weeks ago, but thankfully I think I was wrong. When we were down at my mom’s house for her surprise birthday party, I noticed 2 little blister-like sores on the heel of one of D’s palms again. This sent me into a HFM panic, so I gave her a full-body check and saw 1 tiny little red sore forming on the bottom of one of her feet too. I never saw any in her mouth this time, though, and even though her eczema patches were flaring up a little again at the same time, it really never developed into anything more. Whew! She did have a bad cold that following week where we had to keep her home from daycare for 2 days, but fortunately I don’t think HFM struck again. Maybe that’s just kind of a sign of sickness for her now?
• She digs toys with wheels. R’s mom got her a Little Tykes shopping cart for Christmas, which she loves loading up with her toys and pushing all around the house. Surprisingly, she doesn’t zoom it around as much as I thought she would, but when she sets her sight on that thing, look out. She’ll come flying by with a cart full! She also adores riding on the little Lightning McQueen car R and I got her for Christmas.
• We may have a budding artist on our hands. Coloring on the paper on her easel is one of her favorite things. Fortunately R got washable crayons the other week, after we saw evidence of her artistic abilities on the hallway wall and bathroom door. Good call, R.
• And there might be a musician ready to sprout, too. D is fascinated by our keyboard and loves to bang on the keys to hear her musical masterpieces when we turn it on. She still dances all the time when she hears a tune, bobbing and swaying like nobody’s business.
• She’s moving up to the next classroom at daycare now that she’s 18 months. Starting Monday, D will no longer be a Busy Bee, but a Shining Star.

This is the most hysterically cute and silly girl I’ve ever known, and I just love her to pieces. (oh my god, that’s such a MOM thing to say) I cherish every moment together and can’t wait to see what each new day brings our little family with her in it.

And a little sampling of what this 18 month old looks like today. She wakes up and signs to eat almost immediately every morning now. That growing – makes you hungry!