Molly: 18 Months

As I write this (2 weeks past her 18 month mark) Molly is closer to 2 years old than she is 1. Wow. That just blows me away. Each and every day she is less of a baby and more of a toddler. And at times showing some of that dreaded "terrible twos" behavior. But I still get a glimpse of my sweet little baby girl from time to time as she snuggles up and falls asleep on my shoulder or cuddles with her blanket and lovey. That time is fleeting though, faster than I wish. But we are spending our time having lots of fun!

18 months is a really fun age. Its so neat to watch her figure things out for herself and her language skills are exploding! Learning new words everyday and starting to figure out some sentences (albeit short ones). She is very bright and picks up new skills extremely fast. She also understands so much that sometimes I don't even realize it. Its amazing what an 18 month old can comprehend.

She also has her fair share of cranky times. If she is even the least bit tired then saying No to anything results in a full on meltdown. A flop. She throws herself on the floor and then just flops around like a dead fish. Would be funny if it wasn't my kid. We are trying to learn how to deal with these little spells, its still a work in progress.

She is an adventurous, goofy, silly, wild, smart, funny little toddler. She makes us laugh all the time with her antics and she can also get us pretty frustrated too. She usually has a big smile on her face and it doesn't take much to make her crack up. She knows what she wants and you can see the frustration in her face if we aren't understanding her. She also gets easily annoyed if she can't complete tasks on her own. Its either 110% or 0%. No in between. She keeps us on our toes!

I am thoroughly enjoying being a Mom to an 18 month old as we have many adventures together. Looking forward to a great summer with my lil sidekick!

We love you so much Molly. You bring a huge smile to our face each and every day. xoxo

Stats:

 Weight- 22lbs 4oz (25%)
 Height- 31.5" (25%)

In mostly 18-24 month clothes. Still rocking the size 4 diaper.

Likes:
Playing outside (mowing, riding in her car, sliding, in the pool etc. etc.)
Going to the park
Hiding behind things and saying "Boo!"
Having tea parties
Dancing
Having Daddy bounce her up and down in his truck bed
Using her George (curious George) as a puppet
Singing and acting out "Wheels on the Bus"

Dislikes:
Being told "No"
Getting dressed
Having to come inside

Firsts:
She got her first little freckle on her cheek!
Petting a Giraffe at the Zoo
Swinging on a big kid swing

Words/Talking:
No way I could possibly list all her words. She talks constantly and with a lot of clarity. She has started repeating a lot of words as we say them and has starting forming sentences. She loves pointing to people she knows in pictures and saying their names. Looking back at the 15 month post I had listed 7 words, incredible how much her language skills have taken off!

Eating:
Is still a pretty darn good eater. In the morning after breakfast she pretty much snacks until lunch and then her nap. She has 3 solid meals a day with lots of snacks in between. Her new favorite thing is munching on an apple.

Sleeping:
Sleep is great for the most part. She is having some night terrors every so often and has had to come sleep with use a couple times (which is not fun, I don't get any sleep) but other than that going well. She takes a 1 1/2-2 hr nap around 12:30 and goes to bed at 8ish.

Teeth:
12 teeth, 4 top/4 bottom/4 molars. Been at a stand still on teeth.

Summertime!

Last summer was interesting. Summer in Texas is fun but brutal. By the time June hits its triple digit temps until September with lots of humidity mixed in. In the pre-baby days it wasn't that big of a deal, we just sweated it out and enjoyed long happy hours with frozen drinks on patios with water spritzers.

Last summer we had a 6 month old. A tiny little baby who could barely sit up, didn't like hats and didn't  have the ability to "sweat it out." This meant very limited time outdoors, only a handful of happy hours and not a real summer vibe going on.



Well this summer is going to be different! Long days full of parks, picnics, pools and more. You see Molly LOVES being outside. If she is inside she is probably gazing out the windows wishing she was outside. She runs barefoot around the backyard, thinks watering the flowers is sprinkler time and thoroughly enjoys "mowing the lawn."

This summer I don't have to hold a sweaty baby on top of my lap because she can't sit up. Instead I can relax on my chair with my feet in her baby pool while she happily splashes and giggles the afternoon away.

I can share my ice cream. I can have her help me wash the car. I can go on bike rides with her. I can take her to the driving range. And we even found a few awesome kid friendly spots to do happy hours.









Oh I love summer. And this one is going to be EPIC.

Bedtime Routine

We read that pretty early on a bedtime routine, and routine in general, were good for babies. It helps them to feel calm, safe and protected going through the same structure day in and day out. So once we started to set a regular bed time for Molly (around 4 months) we decided to put together a bedtime routine that would help her wind down and get ready for sleep. Fast forward to now and at 18 months old we are still practicing the same bed time routine. Is that good or bad?



The Routine

Bath time at 7:30 following dinner
Brush teeth
Lotion, diaper, pjs, brush hair
Dad reads 2 books while I rock and snuggle with her and she finishes off her milk
Books done, lights out
I stay in the room and sing to her and rock her
I get her basically asleep, say a prayer and good night and lay her down in her crib

*Note: between lights out and down in crib is usually 10 minutes

Like I said, this was the exact same routine that we created when Molly was around 4 months old. A few minor things have changed like bottles vs sippy cups, length of singing and rocking but for the most part its identical.

I have begun to wonder when, and if ever, we will be able to just put her in her crib together, say our good nights and then walk out and turn off the light. I am afraid that we might have created too much dependence on the rocking and singing and now she will need it FOREVER! I know, that is a little exaggerated, I hope, but transitions are always hard and despite what some people think children need to be taught. She isn't just going to decide, "okay, just put me down now. I am done with rocking."

I keep coming back to that scene in American Pie Reunion where the Mom is bouncing her son, who is at least 4 years old, to bed. Please don't let that be me!

Does anybody else have experience with this? What is your bedtime routine? Still rocking your little one to sleep?