18 Months

Where exactly does 18 months go?  And, how does it get there so quickly!?

Hannah is now 1 and ½ years old!  Only 6 months to the so-called “terrible twos.”  Should I be worried?  I don’t think so.  It has been so fun to watch her learn, and grow, and develop new abilities and characteristics at each stage!  I know that there are challenges that come along with each new developmental milestone, but, in my mind they are far outweighed by the joys of seeing your little baby develop into more and more of a “real person.” 

Since I haven’t done so in some time, here is the latest update on Miss Hannah Elisabeth:

• “Watch Grover-Elmo?”:  Yes, we are still as Elmo-obsessed  as ever, but she has also discovered Grover.  Elmo is the favorite, by far, but Sesame Street is now known as ”Watch Grover-Elmo.”  After our little bout with Hand-Foot-Mouth disease, I did break down and buy 3 “Elmo’s World” DVD’s.  It was more of a selfish move, as it gives me time to fix dinner, or fold laundry while she is otherwise occupied.  Of course, this solves the problem of trying to explain that, “no, Elmo isn’t on right now.”  But, it has created a new problem, as she has realized that she can now “watch Grover-Elmo” pretty much any time of the day or night.  She is a smart little thing, and has also associated Elmo with the DVD player’s remote control…

 

• “Now I know my ABC’s”:  Well, not quite, but almost!  For her birthday, Grandma and Grandpa (my parents) gave her the Leap Frog “Fridge Phonics” alphabet magnets.  Unlike the simple plastic letters from my childhood (anyone else feeling really old right now?), these magnets come with a magnetic base that sings the alphabet song, and teaches the name and sound of each letter. She is learning that “every letter makes a sound…” and loves to try out the different letters.  She can also sing along with the ABC song, on the letters she knows…she gets a little tripped up around “L, M, N, O, P,” but does surprisingly well with the others!  Her ever-expanding vocabulary constantly amazes us, and we have fun listenting to her attempts at pronouncing words like Hippopotamus, California, and Broccoli.  

 

• “Go outside, pleeeez?”:  I hear this question almost as often as “Watch Grover-Elmo?”  And, I am so glad that the weather is cooling off a little, so that I can say yes more!  This girl would live outside, if I would let her!  She loves the little playground down the street, and practically runs all the way there!  (As a plus for mom, it’s a great way to run off some excess energy before naptime!)  She also enjoys our occasional Park Day with her friends from church, and has become quite adventurous on the playground equipment!

 

• Such A Girl:  Despite being a little bit of a daredevil on the slides at the park, Hannah is definitely all girl.  She almost has more shoes than I do, and loves to pick out a pair, and put them on – all by herself.  Even if all she is wearing is her pajama top and a diaper, she must have shoes to complete the ensemble!  And, she almost always gets them on the right feet!  She has the most adorable “fall wardrobe” (thanks to Papa and Granny Whitely), and doesn’t seem to mind the almost daily “fashion show” that I put her through trying to find just the right outfit.  She must take after Auntie Jo, as she already has better fashion sense than I do!

 

• “Potty, Mama!”:  Yes, at 18-months we have taken a few cautious steps into the wonderful (?) world of potty-training!  Hannah has shown some interest in sitting on the potty, and, I don’t want to miss what could be a great window of opportunity!  How it all started:  A few weeks ago, I could tell that her diaper needed to be changed (and I’ll spare you any details beyond that fact), so, I told her to go to her room so that I could change her diaper.  She said no, and ran to the bathroom instead.  I thought she was just trying to avoid a diaper change since she had a rather bad diaper rash, but, I figured I would take advantage of the situation, and asked if she wanted to sit on the potty.  I was amazed when she said yes, and I set her on the toilet.  Nothing happened, but it was a start!  I think it has become something of a novelty, because she wants to do it all the time – except when “something” is happening in her diaper!  After a few days of wrestling with the diaper every time she wanted to sit on the toilet, I bought a package of Pull-Ups, thinking that might make things a little easier.  But, she is so tiny that they are quite droopy (when they are dry…I’m a little scared to see what happens if they get wet!) – and that was the smallest size I could find!  So, we’ll stick with the diapers for a little while longer, and see how things go…

 

• Like Mother, Like Daughter:  When I was Hannah’s age, I would begin crying, and screaming “No church!” the second we hit the freeway off-ramp…and continue until my parents picked me up after the service.  Hannah, is not quite as dramatic as I was, but just as emphatic! We were on our way to church a few days ago, and I was trying to prepare Hannah for a short stay in the nursery.  As I was enthusiastically telling her how about all of the fun things she would get to do, she very calmly said, “Not go church, Mama. Not go church.”  (Well, she did go to church, but, she was not too thrilled about it…we’re still working on this!)

Those are just a few of the highlights…  She continues to be one of the biggest joys in our lives, as we watch her grow into a beautiful little girl.