18 Months

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At her 18-month appointment with the pediatrician on Friday, she weighed in at 22 lbs and just under 31 inches tall, placing her in the 25th percentile for both. I had to complete another one of those "Ages and Stages Questionnaires," which never fails to induce anxiety about my kid's development. I just beebop through the months, not too worried about anything other than correct carseat installations, choking hazards, and the occasional germ, and then Wham! I'm asked about specific problem solving skills, fine motor movements, and 2+ word combinations and I'm all abuzz with nerves because the Bean "sometimes" draws a straight line when given a pen, and other times just scribbled back and forth. She "sometimes" will turn the clear bottle upside down to get the Cheerio out after being shown. And she has never repeated "mama water" or "daddy chair" after me. Lucky for us, we have a pediatrician that sings our daughter's praises and makes us feel like she's just as healthy and normal and wonderful as we think she is.

I did take a few iPhone photos of the pages of the questionnaires, just for posterity.

The Bean at 18 months? She is still obsessed with babies, but could mostly care less about dolls. She has a new affinity for brushing her teeth with her big girl toothbrush. Her poop is still mushy and stinky and I never get those easy turds during diaper change any more. She just learned to say "uh oh" and it sounds so cute coming out of her mouth when she drops a pretzel or a block. She knows her body parts and her animal noises and the names of most fruits and likes to talk about them. She follows directions well, and even seems to understand temporal directions (e.g. "First take a bite of banana, then I'll give you this waffle"). She says "yeah" more than "nooooo." Every morning before daycare she says she doesn't want to go, but then she willing goes into Jessica's arms without so much as a whimper. And then when I pick her up after work she is excited to see me, but none too eager to leave school. She's obsessed with closing doors and giving other people their shoes/slippers and ordering them "on." I sometimes catch her quietly practicing the names of all the people she knows, "mama, daddy, 'ish' (herself), Mimi, papa, dah dah (Nesta/dog), BiBi (BDA), Kuh (teacher Jessica), mama, daddy, mama, daddy, mama, daddy, ish," etc. She recently started refusing requests for hugs and kisses - she only likes to give them out as she sees fit. She still suffers from separation anxiety, but has had a whole slew of new babysitters in the past month (started daycare, my dad watched her, a complete stranger in Indy watched her, our adult neighbor spent an evening with her, and we paid a different teen neighbor to babysit when we took my dad out for his 70th). Each time she has cried hysterically for about 20 minutes, then warms up to her sitter. She is solidly in 18-24 month clothes. She tells us when she's pooped, but then refuses to have her soiled diaper changed. She has again started coming to our bed in the middle of the night/early morning, but is so nice to cuddle with and doesn't usually ask for milk. Uncle Brian came for a visit, and if they weren't related, I would describe the Bean as having had a crush on him, or that she was being coy and flirting. But I guess that's weird to say. She tries to go up and down stairs like an adult,  but doesn't have the size or the motor capaci to do so. She's a great helper - getting the mail, carrying a bag, returning a spoon to its drawer, picking up blocks or spilled Cheerios.

I love her.

Sometimes I'm at a loss of jest to sum up my favorite person, so I think I'll let her daycare, Blue Skies and Butterflies, do it for me (isn't that the worst.name.EVER?!?!) Here is what Jessica put on the wall for when other teachers are covering.