eighteen months

We are closer to two than we are to one.  How did that happen?  I seriously have no idea.   Whatever the case, Miss Ryann turned 18 months old yesterday!

A couple weeks ago I packed up the majority of Ryann's 12-18 month clothing.  The 18-24 month stuff fits pretty well... well it ranges from some of the t-shirts being snugger than I thought they would be to some of the pants sagging a lot because they are way too big.  Ryann finally graduated to size 5 shoes!!!!  Why is this so awesome?  Because there are so many more options once you hit the 5's.  Actually we got a 5.5 in her new pedipeds, but they are definitely a bit big.  We go to the doctor for her 18 month check-up on Tuesday, so I'll have some more official stats then.  On another note,   I can FINALLY see a tooth creeping up in her gums.  I'm hoping the others aren't far behind and we can just get this teething stuff over with.

Life is pretty similar to last month, in regards to sleeping, eating, things of that nature.  Ry is in bed by 8, usually up no later than 6:30, and naps from about 1 to 3:30.  She is such a punk when it comes to food sometimes.  Her veggie tots have black beans in them, and she will dig out the black beans, tell me she found a bean and happily eat it.  She also likes corn.  So one day I made a mix of black beans and corn.  She spit it out like it was the most disgusting thing she ever tasted.  Really kid?  So we mostly eat a lot of veggie tots, a lot of peanut butter toast, and a ton of fruit.

Ryann has shown a big interest in singing the last couple weeks.  Hearing her sing 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star' makes me smile every time, so much that my cheeks hurt.  It is just plain adorable.  She also has been singing her ABC's.  Occasionally she gets confused when she gets to 'R', because we've worked on spelling he name, so she will say "L M N O P, Q R Y A N N".  Apparently I should have made sure we nailed the order of the alphabet before working on her name at all.  Oops.

As usual, Ryann's language skills and the things she says impress me more and more everyday.  She can almost clearly say words such as hippopotamus, rhinoceros, avocado and edamame (not that she actually eats those last two or anything, she just likes to say them when I am eating them).  And oh my goodness, she loves for us to ask her questions like "did you have a good nap?  did you have fun on the walk?", so she will often come up to me and say "Did Ryann have good nap?" hoping that I will ask her.  Cracks me up.  While at my parents she laid down right next to their cat, looked her straight in the face and said "How was your nap?  Mikki (her name is Nikki) kitty have a good nap?"  Hilarious.

Ryann can count to 20 in English, but sometimes she skips 14-17.  She also can count to ten in Spanish, but usually she doesn't want to.  Or when I am trying to get her to count in Spanish, she likes to tease me and say "count in English?"  "No can we try Spanish?"  "Count in English."  Ok, whatever you want kiddo, I suppose counting is good enough.  We've also started talking about the days of the week and months of the year.  Hearing her say September is another one of my favorite things.

 

I'm thinking life is going to be interesting when Ry hits her teenage years (which is never going to happen, she is staying little forever, obviously...).  She is definitely my daughter.  She needs her space, gets overwhelmed easily, and sometimes has a short fuse :).  I have a feeling we will butt heads a bit.  Already we manage to push each other's buttons, and then need a little break from each other.  Which is a little tough considering the fact that you know, she's a toddler.  She needs me whether she likes it or not!  She has quite the personality and is a fiercely determined little girl.

As far as I know, Ryann is doing GREAT in the gym daycare and at MDO.  All of the adults say she is so smart, and how much they love her, and she doesn't cry or whine all that much, that she listens well (not sure if I believe it, she rarely listens to me at home without physically being redirected or bribed).  But she is still pretty timid, or well, terrified, of other kids.  She does NOT like people being in her personal space at all.  Often when I go to pick Ry up from the gym care center, she is in the baby area.  They tell me she gets overwhelmed (and sometimes trampled) in the toddler/preschooler area and wants to be with Miss Bee and the babies.

A couple of Ryann's favorite things to play with this month have been her Little People Zoo (and just her Little People in general) and blocks.  She loves to stack blocks, and she is so precise when she is doing it.  We have this set, and often she has to make sure all of the numbers are facing up and all the corners are aligned.  Other things that make her pretty happy are coloring and stickers.  But stickers aren't for paper, or for just sticking on your shirt, of course not.  They are for sticking on your nose, your forehead, your bum, etc.  When we stopped in the dollar store this week Ryann wanted to leave a Minnie Mouse sticker on her forehead.  She would have, if it had still been sticky enough to last.  What a goober.

Happy eighteen months baby girl.  I love you more and more everyday.  So much more than you'll ever know.  I'm so proud to be your mommy!