18 months...

{It is not too hard to remember Hadlea's 1/2 birthday since it falls on her Nana's birthday!
See Nana's post below!}

18 months. EIGHTEEN MONTHS. one and a half years. I have thought about this post SO many times over the last few months. I heard that many kids take a major jump into independence around this age, and I was always so curious as to what I would be writing about when Hadlea turned 18 months. I really do not think I had any idea... I feel like the last two weeks have been huge developmentally for Hadlea.

I am LOVING the new stage... well, minus the MULTIPLE tantrums a day. I mean, how can something so tiny and petite really scream that loud and get THAT mad?! As bad as it makes me feel, it really does make me laugh sometimes!  But more than anything, how does something this beautiful throw a tanrum?! She just looks so perfect! :)

So what is Hadlea up to at 18 months...

• Motormouth. Never quiet, never still. I think that is the motto in our house! Ha! She tells us exactly what she wants. She communicates VERY well. I can pretty much always figure out what she wants! ...which is a good thing because there usually isn't much time to spare before the meltdown! :)
• She calls me momma, Justin dadda and Berkley bubba or B.
• She is starting to put multiple words together: Where's bubba? Where's shoes? Where's baby?, etc. I not know? Me push me (which means you push me). Me do it. Nigh-nigh baby. Bye-Bye baby. Me hold you (meaning you hold me).

• She says, "o-tay" (for okay) after everything we tell her! It just cracks me up. She will want something and start crying for it. I will tell her she can have it when she stops crying. As she is trying to suck it up, she will say, "o-tay, o-tay". I just love it!
• She is VERY strong willed and will not stop until she finishes what she is doing or get what she wants. Is it too early for the terrible 2s?! :) She will normally start whining or crying... which we then wait until she is done and make her say please and thank you. I think it is actually working! :)
• When we first started disciplining, we tried timeout, which didn't work. We moved on to spanking (if you call it that ha!). Once that didn't work, we went back to timeout. It is now working the best between spanking and timeout. Hadlea is SO tough that spanking does NOT phase her. She will not even cry, but timeout does! Silly girl!

• She is SO busy... all of the time! She really does not play with many toys. Or she plays with them so fast we just don't notice! We get comments around the neighborhood about how busy she is all of the time!
• She has been good at letting us help her, but with her becoming more and more independent, we have to 'work the system'. If she wants to wash herself, I say "let mommy do it and you wash your baby" Works like charm!
• We think she is OCD... seriously! She has to have every button buttoned, everything zipped. Even on her high chair and stroller. Once she gets out, she cannot do anything without fastening everything back together! Talk about making me crazy! :)
• She is majorly into high 5'ing and giving nuckles! We do it multiple times a day! I guess this has taken the place of clapping for herself... she now wants a high 5 when she does something great! Ha!

• She is starting to tell us when she has to go or has gone to the bathroom. She will say "wet" or "poo-poo". If she is already wet or dirty, she will start walking backwards towards us for us to check. It is hilarious! :) She will then go get a diaper. She is sitting on the toilet every night before getting in the bath. She is not scared of it at all, but has yet to use it. {and we are NOT potty training. we are just letting her do it as she wants!}
• She is following directions very well. She will go get a diaper when needed, she will throw it and other things when asked into the trash. She will also put her dirty close in her hamper. One day she got candy out of a drawer and when I told her to put it back, she did! ...even without a tantrum! :)
• She is either a GREAT eater or nothing at all. I think I have figured out that she eats REALLY well when it is just her, Justin and I. When we go out to eat, have people over or are gone from home, she will hardly eat anything!

• She is still biting and scratching at daycare! :( Just breaks this momma's heart! We talk daily about biting and scratching and how it makes us feel. I am not sure she understands 100%, but I know she eventually will... so I will continue to talk to her about it until I am POSITIVE she gets it! Ha!
• She LOVES Berkley. She asks for him every.single.morning whens he gets up! She will even cry for him sometimes when she goes to bed, if she isn't wanting to go! I asked Justin if we should feel like terrible parents when she cries for our dog and not us! Ha!
• She is definitely her momma and daddy's daughter when it comes to being outside! It is a great thing Justin and I are outdoors people because she CRIES and CRIES to go outside. No doubt we will be outside most of the summer!

• She is an AWESOME sleeper. She normally sleeps 12-14 hours. She is not that great of a napper... anywhere between 30 minutes and an hour, but I will take that with her sleeping so well at night! She sleeps with her blanket and her preemie cabbage patch doll. She covers her head up with her blanket to fall asleep. This drives her dadda and grammie CRAZY! I am good with whatever gets her to go to sleep! Ha! Plus, no matter how many times we have uncovered it, she just covers it back up after you walk away! I gave up!
• She is really into reading books before bed! We read atleast two, if not more.
• She has a HUGE imagination. I am sometimes surprised at what she dreams up!
• She is completely obsessed with Blues Clues and the ONLY show she will watch. She does love Elmo or "Melmo", but she will not him on tv.

{with gigi and great granny. such a special picture!}

• She HATES to be changed... clothes or diaper. Just because she knows she is wet or dirty, still doesn't mean she wants to be changed! :)
• She loves the bath and getting her face wet, splashing in the tub. She will lay on her tummy and kick her feet or let me lay her on her back and she can rest her head on my hand. She has NO fear! She is definitely going to be a great lake baby!
• She still goes to daycare at the church. She LOVES it and loves Hannah, her teacher! She talks about Hannah everyday and often plays babies with her at home... again, there is that imagination! :) I still have to hand her off to Hannah. She will not walk right in, but I know with time she will!
• She is really getting in to making us laugh! She will dance around, play peek-a-boo or play hide-and-seek to make us laugh.

• She is counting to 5! I think this is my most proud of anything! Since we play piggy bank so much, she has really go in to counting. I know they do it at daycare too. She will say, "un, ooo, eee, orrr, ive". I know she is not saying the words, but everyone is pretty impressed she will do these on command!
• She loves to sing! I am not sure what she is singing sometimes, but she will pop her head and bounce! Hilarious! Her favorite songs right now are the abc's, itsy bitsy spider and if you're happy and you know it. You can also crank up music on the tv and she will just sing along! {hopefully she gets a better voice than her momma and dadda!}
• She is wearing 18 month clothes. She could probably wear 9 month pants, but her legs are SO long! She also loves to wear my clothes. She goes through my dirty clothes pile and puts on anything she finds... including my underwear... yes, dirty underwear! Gross!

• She still has a pacifier. I am hoping she will one day give it up on her own like she did with her bottle! Wishful thinking, I think... but you never know! She only has it at naptime and nighttime.
• She still does NOT drink milk. :(  {this bugs me to no end!}
• She has all of her teeth, and I think is getting her 2 year molars!
• I think I mentioned before... but this girl has NO FEAR! {which scares this momma something terrible! :) }

18 Month Stats:

Length: 32.5 in - 69%

Weight: 22lbs 8oz - 22%

Head: 46cm - 32%

Hadlea Easton,

Happy 1 1/2 my sweet girl! This past year and a half has been the greatest of my entire life! You, Berkley and your 'dadda' bring me so much love and joy! My heart about explodes anytime I think of the three of you! You are in one of the funnest stages yet! You LOVE to make us laugh, dance, read books and chase Berkley. You think him barking at you is THE funniest thing ever! I am in no hurry for you to turn 2, but I cannot wait for the next stages of your life either! You are turning in to a toddler more and more every day. I cannot wait for what our future holds together... shopping, manis/pedis, girl trips, etc! Daddy's checkbook isn't going to know what hit it! :) God knew it was only you that couple complete my life and fill my heart with so much love. I love you to the moon and back sweet baby girl.

Love, Momma