18 months

I can't believe I failed to get this done, but I forgot Char's 18-month post! She is growing so quickly and the days just fly by. Days with our little one are filled with joy, laughter, tears, and fits. She can be so excited one minute, to collapse into a fit of sadness or anger the next.

Stats:

weight - 25 lbs. 4 oz.

height - 32.5 inches

Charlotte is all about discovering the world around her. She loves to point at things and say "doh" (we don't know what this means) or "whas tha?" (what's that). She can get so excited about the smallest things like seeing a bird out the window. She will squeal with joy. Charlotte is also testing her limits on just about everything. We have to go "think about it" (time out) several times a day. It is rare occasion to make it through dinner without her having to think about her choices while turned away from the table.
Nonetheless, with all of the "button-pushing" comes moments of pure joy and excitement on her part (and ours) as she grows and learns. Her language skills have really taken off over the last 6 weeks. She babbles on, and on, and on. She will try to repeat a lot of what we say. She has about 20 words in her vocabulary that she uses regularly. Sign language is still a big part of our routine, particularly at dinner time. She signs eat, more, please, and thank you. She has said a lot of these words as well, but usually signs them. Charlotte understands far more than what she can express. It seems that she understands about 90% of what we say to her. However, she acts as though she doesn't understand on those occasions when we are telling her something she doesn't want to do!
This girl can play, play, play all day long. Balls are still one of her favorite things. She just loves to bounce them and chase them. She has also become quite the little mama while she plays with her baby doll and stroller. She loves to push her stroller around or "feed" her baby. We love watching her play in her kitchen or stack her blocks up. She is really great at independent play. With us, she loves to roll the ball, tackle us, do ring around the rosies, or dance. Charlotte is still involved in Kindermusik and has a true love for all kinds of music. Veggies Tales, Praise Baby, and Blue's Clues are her favorite shows to watch. Storytime sitting in our laps on the ground or in her rocking chair is one of her most loved past times. There is never a dull moment around here, and we like it that way!