I’ve been meaning to post an 18 month update on Eloise for a bit now {about a month, actually, considering she’s now over 19 months}. Since I see this blog, at least in part, as a journal for our family, it seems like a good place to record updates on her development, her interests, etc. Plus, I have been HORRIBLE about updating her baby book, so having this information recorded somewhere makes me feel a little better.
E hit the 18-month milestone just before Christmas. Over the past couple months, she has really started to turn into a toddler, and she all of a sudden seems like an actual person {though miniature}, rather than a baby. She has such a unique little personality. At times, she is sweet, quiet, observant, and such a good listener/rule-follower. This seems to be the consistent report from her daycare teachers, who note that she doesn’t talk much when she’s there, is always helping clean up, and follows instructions better than any other child in her class. However, at home, she’s often wild and silly – she runs and jumps on the bed, screeches and makes the silliest noises, and loves to be the center of attention. She talks a lot, using a mixture of actual words and baby jibber jabber. She’s also become sassy and outright defiant at times – often telling us “no” or “mine” when things aren’t going her way.
She is a pretty good eater, and she’s usually willing to try just about anything we offer her. Her current favorites are berries {especially black, blue, and raspberries}, yogurt, broccoli, raw red peppers, lasagna, and anything sweet. She’s becoming pretty efficient with a fork and spoon. We also recently promoted her to a booster seat at the dining room table instead of her highchair, which is going well.
Her favorite activities are playing in her kitchen {especially pretending to wash her hands}, jumping on the bed, anything having to do with Elmo, painting and coloring, and reading. She’s always been OBSESSED with books, but recently she started reading aloud to herself and her stuffed animals. She doesn’t say actual words when reading aloud, but she makes various little noises in a particular rhythm as if she were actually reading. It is the sweetest thing ever. In general, she’s just a little busy body, constantly “doing stuff,” as we like to say.
She’s currently working on learning her colors. Her favorite so far seems to be purple, which was also the first one she learned to identify and say. She loves to spot purple items around the house, in books, or out and about and shout, “PURPLE!”
Of course, any update on E wouldn’t be complete without an update on her sleeping habits. Over the past few months, she has started falling asleep on her own at bedtime, which is amazing. We snuggle while she drinks her milk, brush her teeth, and sing a quick song before I tuck her in wide awake, and she then closes her eyes and drifts off to sleep as I leave her room. She was also sleeping through the night for a couple months, but after teething, traveling for the holidays, and an ear infection, she has consistently been winding up in our bed at some point during each night {as you may remember, she refuses to go back down in her crib after waking up in the middle of the night}. She’s been sleeping well in our bed without waking us up much, so for now I’m soaking up the extra snuggles and not worrying about crib training. I’m just happy that all three of us are getting some sound sleep for the first time in nearly two years.
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the pios 