Amelia Jayne Update - 18 months

Amelia Jayne turned 18 months old on April 24. I'm a bit behind, but mostly because I wanted to add her stats and we didn't go to the doctor until May 17. So here's her 18/19 month update :)


Weight - 26.4 lbs (74%)
Height - 33 in (84%)

She has a few words. Among them -
ball, bye bye, baby, bubble, no, yes, mine, boo, Mommy, Daddy, Mimi, Papa, Grandma, Grandpa, hi, car, please, up, why, cheese, cookie, okay, blue, green, up, and down.
I'm still waiting on more words. I find this to be the frustrating time when a toddler can't communicate very well, but has lots to say...and lots of wants. She tends to scream a lot when she wants something, which was not the case with Xander, so I'm having to get used to that. I can't say it's my favorite activity of hers. I do think she has the same mindset as Xander which is - "When I can do it well, then I'll do it, but I won't do it until I'm ready." I truly believe she could say a lot more if she wanted to, but she just doesn't want to.

AJ and Xander have become very sweet with each other. Xander will hold her hand, especially when crossing the road, and she gladly holds his back. They like to play with each other - wrestling is one of their new favorite pastimes. They're getting better at sharing, though it's still challenging at times. Overall they do a good job, though.

Xander has saved Amelia Jayne's life so many times! Whether he's telling me she's found a penny and about to put it in her mouth, standing on the bed, about to go in the road...he's a really good big brother. I'm glad he's such a rule-follower and a tattle tale! This will come in handy in the future...for me. He may not be as popular with his sister. :)

She's addicted to TV already. She asks to turn it on almost anytime she sees one. We don't always comply. :)

She loves music and dancing. She gets really excited when she hears a song she knows. Most nights David and I hear her over the monitor after we put her down for bed singing herself to sleep.

She loves school and gets so excited when David drops her off in the mornings.

She's still got her blanket. That's my next big project with her, I think - weaning her from the blanket. She never had a pacifier, but she always sucked on her blanket. It stinks. It's always dirty. I try to wash it daily or at least every other day, but it almost instantly seems dirty again. She won't sleep without it. In fact, one night after she was asleep I snuck in to get it so I could wash it. She woke up screaming because she couldn't find her blanket. I haven't tried to take it away from her in her sleep since then. I have a small window of time after she wakes up in the morning or after her nap to throw it in the wash. It's a pain, for sure.

She loves to pretend she's on the phone. She'll pick up anything rectangular and talk into it. "Hi!" and "Bye, bye" help me know that's what she's up to. :) All other words are unintelligible at this point. But it's pretty adorable.

She's a pretty good eater. She loves her fruits, vegetables, beans, and pasta. I still have a hard time getting her to eat meat - unless it's a chicken nugget or a hot dog. Those she'll gobble up. She also loves sweets and junk food. Her favorite food is probably french fries. But at least she likes the healthy stuff, too. I can't get Xander to eat his fruits and vegetables unless I promise dessert, and even then I'm not always successful...

Her favorite activity is reading. She brings me book after book and wants to read all the time. Her attention span is getting much longer and she can sit through many books. She'll even sit through Curious George books when I read them to Xander...and those books are sooooo long!!

She also loves to go to the park. She's very brave and will slide down slides by herself, even the tall ones. She also loves to swing. She's very independent and self-sufficient with playground equipment, which is so surprising to me. I couldn't get Xander to climb up in the tubes at Chick-fil-A until a few months ago...and he was almost 4!

Just two days ago she used the potty! She's used it about 5 or 6 times in the last two days. She hasn't asked to go, but anytime we suggest it, she's more than willing, even excited! I'm not naive enough to think she'll be potty trained soon, but I am excited that she is excited. She seems to have the muscle control to know how to make herself go, so that's progress!

She's growing up so much! I am so in love with that little girl and incredibly thankful that she's in my life. Can't wait to see how she continues to grow and change!