18 months

Little Ivy Jane is 18 months old.  And while time has slipped by at an astounding rate since her first birthday, its passage is well marked in just how different she is these days.  Gone, it seems, is any trace of the baby we used to have.  We now have a little girl, a giggly, kissy, sweet and ornery little girl who understands everything and is starting to talk and who copies everything her big brother does.  She's pretty wonderful and really stinking cute. 

Ivy at 18 months:

* She runs and stomps and spins and walks on her tiptoes and loves climbing up and down the stairs but prefers, really, to climb up the rocks through the garden.

* Thanks to following a big brother around, she's the master of the playground at the preschool, having learned since September how to climb up the rock wall, go through the tunnels, go down the big slide, and even walk across the "Stepping stone" bridge, all on her own.  She may be doing the monkey bars by two...

* She loves Sesame Street (Elmo and Bert are her favorite characters) and books with babies or animals in them.  She adores music, especially the Itsy Bitsy Spider.   She dances at the slightest provocation.

* Speaking of babies-- she's crazy about them. She likes to have 2 or 3 dolls in her crib and to take one with her when we leave the house.  She also likes to have  her "bebee" wear a hat, and then of course she needs a hat too, and then mommy needs a hat, and then she goes and gets Jack's hat.

* She is very thorough, and very inclusive.  She needs to put one object down (or preferably, hand it to a parent) before picking up something new.   Almost meticulous, actually.  When she's not barreling through life running into things, that is.

*She's talking more and more.  Yesterday she put two words together by herself: "Nine-y Bee-Bee"  (tiny baby) and she's saying I love you, even though it sounds more like "eye-uh-oowe".  She's starting to parrot more and more of what we say.  She's probablyt got about 40 words she uses on her own. A few new ones: Bowl, apple, cheese, pizza, milk, down (as a command to Corydon, of course!), diaper (dap-a), bottle (bot- oh), Elmo, hat, coat...

* If you ask her if she has room in her tummy for (name of food here), she lifts up her shirt and looks.   Its hilarious.   She also starts to take her shirt off if you mention a bath.  Or spaghetti.

* She wrinkles up her nose when she smiles and gives spontaneous kisses and running-tackle hugs on our legs. She's funny and engaging and determined and she's going to take the world by storm, this girl, one shake of those blond pigtails at a time.