Isabella 18 Month Update!

A year and a half seems like a long time until you have a kid, and then it just zips by in the blink of an eye! I can't believe how incredibly fast this last year and a half went, and how much this one little person has drastically changed our lives for the better!  

Happy 18 Months Isabella Rae!

Oh I wish I could bottle this sweet laugh!!

18 Month Highlights:

-We celebrated Dani Leigh turning 1 on your 17 Month Birthday! I love that you girls were born on the same day of the month!

Even though it was Dani's birthday, Mimi got you a present too : )

-We celebrated Thanksgiving at our house with Mimi, Pops, Tia, Uncle G and Dani. It was a fun and relaxing day staying in our jammies with good food, lots of sunshine and playing on our swingset!

-We went to the park a couple times this month because the weather was just gorgeous! You know are big enough to climb around the small park, and love going down the slide! 

-We savored the last couple of weekends as a family of 3 by staying in our jammies extra long, sneaking in morning snuggles while listening to music, and having breakfast in bed. 

-We went to the hospital on November 30th to have your baby sister, and you stayed with Mimi and Pops from Sunday night until Friday afternoon.  This meant you got to play with Dani all week. I think being around another little one was really good prep for you. 

-The biggest highlight of the month was bringing home your baby sister, Aubrey Lynn, and starting our life as a family of 4!  You weren't too sure what to think of her at first, but immediately wanted to give her head kisses. Ever since then, you ask about 50 times a day to give kisses.  When she cries, you cry, although you have gotten more and more used to this lately...and you are great at helping Mama sing when we are in the car and she is freaking out!

Sleeping: We got back on a more regular schedule which was nice this month.  You go to bed around 6:30 on most nights, and sleep about 12 hours, although we can leave you in the crib content until about 7:30 most mornings! SO nice! After Aubrey was born and we weren't sleeping, you'd sometimes go to bed a bit later (around 7), wake up a bit later, and we could leave you in the crib til about 8am. Either way, the moral of the story is you are such a content kid just relaxing in your bed.

We still are doing 2 naps most days (with the exception of some Saturdays, and every Sunday) and you seem to love your sleep. You go down around 9:30 or 10 am and sleep for about 1.5 hours, then go back down around 2 or 2:30 and sleep an hour or little bit longer. 

With bringing home Aubrey came some changes in schedule and you tended to go down slightly later for your morning nap, which meant you just had "quiet time" in the afternoon rather than truly napping, but you still were happy and content throughout the day.

Eating: You are so finicky when it comes to eating certain things; some days you love chicken or meat, and other days you want absolutely nothing to do with them and spit them out with this look of hatred for them!  Same goes for some veggies...I just never know if it's going to be a day where you will gobble up your green beans or squash, or one that I am picking them up off your bib as you spit it out!

Sure fire favorites are your oatmeal with fruit every morning, and you loved your PB sandwiches on Ezekiel bread until the last week when you started boycotting them, greek yogurt, cheese, puffs as a snack, bananas, grapes, pears, and squeezies!

Isabella Loves:

-Heartbeat Bear & Choncho stuffed animal

-Reading Books: Favorites this month are Pig-A-Boo, I Love You Through and Through, Spanish First Words, Christmas Lights, Pajama Time, Nursery Rhymes, Where is Baby's Belly Button, and Toes, Ears & Nose.

-Being outside and taking walks (although you love actually walking by yourself now more than being in the stroller)

-Eating our food!  
-Bathtime
-Going to the park, especially sliding
-Looking at the Christmas tree (she say's "Ohhhhh" every time we turn it on!)
-Listening to music and dancing
-Singing in the car (as soon as we end a song, you are signing "More, More!")
-Picking our your own shoes (and you LOVE wearing them!), and bows!  
-Dancing! Girlie you are always shaking those hips!! 

Isabella Hates:

-Being on grass or areas with leaves barefoot

-Getting her hands dirty
-Hearing Aubrey cry hard

18 Month Stats:

Weight: 23 lbs (about 20th percentile)

Height: 31.5 in (50th percentile)

Teeth: 7 total, 4 on top and now 3 on bottom

Isabella's Firsts this Month:

-You have now added the following words to your existing vocabulary (which included Mama, Dada, Baba, Uh-oh, "Ca" for car, and Hi): Ball, "Ca-kee" (coffee).

-You are consistently following 2 step commands, which doesn't cease to amaze me!

-You point to a lot more body parts now (eyes, ears, nose, fingers, hands, toes, belly button, heart) when we ask where they are. 

-You added a few more animal noises this month: duck, chick, and cat. 
 

This Month in Pictures:

You race to the fridge every time you hear us opening it!

 

Like a bull in a china shop pushing our cart at the fabric store!

 

The only picture that we took on Thanksgiving...terrible I know, but it was all we got!

You LOVED cuddling with the bump, and you always made sure to lift my shirt every time!

Park Fun!

Such a big girl climbing up and down things on your own!

First family of 4 picture...at the park! Gotta take advantage of 73 degree, sunny December days!

While you love giving kisses on your own will, you are still not sure what to think of her overall, especially when she gets close!