Seventeen and Eighteen Point Five Months.

Really, one day I'll be on top of updating our blog again…but Charlotte is non-stop on the go! So for now here is an update on her seventeenth and eighteenth (and a half) months of life:

• At Char's 18-month check-up, she weighed 23 pounds 12 ounces and was 33.5 inches tall. So she is tall and skinny. The doctor said it's totally normal that her weight is starting to plateau. She will go in spurts of growing upwards, then outwards, then upwards again.
• She now has twelve teeth. All bottom teeth (minus her second year molars). She is currently working on her top two canines and top two molars. It's been hell of everyone involved. One can only hope they pop soon.
• Speaking of teeth, when her molars come through she develops something call an "eruption hematoma." Don't even google what that means unless you want to be really grossed out. But I googled and learned it is totally normal and most of the time harmless. Just part of the teething process sometimes.
• She has about forty words in her vocabulary now. Some are still her versions of words, but they count. The doctor was pretty impressed with her word count for her age.
• Charlotte loves to color. And sometimes that means coloring on the wood floor or the kitchen table. Thank goodness for washable crayons.
• She has started Mommy and Me ballet. Basically the cutest thing in the world. It's only a four week class, but we already have her signed up for another session in August.
• She is also in an early literacy class for toddlers. It is through the library, just like her infant class was. We've only had one class so far, which more or less is just an insane story time with 14 toddlers.
• She is sleeping through the night most nights now. It's now the rarity that she wakes up. She is still currently in our room, but we are going to start making the transition to her room soon now that she is sleeping so well. (Insert sad mom face here. I'll miss her.)
• She is still nursing regularly through the day. This is something I'm damn proud about. It takes a lot to keep nursing this long, especially when she is teething.
• Charlotte is currently mastering walking up a few steps by herself without holding onto anything. She just went for it one day on our steps outside the other day and didn't even hesitate. Just went for it.
• She has no fear - unless there are strangers. She runs around on the couch. Tries to climb anything and everything (I caught her on the kitchen table one night). We have to watch her closely. And as I type this, she is currently trying to climb on a stool by the computer.
• She is still working on going on the potty. We aren't forcing it yet, but anytime she asks to go she will go and anytime we put her on she goes. I just need to figure out when she is mentally ready to potty train.
• Her hair is long enough for pigtails now! They are small pigtails, but still they are pigtails. She asks for me to make her hair "pretty".
• She also asks for pretty toes if her toes aren't painted.
• She is convinced that "Titanic" is about a bath. Always amusing when we watch it now.
• We finally can watch another show other than Doc McStuffins. She also likes Sofia the First now. However, Doc always trumps the princess.
• Char loves to play outside. She wants to play with a ball, color with chalk, run up and down the driveway. No matter what we are doing outside, she screams when we come in.
• She will eat anything we put in front of her, unless it is pureed green beans. I still keep packets on hand for snacks and easy dinners. And one night I tried to give her the green bean packet. All hell broke loose. She loves normal green beans, though.

And an update on our life as parents:

• I will do just about anything to help her feel better even if it means getting absolutely no sleep, because she is sick and needs to sleep sitting up in my arms. Yep, that happened at the end of January when she was diagnosed with RSV (her first real illness).
• I am exhausted. All the time. That means I am also too exhausted to think about more updates about us as parents, but you're really just reading for the updates on Charlotte anyways, right?

Thirteen, Fourteen, Fifteen Months…and Sixteen Months.

I had every intention of still updating monthly after Charlotte's first birthday, but chasing a walking running toddler around makes things even crazier (not to mention the holiday season being busy). But now that I have time to sit down (while Charlotte is napping and I am not napping with her for once), I will try and update on the last four months (!!!)…

• I have no idea how much Charlotte weighs or how tall she is, but I know she is growing. She must have gone through a growth spurt recently because she doesn't fit in the clothes she was wearing anymore.
• She has eight teeth now and is close to getting her first four molars, which has been fun hell for all of us.
• Charlotte became a big cousin in October. My sister had her second daughter, Abilene Mae. Char has taken to "Baby Abby" and often asks for her.
• She has quite the vocabulary these days. Some of her favorites are Santa (tan-ta), Jayhawk (jay-ha), Uh-oh, Baby, Shoes, Buh-bye, Hi (as loud as she can), and Doc (in reference to Doc McStuffins). She also is adding to her family members by with her version of grandma (sounds a lot like mama, but there is a small difference) and grandpa (man-pa). She is also working on saying please (tease) and thank you (tank you). She has many others. It amazes me how fast she picks up words and when she learns one she uses it over and over…and over.
• She is a dancing fool. Whenever Char hears music she dances. Whether it's a commercial on tv, a song in a movie, a song in a store…she stops and dances. She has some signature moves like a booty drop and jazz hands.
• There is nothing this girl won't eat. Anything we let her try, she will and she almost always follows with with "Mmm!". Drinking is a different story though. She only wants mama milk and water. We've tried whole milk (several times since she is supposed to drink it for the extra fat) and she throws her cups on the floor. And we've tried a little bit of diluted apple juice and she does not like it. I guess I should be happy she doesn't want juice and prefers water, but she is just one weird child.
• Charlotte is one of the most loving little girls. She will give hugs and kisses over and over. Sometimes she does it to try to avoid going to bed, but as cute as she is I usually cut her off after a few minutes.
• One of her new things is a love for baby dolls. It's part of why she is saying baby (however, her new cousin is the main reason). She will hold them, love of them, and give them kisses.
• We are slowly starting to potty train. She will go on the potty when we put her own and sometimes she runs into the bathroom to let us know. I am slowly gathering everything we need to potty train in full force so that when she is really ready, so are we.
• Charlotte has become a pretty good napper. She will take one solid nap in the afternoon. There are some days she won't nap at all because she slept in or there is just too much going on, but in general she has become a good napper.
• She also pretty much ALWAYS wakes up at 8:00am. It's like her internal alarm goes off and she just pops up and says "Mama? Mama. Maaaama."
• She experienced her second Christmas. It was so much fun this year since she was interactive. She opened most of her presents. She helped bake (and eat) cookies. However, Santa was a mess this year. Everyone has to have one screaming photo with Santa, right?
• And possibly one of the biggest moments in the last four months: Charlotte was baptized. She was baptized by the same priest that was at the hospital when I was born, baptized me, and took part in Bryan and my wedding ceremony.

And where to begin about the last four months as parents:

• I am really trying to unplug when I'm around Charlotte. I am attempting to not be on my phone as much around her and just be in the moment with her. I have always tried to be conscientious of my phone/computer use around her, but now that she is really picking up on things and will ask for my phone I want to try and limit it even more.
• I always wondered how stay-at-home moms passed the time with their kids once they became more mobile. However, I have now realized they don't have to pass the time. Chasing a toddler around and keeping her out of trouble takes up all of our time. And not only that but it is tiring exhausting. I am usually in bed an hour or two after Char goes to bed.
• I am still breastfeeding and Char shows no signs of weaning anytime soon, which makes me happy. I am happy to know we have made it 16 months and will be able to keep going for awhile.
• Bryan has been pitching in during the morning more. I don't mean for that to sound like it does. He has always pitched in, but now that Charlotte would much rather run around than be confined to her pack'n'play while I shower it is makes things hard. So there are some mornings when Bryan will take her to the playroom and I can shower without having to listen to Charlotte call for me. Those fifteen minutes of toddler-free time are amazing and it allows Bryan and Char to get some quality time in together.

And now for some (okay, several) pictures from the last four months: