A Growing Family: MORGAN 18 MONTH

18 MONTHS

Morgan is a busy toddler who is full of life and loving almost every minute of the day. First thing in the morning she is looking for her baby sister. Morgan calls Cameron 'Baby' for now but we are working on getting her to say Cameron. She is trying to say new words everyday and is gaining a good vocabulary for an 18 month old. Her favorite words are Yeah, No, and Baby. Sometimes we hear her having a conversation with her bunny. The conversation goes like this...Yeah, Yeah, No? No, Yeah....Ha Ha Ha...Yeah, No? I wish I could record her conversations. She has become very attached to her bunny which is ok with us because she no longer uses a pacifier. The bunny goes with her when she is going to be apart from me but other than that it stays at the house (MMO, Nursery, YMCA...). It also helps to make dinners out more enjoyable so we usually take bunny along or one of her dolls. She fills her playtime with her dolls or with sorting things. Yesterday she played with a cup of hair clips and a bottle for most of the afternoon...sorting the clips from the cup to the bottle and back. She is still picky with what she eats so we try to be very careful with offering only healthy choices. She loves dairy (yogurt, cheese, milk...) and fruit (bananas, apples, strawberries, oranges, grapes). I say she is fruitdairian. She will eat pasta, chicken, and ham...if she is starving. There are days she only eats a banana and a few crackers and then other days she doesn't stop going to the kitchen and asking for more food. She is getting better with a spoon; however, she usually gives up and just starts using her fingers to scoop the food into her mouth. We are working on this, but it's been a slow, frustrating battle. She is doing really well with being dropped off which makes my life so much easier. I can do a 2 hour workout at the YMCA and know that she is having fun too. The YMCA hosted a parents' night out, and Morgan was able to go have fun with other kids while we enjoyed an evening without baby dolls and frustration at a restaurant. There are some really nice playgrounds in Savannah. Some days she only wants to swing and then other days she just wants to climb on the play ground equipment. She went down the big slide the other day by herself! I am trying to read more to her everyday and make her sit still while I read the shorter books. I never enjoyed reading so it is hard for me to 'force' this on her, but I am trying to 'encourage' her to love reading and work on her ability to sit and focus on something. She has been sick off and on since Cameron was born so the past few months have been hard to establish new routines and new parameters. That being said...we have had to increase the amount of discipline so that bad habits don't get formed just because she is sick. The main things that require discipline are...being rough with Cameron, dropping food off her tray, whining, and screaming (it is usually more of a happy squeal). She had two ear infections, a cold, and a stomach bug that caused a really bad diaper rash. She is getting over the cold now and hopefully will stay healthy for awhile.

Her 18 month check-up went well and she is meeting or exceeding her milestones. She is 31.25 inches tall (50%) and weighs 22.5 pounds (20%). Her head circumference is 47.5 cm. She has always been lower in the weight percentiles but she has good muscle build so we are not worried. She is now needing 18 month clothes and warm weather clothes so I HAD to go shopping! I got her some really cute outfits that were brand new at a consignment shop so at least I didn't have to pay a fortune for her clothes. She is running, climbing, and trying to jump. Her understandable words are: MaMa, DaDa, Grammy, Papa, Baby, Elmo, More, Up, Down, All Done, Open, Yeah, No, bunny, WaWa (for 'water' and any thing she 'wants'), book, bubble, Hi, Bye, Eyes, Nose, and Toes. She does sign language for please, down, all done, eat, and more. She can consistenly point to her eyes, nose, ears, head, chin, tongue, mouth, toes, and belly button. Her favorite songs are Ring Around the Rosie, Head-Shoulders-Knee-and Toes, and Twinkle-Twinkle Little Star. She still enjoys being rocked before bed and is getting much better about napping (she took a 3.5 hour nap and I couldn't stop checking on her). She loves her bath time but hates with a scream and an all out cry to have her teeth brushed. We love how much she smiles and laughs and pray she will always be happy, healthy, and full of energy.