18 Months Old!

Yes, that is our child...sitting in a strainer...she did this all on her own I want you to know!

Our baby is 18 months old today. She continues to be quite the little talker, and is speaking more in sentences and short phrases than just individual words. She has recently begun singing her ABC's-some of the letters are omitted but she's got it down pretty good. Grandma introduced her to a Disney sing a long of "Bippity Boppity Boo" from Cinderella, so she requests that OFTEN. (It's chapter 17 on the DVD in case you needed to know) She still is a great eater and has cut way back on feeding Bailey from her high chair. Lately she entertains herself by running and falling on the floor, or by "hiding" under the pillows on the couch. Bubbles have also become one of her infatuations-she LOVES chasing them and popping them. Mike and I just got a little hippo that blows bubbles when you squeeze the handle, which is great since apparently we are now too lazy to dip the wand in and blow our own oxygen. Another huge milestone for us (and I hope I am not jinxing it by writing it down) is that Carina has been going to bed without a fuss. We have had the same bedtime routine forever, and still she would always cry before falling asleep. Now after goodnight kisses and sweet dreams, she goes to sleep peacefully. I cannot express enough how incredible this is for us. If only she would sleep past 5 am and wake up without crying...sigh...all in good time I suppose. She also threw what I am considering her first full blown tantrum the other day. We were playing out in the front yard, and she kept trying to run into the street. After several warnings and physical relocations, I deemed playtime outside over and took her inside. She proceeded to cry and roll around on the floor for a while. In a sadistic way it was actually kind of funny, but when she had calmed down I told her simply that we play on the sidewalk or the grass, not in the street. Mommy's job is to keep you safe, blah blah blah...I kept it short and life moved on. I don't know if sunk in or if I handled it effectively, but we were both pretty exhausted afterwards! She is such an amazing little person and I know there will be many more fits down the road, but we love her to pieces and we will all figure things out together as a family. Happy 18 month birthday Bean! We love you sooooooo much!