My sweet little cheeseball is 18 months old tomorrow. A part of me thinks, ‘Well of course she is!’ but another part of me is like, ‘HOW HAS SHE SURVIVED A YEAR AND A HALF. OMG HAVE WE REALLY BEEN PARENTS THAT LONG? WHY IS SHE BOTH THE DEATH OF ME AND ALSO ABSOLUTELY PERFECT!?’

I think the latter is how I know I’ve been a parent for 18 months. Lol

I’m going back to the formula I used for her 3/6/9/12 month posts. And looking back at those… WOW so much has changed. As expected, of course.

Nicknames: Moo, Noodle, Poodle, Moo Poo

Stats: She was just over 26 lbs. at our ear infection visit this week (84th percentile). I’m not sure on height- I will update that after her wellness visit.

Likes: Holding my hand, Mickey Mouse, torturing the dogs (we discourage this), playing outside, playing on the steps, daycare, eating, and getting tickled/tickling her dad and me.

Dislikes: Timeouts (for torturing dogs), having the snot cleared from her nose, when I walk away from her, being denied food for any reason (including the fact that it’s not cooked or cooled or prepped yet), and loud, sudden noises.

Sleeping: On a good night M goes down around 7pm and wakes up around 7am. She takes a 2 or 3 hour nap around lunchtime. But she still sometimes wakes up around 12 or 1am and needs to be held for an hour or so. I blame it on 18mn regression and the ear infections that won’t quit and her new clinginess.

Eating: Dang near everything. She used to reject fresh fruits and veggies but since we started at daycare she’s been good with just about anything. M loves snacking because she’s her mother’s daughter. LOL

Development: I love her brain. She’s so clever and ornery. It will probably bite me in the butt someday, but she’s incredible. Physically, M can walk and run, dance and jump. She climbs on EVERYTHING and is so fearless. We have the bruises and skinned knees to prove it. (K swears she’s going to give him an actual heart attack one of these days.)
M says a few words and will repeat things back like a parrot. She can identify almost all her body part, makes several animals sounds, easily identifies friends and family when you ask her to point them out, and will spend several minutes examining a new item or toy to figure out how it works.
She has such a busy brain and I can tell she learns by watching. She also seems more logical and less creative- which surprises me!

Personality: Moo is the funniest person she knows. She’s a little shy, but she’ll wave to anyone. (High fives and snugs (hugs) are reserved for those closest to her.) She’s still relatively quiet in public and then super chatty once we’re in private. It cracks me up.
She is skeptical of new things. She loves greeting her dogs in the morning. She is a creature of habit and will answer yes or no to questions. She’s very sweet but also very mischievous. She is queen of the side eye and knows how to make that innocent puppy dog face right before or after she misbehaves.

Travel: We took M to the NASCAR races in Bristol, TN. We stayed in the camper and my parents came along, too. She did SO well in the car. We’ve done a few camping trips since then, but nothing long distance. We have a family trip later this summer and I’m hoping to head down to Tampa with M to visit my bff.
We’ve just started taking M to restaurants again and she does so well. I’m glad COVID didn’t cause too much damage as far as behaving in public goes. She also went to her first wedding! M is a people watcher so as long as there are people around, she’s entertained.

Mom’s Summary: Being a mom is tough sometimes, but it’s the most natural thing in the world now to be M’s mom. (17 months and 3 weeks ago I would have been singing a different tune- hold on, new mamas. It gets better!) I have never been a “kid person” but spending time with M is the best. I’m sad when we’re apart- even when one or both of us need the break. It’s a unique feeling to be someone’s favorite person in the entire world- their home, their safe space, their comfort object. The dependency is stifling sometimes, but I know it won’t last forever and it’s perfectly normal. I am really enjoying this stage with Moo, even with the occasional temper tantrum.

I cannot believe that my next official M update will be her second birthday. What the hell is happening and where did my squishy newborn go? 😭😭😭 Sigh.