18 Months!

Oh, where does the time go?

Height:  32.5” (about 60th percentile)

Weight:  25lbs 2oz (about 75th percentile)
Weight to height ratio: about 80th percentile... What can I say? The girl likes to eat! Hopefully she will just naturally slim down in the next year or so.

Hair: It is still everyone's favorite talking point. It is a beautiful red - not too bright, but just enough that it is definitely red. Pigtails really seem to suit her and her school sends her home with her hair done almost every day, so when I try to do it she will usually stay still! We are trying to let it grow out, but did have to get it cut again recently just to clean it up.

Pretty Mia in her pigtails (and me)

Teeth: Teething doesn't seem to be bothering her as much lately, thank goodness! She has a lot of teeth in there, so hopefully we're done until the dreaded two year molars. I'm going to keep my fingers crossed that she will be easy like Nate and we will never even notice the molars until they are already in!

Eating: As I said earlier, she loves to eat! Her school always tells us how they love that she will eat basically anything they put in front of her. In fact, she will eat what they put in front of the other kids too (but not until she knows they're not going to).

One thing she can do on the boat is EAT!

Sleeping: Sleeping is great! She normally likes to wake up around 7:30, but this summer our whole family has been impacted with my four 10-hour day work weeks, so on the weekends she has been sleeping until 8:30! Trust me, that is bliss.

Talking: She has just kind of taken off with talking. For awhile she could only say mommy and daddy, and I'm sure that Nate basically answering everything for her did not help this problem. But all of a sudden she was saying a lot more and she will repeat almost anything we say. She can say Nate, out, boat, cheese, sit, Nana, strawberry (aw-erry), milk, eyes, nose, hi, bye and a few more. She can also do a few animal sounds. My favorite though is when she's wondering where something is, like a binky or a character in her favorite book. She will put her arms out in the universal sign for "I don't know", look at you and say "Go?!" I don't know why, I just think it's cute.

Reading: She has gained a love for reading over the last couple months. She will actually sit down and read a whole book with me or sit down and flip through some pages on her own. Her favorite books are Moo, Baa, La, La, La by Sandra Boynton (which was also Nate's favorite book at her age and we read it at least twice every night) and I Love You Through and Through by Bernadette Rossetti-Shustak (which was a book we got for Nate, though he never really seemed to like it). Of course, this makes me very happy.

BOOKS!

Shoes: The girl loves shoes. I'm not joking. She really loves them. She doesn't care about her clothes so much, but once she is dressed she wants to get down and go pick out her shoes for herself! And if she picks out a pair that doesn't really go with her outfit (her black Converse All-Stars for a frilly pink dress) she will go back and find a pair that really works. Actually, those black Converse All-Stars really seem to be her favorite. Luckily, thanks to Aunt Katie and cousin Kat, we have them for the next two sizes up!

I got up on this slide all by myself!

Activity: She still loves to move. Anything involving movement is fair game. She loves to dance; she loves to climb; she loves to run. When Nate was playing t-ball she really wanted to be part of the team and kept trying to join them on the field. Even when she's sitting (in a car or stroller) she's not happy unless she's moving. She has loved being in the water this summer whether in the pool, or at the lake at her grandparent's house. In fact, she thinks she can swim and really wants to do it on her own. The boat isn't her favorite, but mostly because she has to wear a bulky life vest which means she can't move as much as she wants to. So far, I'm thinking that she is going to be our little athlete.

Nate: As Mia is coming more and more into her personality, I am completely shocked at how different two kids from the same genes can be. Where Nate is generally calm, mellow and pretty willing to go with the flow, Mia is full of energy and has a force of will that is already making me dread those tween years. But, they have started to play more together- or at least Nate tries to play with her while she just plays near him. The most important thing is that the bedtime hugs still continue, and I don't even have to ask for them to happen every night. Some nights when Mia knows it is bedtime, she will just go into her brother's room with her arms wide open. And Nate will always give her a hug right back (though sometimes he keeps his eyes on his iPod). 

Two cool kids

Daddy and daughter time at the lake

Hanging out on the boat with Nana

She wasn't too sure about this when it got started, but quickly learned to love it. (It moves!)