18 Month Update

On Monday, we had Anabelle's 18 month check up. It was pretty much reminiscent of her 12 month check up. You know, crying in extreme terror as we walk up to the reception desk all the way through weighing, measurements and shots. Super fun stuff. Thankfully, she only had to tough it out through one shot. While she was crying post needle, I said, "Great job! High five, baby!" She gave me a weak high five (I didn't hold it against her) and the nurse said, "Can I get a high five too?" She gave him the meanest look, I swear daggers were going to fly across the room. I commended him for trying. Poor fella.
Stats: Height: 32 inches, Weight: 22 pounds, 7.5 ounces. She grew almost three inches and gained a couple of pounds from her twelve month check up. If I was a good mommy, I could give you exact numbers, but since I'm so disorganized, I can't find her last check up papers. 
Eating: Lately, her appetite has been all over the place. One day, she will have 2-3 servings, and ask for "mo, mo." Other days, she'll refuse lunch and decide to eat goldfish and cereal instead. Oh wait, that was Monday. Her obsession just a few months ago was raspberries, but now she's replaced that with eggs. And she loves nuts! We eat a lot of Kind Bars around here, and every time I open one, she thinks it's hers. And if it's a snack for dear old moms instead, there will be hell to pay. And by hell, I mean yelling and screaming. We are learning about sharing, so this is good practice. 
Sleeping: Still a rock solid sleeper. She has her mandibular canines (does that make me sound smart?) coming in, which have been waking her up in the middle of the night. I'll go into her room, comfort her and she'll fall right back to sleep. She has a strange affinity with tags. Tags on blankets, toys, stuffed animals, anything. She puts the tags up to her mouth, and sucks on her lower lip. She's never put the tag in her mouth, so I'm not sure what security/comfort that gives her, but she's been doing since she was about six months old. It's her thing, don't judge.
Learning: Further to her 16 month update, she also says:

• Neh (meaning no, her favorite)

• Bubbles

• Wa-wa for water

• Hap for help

• Eye

• Mo for more

• Tay-tay for thank you

• Bah for bad. She is always scolding the cats and telling them they are being "bah!" She's right 99% of the time. 

She says a lot of gibberish. We can have entire conversations together where she'll just ramble on and on, while I try to get a word in. She also tries to mimic me when I talk to her. It's hilarious.  
The only other sign she can do is "help." I've been really slacking on sign language, mostly because I want her to talk to me. We've been working on signing, "share" but since she doesn't care to share she's totally uninterested in learning it.
She can also make the animal sounds for sheep, birds and cows. She tries sounds for all other sorts of animals, but they all end up sounding like a baby bird.   Fun: She's still a total book lover. We went to the store the other day, and instead of waiting in the ridiculously long line, we sat in front of the book section and read books for a good 15-20 minutes. It was awesome. Why haven't I taken her to the library yet? I think subconsciously, I'm afraid she won't handle the quiet in the library very well. Does anyone take their toddlers to library yet? Please share your experiences with me. 
Since she had a fever after her shots, like she does every.single.time, we laid down on the floor and watched The Little Mermaid. She sat down and watched nearly the entire movie while munching on pistachios with me. This is the first movie that's she's actually sat still to watch. I even remembered all the words to the songs, and she didn't tell me to stop singing! That's a win in my book. 
While we were laying on the floor, she decided to climb on the couch sporting her best gear from our church and dive onto the pile of pillows on laid out on the floor. Repeat times 27. Over and over. I sat there with one eye on The Little Mermaid and the other on her. I even managed to snap some pictures of her dare devil act. Feel free to nominate me for mom of the year.

Other fun activities she enjoys regularly are eating dirt, eating soap, painting, chasing the cats, trying on my clothes, taking pictures by our infamous red brick wall and singing.

Obstacles: We're full force in the hitting phase right now. When she doesn't get her way or she's doesn't like something, she'll try to hit one of us, or whatever object that's in her way. When this happens, I get down on her level and tell her that hitting is not acceptable and it hurts. I'll also ask her what is wrong, and try to get her to explain (the best she can) on whatever is bothering her.
I though girls were more supposed to be more reserved and less likely to engage in dangerous activities like jump of the couch, bed or eat dirt? No? Is that just some silly rule I made up in my head? Either way, she's perfect in my mind :)
Tell me, what are your kiddos loving these days?