Sunday, August 18, 2013

18 months

18 months ago...

I held a chubby, pink little baby in my arms and didn't want to let go.

We learned that having a daughter was sweeter than we imagined.

We didn't know what our future would hold--where we would move after Jonathan graduated in May, or what it would be like to have a newborn in the midst of moving to who knows where...

18 months ago,

We didn't care.




Somehow having a newborn baby puts things into perspective- makes you think a little less about what isn't perfect in life and a lot more about what is. Baby Charlotte put life in perspective for us and gave us a new wave of joy that we so desperately needed. We still had our other stresses, but witnessing the beauty of our new babe and the sweet, sweet gift that she was helped us to see that the Lord has many blessings to give.


Now 18 months later, she still brings so much light and happiness to our world! Talmage totally loves her, too.. and they've become best friends :) I cannot imagine having one without the other. They are two peas in a pod. When teething and tantrums are amidst, one cheers the other one up.

18 months old means nursery. Thankfully she's okay with it, and has made some new friends in there. I asked that she and Talmage be put in separate nurseries, and that must have sounded weird since most parents would want their kids together. But I know they would only cling to each other! This way C can socialize with kids closer to her age and have her own play space for a few hours each week.

Some other developements:

*can say: no, ball, baby, please (peeease), thankyou (taank-oo), apple (bapple), yeah, yay, uh-uh, banana (na-na), momma, dadda, shoe, boo, hi, bye-bye, night-night, up, okay, eww, uh-oh...I'm sure I'm forgetting some, it's like a word a day now.

*continues to sign, and I'm so glad she does. I wouldn't know what she was trying to say most of the time otherwise!

*uses fork and spoon, and gets food on there about 30% of the time ;)

*puts toys and books away when asked. it is so nice.

*points to nose, eyes, ears, mouth, hair, and bellybutton!

*walks over to her highchair and hands me her bib when she's hungry. shakes her head no at food she doesn't want to eat (that one is frustrating haha..)

*goes and gets her shoes when I tell her we're going "bye-bye", then plops on the ground so I can put them on her feet.

*lays tummy-down in the bath tub and gurgles the water. as the water gets higher she sits up and drinks it from the spout, then spits it at her brother's face :D

*continues to climb everything in sight. thankfully not out of the crib yet, but she did fall out of it once with Talmage's "help"...

*LOVES her naps. seriously, she practically leads the way when 11:30 rolls around. I give her a binkie and her favorite stuffed animals and she is OUT. this girl never misses her nap.

*has to hold my hand as we walk out the front door. but a few steps further and she's fine with letting go :(

*hates: when I catch her with my phone and take it away, the noise of the vacuum and food chopper, small creatures that aren't dogs, wearing her bathing suit, most vegetables, and water in her face.

*new likes: sliding down the end of the tub, stealing fruit or cookies from the table, standing on the windowsill and giving me a heart attack, dancing {finally}, and picking out her own outfits.

I still love to dress her up, love to do her hair and feel her little curls through my fingers, love to take loads of pictures of her big blue eyes and sweet toothy grin. I adore this girly more than I can express!























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