18-Month Update

Dear Lila,

When we meet up with friends whom we haven't seen in awhile, they usually say one of two things about you: "She looks just like her dad" (which you do) and "Wow, she is so big" (which you are!). You just turned 18 months old but you are already 27 pounds and 32.5 inches tall. You're currently wearing size 5 diapers; the largest size your brother wore before he switched to underwear at age 3 was size 4, so you've already surpassed him!

Obviously, one of the reasons you are growing so fast is that you are an excellent eater. Pulled pork, quinoa, grilled eggplant, roasted seaweed, stewed chickpeas--you love and eat it all. In fact, when you see food and want some, you come at me with your mouth open as wide as you can get it, which cracks me up!

Your favorite foods are pasta and bread (of course, who doesn't love carbs?), cheese and yogurt-covered raisins. Among the few things that you do not like are sweet potatoes and cottage cheese--and recently, you also do not like sitting in your high chair. Now that you are such a big girl, you like to sit in a regular chair at the dining table with the rest of us. And you are already so good at feeding yourself with utensils.

Here are some other things about you now that you are a year-and-a-half:

-You are walking so confidently but still get nervous from time to time when we are out, like at the playground, and reach out for me to hold your hand. You grip my hand so tightly sometimes and I like that you still need me :)

-You babble all the time but are not saying very many real words. You say mama (but usually only when you are hungry and want me to give you food), sui sui (Chinese for water) and whoa whoa (when you see a puppy or I ask you what a puppy says).

-You do understand a lot, though, and follow my instructions when I ask you to do things like pick up your books or put your clothes in your hamper.

-When I ask you what a lion, dragon, tiger or Cookie Monster say, you make a low growling sound. So cute!

-You love to look at books and can sit for long stretches and quietly flip through them. You especially like The Monster at the End of This Book, anything by Sandra Boynton and lift-the-flap books. I especially like it when you pick a book, plop down in my lap, wriggle around until you are comfortable and listen intently while I read it to you.

-You have also inherently learned to love shoes and accessories. Before we leave the house, you always point to your shoes to make sure I don't forget to put them on for you. Every time we go to Barnes & Noble, you head straight for the backpack display, pick up the bee-shaped backpack, put it on and insist on wearing it the entire time we're in the store. And when I bought you your first bracelet in the Bahamas and put it on your wrist, you kept "oohing" and holding it out for Daddy to see.

-Sometimes you walk around with your hands on your back, like a little old Chinese lady.

-You love listening to music and dancing. And you look so cute when you dance, with the way you bob your head, sway from side to side, turn around in circles and excitedly wave your hands up and down.

-When you are happy to see me, you come barreling toward me, throw your arms around my legs and hug them tightly. It makes me feel awesome every single time!

-You do all of the appropriate hand gestures when we sing "Itsy Bitsy Spider and" "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" and point to the correct body parts when we sing "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes." You can also correctly identify your tongue, cheeks and belly button.

-You are such a good girl when it comes to taking medicine or getting shots at the doctor's office. You handle it like a champ and barely wince or cry.

-Not so with brushing your teeth, however, as I have to pin you down and shove the toothbrush in your mouth while you scream and cry and try to bat it away.

-You are so smiley and giggly with me, Daddy and your brother when we are at home but if someone comes over or we go out, you become completely stone-faced and emotionless. No one can get you to smile or laugh no matter how hard they try. Your pediatrician says you should play poker. Or become a spy.

Uncle Dennis tried so hard to make you smile. He did not succeed.

Love,
Mom