18 Months

Each month I am amazed by how much Olivia has grown and learned from the last month. And it's pretty amazing how much we grow and learn right along with her. At 18 months, Olivia...

• can point to the following parts of her body when we name them: head, hair, ears, eyes, nose, cheeks, chin, neck, mouth, tongue, teeth, tummy, arm, hands, fingers, legs, knee, toes, and feet.
• jabbers all the time with so many sounds and syllables. 
• can say over 25 words: Mom, Dad, Ma (Grandma), Pa (Grandpa), Pop (Poppy), Nee (Nanny), Doo-doe (Pierco), Kate, Jesus, baby, please, thank you, yes, no, de-doe (here you go), nee (bunny), duck, mem-o (temple), mo (more), nana (banana), te (tree), mome (home), mone (phone), tay-toe (potato), hi, bye, boo, water, and meh (milk).
• knows nearly 100 signs and uses them consistently: mom, dad, Olivia, grandma, grandpa, nanny, poppy, Kate, Pierco, Lucy, boy, girl, teacher, kid, baby, Jesus, temple, please, thank you, sorry, hurt, cry, sad, yes, no, up, down, outside, grass, tree, leaf, flower, wind, rain, book, i-touch, ball, bike, car, boat, train, doll, home, more, all done, again, eat, water, milk, juice, cracker, bread, cheese, carrot, corn, fruit, grapes, pear, apple, peach, banana, meat, balloon, bubble, awake, sleep, blanket, diaper, poop, potty, bath, wash hands, brush teeth, shoes, music, listen, go, stop, come, hot, cold, dog, cat, horse, bird, pig, frog, sheep, fish, bear, monkey, and turtle.
• has taken up whispering. She turns our head so she can be close to our ear and then whispers away.
• has become quite the climber.
• can kick a ball.
• can use a fork.
• LOVES the water!
• can pack it away when it comes to eating! We think she must have a bottomless pit for a stomach.
• has 9 teeth, working on 10.
• went to Nursery for the first time. We've been looking forward to having her go because sitting and playing quietly in Sunday School just doesn't happen anymore and we knew she was ready. When the day finally came, though, I was having a hard time letting my baby go. But I tried to be brave and so did she. She did great for 20 minutes or so until she realized we weren't there and then she wasn't so sure she wanted to be there anymore, either. She cried until they brought her to us. Then we took her back and tried again. She cried for a couple minutes after we left but did just fine after that. It's going to take a few Sundays but I know she is going to love nursery!
• is already learning the alphabet. . .kinda.