Boy, have things changed in the last six months. Charlotte is no longer breastfed, can get on and off the couch with ease, makes an impressive attempt at counting up to 10, and her new best friend is our seven-pound chihuahua named Mila, who Charlotte affectionately calls "Mimi." This kid couldn't get any sweeter.
Over the past few months, I have accumulated more freelance work in addition to taking some online college courses, which are the reasons I have not been making this blog a priority. However, today is a very important day to me—my sweet girl has turned 18 months old!
Talking. Oh my words! Charlotte likes to say the names of some of her favorite people. She often talks about "Dada, Ma (grandma), Papa (grandpa) and Nanny (Natalie), Coco (Cody)," even when they're not around. Some of Charlotte's favorite words are, "Mama, this, see, shoe, two, eat and yeah."
Reading. Although she is quite the independent and busy girl, recently Charlotte started to ask for me to read a book by bringing the book to me and asking, "This?" She will sit on my lap and turn the pages while I read the book to her at least 15 times in a row. Then, before I know it, she's off again getting into trouble or grabbing another book.
Climbing. Charlotte is not just climbing up anything and everything in her path, she is climbing onto and gets as high up as she can. She'll try to climb up her shelves, the outside of her crib, completely up the couch, onto the dining room chairs and then onto the table . . . as well as trying to climb people. Taking her to the park and letting her climb on the jungle gym is always a good time.
Learning. Toddlers can be quick learners! It only took me minutes to teach Charlotte where her nose, eyes, mouth and ears are. On top of that, I'm trying to teach her about colors, letters, numbers and counting. Everything is a learning experience with a toddler, and I notice how many of my mannerisms she has picked up.
Schedule. My silly little goose has had a pretty set schedule for a while now, and it hasn't deterred much from the schedule I shared in her One Year Milestones post, except now she's down to one nap a day, between 11a.m. and 1p.m. Also, she sleeps through the night often, but not every night.
Playing. Charlotte loves to play with her toys, she loves to play in the water (even the ocean waves), and she does a lot of imaginative play from cooking at her kitchen set to talking to Papa or Dada on the pretend phone.
Being a parent is such a unique experience, and I love Charlotte more and more every day. Happy 18 months busy girl!
