18 Months

Can someone please explain how they go from this...

(8 months)

To this...

(18 months)

...In the blink of an eye?

Contessa turned 18 months on the first of this month. But we had her well child appointment today. She's doing everything she should be. Weighing in at 25lbs (65%) and measuring 32.5 inches tall (also 65%).

But these are the things about her that I never want to forget:

She is a good sleeper but doesn't require a lot...she's like Avery in that department.

Naps for 1.5-2 hours in the afternoon. She goes to bed at 7:30-8 pm and gets up about 6:30 am. But after a little drink of milk and a diaper change she goes back to sleep until 8:30 or 9. Which is WONDERFUL.

She loves to eat and will eat just about anything...but no crackers or cookies...weird. She likes cheese better than anything.

When she is hungry she brings me the toaster. I love that. I never want to forget her little body waddling over to me with the toaster.

She is stubborn! Much more strong willed and independent at this age than any of our other kids were. When she is mad...watch out! And she insists on doing everything on her own. And I mean insists.

She adores Lauren and has her wrapped around her finger. Every morning the first thing she says is, "Bo-bo?"

She is usually frustrated by Avery because Avery touches and hugs her too much. But when Lauren isnt around she accepts Avery readily!

She tolerates Sullivan and loves to wrestle and torture him.

She doesnt play with toys, except for dolls. But she can play for hours with measuring cups, tupperware, pens and lids, shoes, scarves and the stairs.

She is into everything. The three older kids NEVER messed with my kitchen cupboards. Tess is constantly in them. She also likes to get into the toilet and the entertainment unit. She likes to put DVD's in the VCR. Yeah, we love that.

She loves her daddy like only a little girl can. When she hears the front door rattle she goes running, screaming, DADDY!

She has a very large and growing vocabulary. She says Avery and Sully's names almost perfectly but still calls Lauren 'Bo-bo'. My favorite phrase is 'mere...for come here. My least favorite is 'Done'...which she says constantly while riding in the car, or when she is done with a meal and she gives us her warning shout of 'Done!' and then throws her plate on the floor!

She loves animals more than anything and gets very excited to see them, pet them, lay on them, lick them, bite them ect. She loves Uncle Jordan's dog, Laney.

She is an awesome cuddler. My 3 older kids stopped letting me rock them to sleep at about 3 months of age. Tess still lets me do that. And I love it. She loves for me to sing to her.

She loves to dance and the poor thing has Sullivan's moves!

She loves the nursery at church and being around other kids. She loves cousin Adele and says her name in the cutest pitch.

She is a terror at the library. She refuses to stay in the 'kid' area with me. She runs everywhere and I end up chasing her around.

She loves to be the center of attention and to have people laugh at her. She'll do anything for a laugh. She doesn't get embarrassed but she has this sheepish grin when she gets in trouble that is the exact same one that Avery has.

Her hair is bad...but with a bow it ends up being pretty cute!

She folds her hands and bows her head when we pray. And she wants her turn to pray to. She says Jesus and Amen and then claps and looks around for us to applaud as well.

Contessa what did we do before you?

You are the spark of our family right now and we all adore you.