Lexi at 19 Months

Lexi, it's been another month.  And you are becoming such a big girl.  You are such a GOOD girl too.  Here are the milestones you hit this month.

This was a big one.  We finally turned your car seat around to facing forward.  Doctors are divided about whether you should face the rear for one year or two years.  It's a safety issue in case we were involved in a car accident, so we have tried to hold out for as long as possible to rear facing.  But we turned you around this month because your legs are so long now that they were jammed up against the back of the seat.  You look much more comfy facing forward, although you seem to be just as happy either way.  It is so nice though to turn to the back seat and actually see your pretty little face.

The little "strawberry" on your tummy is almost gone now.  You weren't born with it.  It sort of started appearing when you were a few months old.  The doc told us it was just a cluster of blood vessels close to the surface of the skin and would fade over time.  Well, the time has come.  It's a little sad really.  You are growing up, my dear.  But thankfully, you still have a cute little birthmark on your bottom.  You WERE born with that, and methinks it will always be there.

You are playing more independently now.  That has only happened recently, but we've noticed a big difference there.  You are content to sit in a pile of toys and books and entertain yourself for a while. 

You read your books back to me now.  It amazing the number of words you know and how you can point things out in your books correctly.  We literally JUST got you a new Christmas book that we've only read a few times, and you are already pointing out and saying things like "myrrh".  WHAT?!?!?

Lexi, you stayed with your Grammie and Pa Pa for the first time while we were away for the weekend in Las Vegas earlier this month.  Of course, you did great!  We missed you like crazy, but we chatted with you on Facetime and got regular phone and photo updates of your fun weekend. 

You had your 18 month check up early this month.  You got your last immunization as well as your flu shot.  Of course, we had a wonderful report from the doc.  You are still in the 90 percentile for height and 70 percentile for weight.  She also noted that all of your talking and words is far more than what most children your age do.  It's usually an early marker for future learning.

We also visited Santa this month.  Your Daddy and I were certain that this would be the year for the "crying baby" photo.  Most kids your age have a case of stranger danger and don't really like Santa very much.  While you didn't cry, you were a little fussy with old Santa.  But you were adorable and Santa was really good with you too.   

We attended toddler time at the library for the first time this month.  It was very interactive and so were you.  We will definitely be adding that to our weekly rotation.

You love playing with your stroller and toy kitchen set, a much more imaginative type of play that is common for babies at this age. 

Of course, you still ADORE Mickey Mouse Clubhouse; I cannot stress this enough.  You are starting to distinguish between Mickey and Minnie now.  You actually say "Mickey Mouse".  And you say "hot dog" when you do the hot dog dance.  You repeat things they say like "gosh", "hot dog", and of course, all the character names.  You really like Chip and Dale too. 

You also know your shapes and colors now.  REALLY WELL!  You practice them all the time, and I'm still amazed at how right you get them.  You even know odd shapes like "squiggle" and "crescent".  Next up is numbers.  This all seems a little advanced to me for a baby only 1.5 years old, but you have an amazing capacity for learning.  You also know your animals and lots of animal sounds!  In fact your Grammie taught you how to answer the question "how old are you?" just this month.  You now proudly declare you are "ONE!" and point those little index fingers high in the air.  That took less than a couple minutes for you to master.  Oh Lexi. 

You are wearing 18-24 month clothes and pajamas, size 4 diapers, and size 5 shoes. 

You put your water cups on a coaster on the side table when you are finished using them.  (You've been doing this for a while, but I've not mentioned it before.)

You don't really care for open cabinets, drawers, and doors.  When you see one open, you close it, and then declare it closed.  End of story.

You are also speaking in 2 and 3 word sentences now.  Lots and lots of new words every day.  You repeat almost everything.  Oh, and you know how to say your name now.  I can't remember if that happened this month or last but it's fairly recent.  So now when you see pictures of yourself, you point and say Lexi.  You also include yourself in your little lists of people you know: "Mama, Da Da, Sis, Lexi tooo!"

As I try to type this, you have ahold to the mouse.  You are also fascinated with videos and photos on the IPad and computer.

We also put up the Christmas tree and decorations this month.  I was so sure that you would be into everything because you are so very curious.  But you seem to have proven me wrong.  You have really just accepted it as part of the landscape.  No pulling ornaments off or tipping over the tree.  You good little girl, you.

Your hair is long now.  It's also curly so it appears shorter than it really is.  But when it's wet it's well down past your shoulders.  Most days, you wear it in pigtails (with a large bow) but we still leave it down sometimes, also with a large bow.  You pretty much wear a bow around the clock (unless you are sleeping).  Oh, and that hair is redder than ever, like a copper penny in the sunlight.  EVERYONE comments on it. 

You answer "no" to almost everything you are asked.  I know you know exactly what "no" means, but now we need to work on "yes"!

You rarely, if ever, cry- such a happy happy baby.  Lexi, you are joy.  You make life so much better.  I can barely remember a time before you were here.