18 Months

What an amazing and challenging 18 months for sweet our sweet Harper. Oh we all love you so.
She is funny, witty, independent, opinionated, loving, sneaky, fast as lighting and best of all, a fireball.
The husband and I seriously can not believe that 18 months ago, our little bleach blonde 5 pound baby was born.
Oh Harper, you sure know how to keep everyone on their toes.
You love Hailey Grace so much.
Slowly but surely, you are out growing the need to be with mamma every second of every day phase.
It is bitter sweet of course.
Expect for the last few days. We left you in the nursery at Church on Sunday for the first time.
You did great and only shed a few tears when you would get bored with a toy.
This week, we plan to try a new place for a few hours.
Your vocabulary is always surprising.
At your one year check up, we were actually worried.
Now, yeah not so much.

Big words for your 18 month old mouth
Uh Oh Spaghetti O's.
Swimming pool.
Tick Tock Clock.
Elephant.
Alligator.
Outside.
Mickey Mouse.
chicken chicken aka Chick Fil A.


The rest of your day to day words form as expected. You can communicate well with what you want.
Animal sounds, you mastered those a month or so ago. Pigs still give you trouble and you want them to moo when we say oink. Yep, that doesn't always make you happy.

You love anything with sparkles or bling, animals, baby dolls, Elmo, Minnie and Mickey, Strawberry Shortcake, Dora but yet you won't watch tv unless in the car. Silly girl. Oh and Ariel and the Princesses. You love the song 'All abroad th Choo choo train, all aboard the choo choo train'. The whole house stops and dances with you when it comes on. The smile you shed is amazing.

You love babies and other toddlers. Everyone under the age of two is a baby to you. When you say big girls, they must be HG's size even though we are trying to talk you into believing that YOU are a big girl. I put you to sleep every night. Whether I rock, sing, cuddle or let you cry for a moment then cuddle, I cheerish those times. You won't be small for long and we will miss it. Eating, that is still a task with you. Breakfast is a great meal and you would eat it three times a day. Pancakes, waffles, granola, breakfast bars, yogurt, raisins and chicken minis are all your favorites. Lunch and dinner are hit or miss. Spaghetti, chicken nuggets, purred corn with rice, mixed veggies that are purred, sometimes a  tortilla with cheese. Purple grapes, blueberries, strawberries,  blackberries and any freeze dried fruit is your favorite. Oh the mess it can create.You still have texture issues and dairy issues. I keep trying yogurt and it keeps coming back up but you love it. You are still on Lactose free milk and will try regular whole milk sometime soon. More than likely, you will be on the lactose free until older.  Anything chunky, slimy or diced, you act like it is killing you.  Amazingly, you can put away a four piece nugget from Chick Fila in a mere 3 minutes. Mashed potatoes are your enemy. Always choking for some reason. Mac n cheese, yeah you think it is killing you too. Seriously, kids not liking that?

You and HG are a like in many ways and so different in others.

Our love for you is incredible, indescribable. God has an amazing plan for your future and we are incredibly lucky to be part of it.