Eighteen Months Old

This month has been the month of talking! Pearl has learned a ton of new words. Along with plain old vocabulary, she's got some more abstract verbal concepts down and is forming her words into sentences. I can hold a mini-conversation with her, so long is the subject is about her needs and wants! She'll say "No more milkies." or "Want more pictures." and will answer me yes and no about things - though no is by far her favorite answer! We've been hearing it a lot around here.

The new words/phrases I've managed to remember this month:

Hello
Supper
Car
Bear
Truck
Monkey (and "ooo ooo ahhh ahhh")
Ali
Geoff
Shirt
Diaper
Uh huh (with a big nod!)
No
Moo
Yes
Tweet Tweet
Dinosaurs
Peepee
Poop
Girl
Boy
Bubbles
It's not..
Octopus ("Ockpahs!")
Elephant ("Efffant"
I don't know
Peas
Mice
Sip
Sippy
Cup
Moon
More
Chair
Table
Poke
Sleepin'
Hat
Head
Nose
Park
Play
Banana
Please
Slide


Note the inclusion of peepee and poop in the above list! She is able to verbalize about elimination now before, during, and after the act, and this has really boosted our success with pottying. In fact for the first time on Thanksgiving Day she said, "Peepee!" and sat down on the potty, then peed! I did have to turn her around though, as she sat on it sideways, but I bet she would have peed on it anyhow. So that was exciting.



With the addition of No to her lexicon, she is definitely feeling empowered and asserting her will. The fit-throwing is as yet at a minimum, generally only happening when she is tired or hungry. Otherwise she goes along willingly with my countering "Yes." She has had a few meltdowns, like when I didn't let her watch her beloved kitty video for the sixteenth time in a row...

She has gotten around to being fascinated by telephones, and anything handy becomes one as she holds it up to her ear and says, "Hello?": the cat's tail, a thermometer, her shoe... it's funny and terribly cute.

Pearl loves her same-aged cousin so much! Whenever they get together she follows her around faithfully, which is simply adorable but would work out better if her cousin didn't have such a penchant for getting into trouble!



For the past few days she has been sleeping until 8:3o or 9:00! 9:00!!! I don't know why - the later dawn, the curtains we hung finally having an effect, Daddy not getting up so early, her eleventh tooth popping through, who knows, who cares! We're sleeping in past sunrise! It's awesome, after weeks of rough sleep. Napping isn't going quite so smoothly, but ah well.



Pearl is at an age where she wants to mimic doing everything we do, and as such she likes to hang out with me while I do chores and help with them. She hands me clothespins when we hang laundry, and clothes hangers as we put it away. She's very interested in the dishwasher as well and loves to hand me stuff from it and toss stuff into the top rack. Toting the silverware basket around the kitchen is a favorite activity, as is putting my purse around her neck and taking it off again. The day after her father rearranged the living room, I saw her leaning against the sofa trying to push it, grunting.

One day as her Daddy was leaving for work, I looked away after giving him a goodbye kiss to see her standing next to me where I sat, eyes closed, head leaned back, lips puckered up, all ready for her kiss. It was very sweet.



I am really loving this age. Pearl is at a point where she is very expressive physically/verbally, but is not yet much inhibited by what the world thinks she should or should not do: she seems so very much herself. It is wonderful.