18 months: Biblical curse words are okay right?***

I haven't forgotten about Charlotte. Here's an update on our big-sister-to-be. This six months has gone by the fastest by far. The first six months of her life seemed like an entire lifetime.

Latest flower headband. The hair is finally coming in but there is still not enough to do anything with it- believe me I've tried.

18 month stats-

• 32.5 inches tall (75%)
• 23 lbs 4oz (35%)
• 18.25 Head (45%)

Marti this is my best attempt to get a picture by the counter. She really likes to run and grab the camera now so she was very upset I made her stand there. It's difficult to get pictures that aren't a blur now because she won't hold still.

Latest words-

She has been learning at least a few words a week lately. I can't believe how fast she is picking them up. She also likes to mimic now which she never did before. Here are a few of the ones I can remember.

• Ask- but without the k, it's a Biblical curse word so it's okay right? I'll admit I'm trying to get her to put that "k" on there. It's a little embarrassing during church when she yells "ask, ask" over and over when she wants something. This started when I told her to "ask nicely" instead of screaming.
• No
• Yes (es)
• Bath (baf)
• zune (it's like an ipod- she loves to look at pictures of herself)
• Jesus ('esus)
• Amen
• Juice
• Spoon
• Bowl
• Bed
• Night, Night
• Butterflies- ba-flies (used for butterflies and ceiling fans)
• La, la la (for Sesame Street or to brush her teeth with Elmo toothpaste)

New Baby Signs

I've stopped teaching her as many because I want her to learn the words but she's still learned a few new ones.

• Brush teeth
• Sad/Crying
• Hurt head
• Fold arms
• Cat
• Horse

Latest hobbies-

• Looking at pictures and watching videos of herself. She "asks" to do this all day long. She drags us to the computer room, points to the chair, then puts your hand on the mouse and says "baby, baby!"
• Climbing on the coffee table, couch, and dining chairs





• Running- I love her run- it has a little wiggle to it. It looks so happy!
• Going down slides. She has no fear- but I'm usually a little afraid watching her!

Groovin' in her tutu at the church family Valentine dance.

• Twirling in circles
• Kicking/throwing balls
• Putting bags or buckets on her arm, putting on my shoes, waving and saying "bye, bye". We really need to get her a back pack or purse.
• Pretending to be a dog by crawling and barking
• Also tries really hard to snort like a pig but she can't quite do it.
• Helping- she loves to help throw things away, grab things for me, put things in a drawer... she claps when she does something I asked her to do!
• Feeding herself better with a regular cup and spoon not just hands. I've been pushing this one since I think it will make it a little easier when I have 3 little ones and only 2 hands! It's hard to watch her be so messy and my floor and her clothes suffer.
• Eating a TON at breakfast, okay at lunch, not so great at dinner and and "asking" for snacks all day long. Really not too picky- but she definitely has a sweet tooth if you let her.

• Watching Sesame Street- every morning she says, "lalalala" trying to sing the Elmo song. She gets so excited when it comes on. It's the first TV show she actually watches and I'm okay with that.
• Actually walking (without the stroller) to the mailbox. She must hold the keys and she must carry at least one rock home with her.
• Holding onto our finger to drag us to what she wants.
• Reading her nursery rhyme book over and over and over. When she gets to the "Little Piggy" page she grabs her toes, when she finds the Pat-a-cake page she claps her hands etc. The book has like 200 pages- she totally remembers the page and knows the action that goes with it. I'll admit I'm pretty proud she does this. A few of her favorite short books she can also tell you what word is on the page. I know this is just memory but that's where they start- pretend reading. So exciting!
• Magazines- for some reason these are more fun than books. She's actually really good about not ripping them. She looks through our church magazines and points to Jesus and she will fold her arms and bow her head when she sees someone praying.
• Baby baby and more baby. I'm doing a whole post on this one later.

Sleeping Like ( better than she ever did as) a Baby
-8pm-8am or later!
-2-2.5 hour morning nap
-1-2 hour late afternoon/evening nap

All I can say is that it has been a huge blessing with how tired I have been. She is constantly on the move when she's awake though and some days she does only do one nap.

How fun is this dress she got for Christmas from her Uncle and Auntie! She gets so many complements every time she wears it. My favorite so far is, "That dress is so cute I think I'm gonna cry!" The best part is that it's 2T so she will be able to wear it for awhile yet!

There's something about knowing there are 2 babies on the way that really makes me enjoy how easy it is to have one. Every day she lets me sleep in, we go on outings really easily now, I get 2 breaks- life is pretty good. This age is fun! Now if only she could stop screaming when she doesn't get her way...

***I'm actually a major anti-cursor. I would substitute words for all my friends in junior high and high school. Most people just curse because they think it makes them sound cooler/more adult when really it does just the opposite. Okay, now I'll get off my soap-box.