18 Months! A Year and a Half!!

Wow! My little Lexi is a year and a half old now! It's hard to believe. You know, on one hand, I think of her and it's like she's been the same little girl all along. But then I look back and she has changed sooo much! I made a 2014 calender on Shutter Fly using her pictures from this past year, corresponding to what age she was on that month last year, and she was so tiny just one year ago. She really didn't get "big" until about 12-13 months. Like, that's when she crossed over from being an infant to a little girl, a baby to a toddler. Crazy!

Not a lot of smiles this month, but at least she let me takes some this time!

Well, Lexi had a huge milestone this month!! She's finally talking!!! She finally started to say real words about two of three weeks ago. Here is a list of her words so far:

Yuck /y

Yum /y

Yes

Duck /y

Car (ka)
Dog

Ball (ba)

By 

Wow (wawha)

Block (boc)

Drumm
Elmo (Em)

Pop (pawp)

She's getting so many and adding a new one pretty much every day or two! "Pop" was her new one today. Last week she got a drum as a gift and has been playing with it a lot. On Christmas she pointed to it from across the room and said "ma drumm"! It was very clear and everyone heard it. I was so proud that she's finally reached this milestone. 

Other milestones this month, Lexi has become an expert climber. She climbs all over the couches, stacks things to get up higher,  and scales the stairs like they're nothing. She loves to dance, and expects me to sing for her every time so she has something to dance to lol! She loves Daniel Tiger and Elmo (Netflix really needs to get the second season of DT going, because I know every episode of season 1 by heart!). She's getting better with the fork and spoon. If I walk away from the table she'll try to poke something herself, but if I'm sitting there with her she wants me to do it for her. I need to be better about saying no to simple requests like that. I know I'm not doing her any favors by babying her.

Lexi is up to 12 teeth now also. A third molar came in, top right, and her bottom left canine is through now. We are also down to BFing just two times a day now.

One thing that we really need to work on is Lexi's socialization. She's become such a Momma's girl and really seems uncomfortable in social situations. I take her to story time every Friday and ever since Halloween (she has a cold that week, so we didn't go that day) she's been awful there! All she wants to do is sit on my lap. She never wants to sit with the other kids or join in with them. When ever the teacher or one of the other kids comes up to her to say hello, she flips. She either puts her face in my chest and whimpers, or she flops and cries. Then after story time and we're reading books on our own, she might get a little adventurous and curious and want to explore, but she has to be holding my hand the whole time. She pulls me along where ever she wants to go. If I try to encourage her and say "Why don't you go and check it out by yourself? I'll be right here watching." or try to release my hand from her death grip, she plop on the floor and cries. And of course, we're in a library, so I need to keep her at least somewhat quiet. I don't know what to do with her sometimes and I feel like anything I try is the wrong thing. I'm starting to really not like taking her there because I know it won't go well, but I know avoidance won't solve the problem. I need to find more activities and kids for her to play with. It's hard finding IRL friends :(

Lexi got a lot of nice gift for Christmas. KJ and I got her a play kitchen from Ikea (where else!) with some accessories, a wooden train set (also Ikea), some Daniel Tiger toys, among other odds and ends. She also got some musical instruments, clothes (quickly moving into 24m already!), a doll with hair you can brush (she loves to brush hair! She's more interested in the puppy that came with the doll, though!), and a doll stroller. It was a really nice Christmas all around :)

Lots of Love,
KJsbabe