18 Months

On Monday our sweet and silly Lilly turned 18 months old. Lord I don't know how that is even possible! Anyway, Lilly-Doodle--what have you been up to? Well, I think the easier question to answer would be, "what haven't you been up to?" Haha! You are into everything. I mean I can NOT get any rest! Yesterday before we left the house to meet Daddy for lunch (BEFORE NOON in other words), here are just a few of the things you did:

• Found a box of tampons. Emptied the box out. Unwrapped several "items". When I checked on you, you were chewing on one, playing with several, and yet still admiring the rest of your "collection". Nice. (That was sarcasm for anyone that wasn't sure. Ha.) You were very clever to because you were doing all of this with your toys so even though I was looking at you from the kitchen, I didn't notice WHAT you were playing with.
• WARNING--this is GROSS. Put your hands in the toilet while there was pee in it. (She is faster than you think--I was trying to flush and just didn't catch her faster-than-lightening hands. She just stuck her hand in there and grabbed the nasty toilet paper.
• After I washed your hands, while I was cleaning up the mess that you managed to sling everywhere, you managed to grab the toilet paper roll and unravel a good chunk of it in a matter of 2 seconds because I was reaching for it as soon as you got it.
• While I was showering, you got out the overnight bag that I keep packed and UNpacked it.
• Then, you also managed to clean out all of the books off of your shelf, get out all of your toys, strung out clothes (your new thing is cleaning out your closet), and feed Tank half of your breakfast. Again, this wasn't all of it and this was BEFORE noon. Although this was a little crazier than normal--it isn't that far off. You are one BUSY bee, but I wouldn't have it any other way. I might add the skill of "cleaning up" to it, but I wouldn't change your business. (:
• You are LOVING the church nursery 95% of the time. That makes it so much easier for us to leave you. We had been couped up for a couple of days and I dropped you off in the nursery and you took off and didn't look back--I think you were ready for a little break from Mommy. Ha. You get so excited when we pick you up--this is one of my simple pleasures in life!!
• You also LOVE all furniture your size. You are just so happy when something is your size. You were pretty excited about the step stool in the above picture, too, so it really doesn't even have to be furniture.
• You really like going to the park! Monday we went to our first Baby Bookworm story time at the library. Then, afterward we went to the park to play for a little while. That is where all of these pictures were taken from.
• You are not the best eater sweet girl. Oh sure, you will eat chicken nuggets, fries, and cookies like they are going out of style! You will also eat cheese, apples, yogurt, muffins, pizza, and wheat thins. You HATE to try anything new and are very particular about food texture. You like nothing with a wet/slick texture.
• You are saying lots of words. One day you will repeat all kinds of words. The next day you just point and grunt. You went through a screaming phase for a few days. I am not going to lie--it was tough and I had no idea what to do. I tried ignoring it, I tried time out...I seriously thought about spraying you in the face with a water bottle whenever you did it because that is how I got Tank to stop whining. I didn't though! For some reason, you just stopped doing it--it could have been all the prayer I was doing for patience. Ha!
• You are into climbing right now. You like to get up on the couch. You use the ottoman to help get you up on the couch. You really like stairs--you could spend all afternoon going up and down some stairs!
• You are very social and like to make new friends. You like to play with other kids and talk to them. You do not want them to hug you, though. You are like a professional hug evader. It is so funny! I don't know where you get it from, but you just do not want to be hugged by other kids and other kids just seem to want to hug you! Ha.
• You went down the slide all by yourself for the first time the other day! You scared me because you just sat down and went for it. You just giggled and smiled really big.
• My favorite thing that you do right now is "sneak up" on me. You hunch your shoulders and creep on your tip toes--all the while giggling. You also say "I get you". You have a precious little voice and I just LOVE hearing you use your "big girl words". I know one day soon you will be talking me ear off!
• You are such a curious child! You want to know everything about everything.
• You love to be read to and pretend to read to yourself all of the time.
• Your favorite toys right now are cups and spoons, balls, stuffed animals, Mommy's pump accessories, books, and anything that Reid is playing with! Haha.
• You want the tv on all of the time (you get that from Daddy). If it is off, you bring me the remote. Oh, you love the remote. I LOVE LOVE LOVE this picture!
• You still want to be rocked before bed, but now you point to the bed with your foot when you are ready to get in it. Tonight after Daddy put you in bed, you waved bye to him.
• You always want to call people of the phone....but you never want to talk into the phone. You will smile and wave...but won't make a sound. Then, after you get off of the phone, you will carry it around talking all over the place.
• You love to take Mommy and Daddy's stuff and hide it. We are usually forced to play a game of hide-n-seek with our stuff...usually at an inopportune time. Like the hour and a half cell phone search or the 20 minute key search. It keeps us on our toes!
• You have such a fun personality! You crack us every day. We are always wondering what we did for fun before you came along. I just don't know!
• You have the best facial expressions. You wear your emotions on your face--we will always be able to tell what you are thinking. (You get that from Mommy.)
• Your favorite song is "head, shoulders, knees, and toes"--you know all of those body parts!
• Chase is your favorite game. Right after I took this picture, she slid down the side of this guy. Lilly, you are becoming such a big girl! You are getting to be so independent in many ways and it just makes me want to be able to freeze time for a little while because I know eventually you aren't going to want to curl up in my lap and just snuggle and read books. I am just trying to cherish all the small moments!
• You like to do "big people" things. You love to have your cup on the end table next to mine and Daddy's. You set it down and just look at us and smile.
• You do new stuff daily. Your newest thing is climbing up into Reid's swing and just sitting in it and watching tv. Life with you is such an adventure. It is fun, chaotic, and a little crazy but I wouldn't change one single minute of it! Every morning I wake up I just can't wait to see what you are going to do next. I am so looking forward to the next month with you. You melt our hearts daily and we just praise God every day for choosing us to be your parents.
• You are up to more...I could go on and on and on...but I think this is good enough for one night! We LOVE you more than you will ever know!! And just so my little man gets a picture in for the grandparents!! Oh, and Lilly, you are such a great big sister. I am so proud of you! You bring Reid toys, give him hugs and kisses, and always point to the car seat when I say it is time to leave...as if to tell me "don't forget Reid!" You are both blessings beyond words!!