18 Months

As usual, it's been awhile since I've posted, so this will probably be a very random, playing-catch-up post. 

For starters, summer is over.  10 weeks of summer "vacation" wasn't nearly enough, but I will say that Lyla and I did enjoy every second of it!  We stayed very busy, catching some sun, swimming in our new pool, going to the beach and the park and the zoo and playing with all of her little friends!  I am really fortunate to have a job that gives me that time off to spend with Lyla (even if it did go by way too fast). 

I was very nervous about going back to work this year because I had to search for a new babysitter, after the wonderful babysitter that Lyla had last year stopped doing day care.  I asked around/contacted/questioned/interviewed just about every babysitter in LaPorte, but they were either full or just flat out not at all what I was looking for.  I was convinced that there was no way that I could go back to work, because even though I love my job I love my baby more and I would never in a million years leave her with someone that I didn't feel completely comfortable with.  At pretty much the last minute, I worked it out with my good friend Lisa (who is a wonderful stay at home mommy of her son Ethan) that she would be Lyla's babysitter!  I can't even begin to say what a relief it has been to know that Lyla is taken care of by someone that I trust so much.  Lyla loves playing with Ethan and their dog Dora, and I can tell she loves Lisa too!  I am so fortunate that this is working out so well!

At 18 months old, Lyla is amazing me more and more every day.  At her last 18 month check up, she weighed 28.2 lbs (at least that was their best guest because she was very squirmy on the scale!) and was 34 1/2 inches tall.  She is in the 93rd percentile for weight and the 98th percentile for height!  She has been consistently at the top of the charts or off the charts since birth.  She is definitely going to be tall!

Her vocabulary is growing more and more every day!  I am so impressed with her.  The doctor said 20 words were average at this age.  Well off the top of my head I started counting the words that she uses on a regular basis and I stopped when I got to 65 words...and I know there are many more than that too!  And on top of that she repeats almost everything (which means we have to be careful what we say, haha).  She is also putting together two and three word phrases.  I can give her directions and she follows them (when she wants to, of course!) so I can tell that she understands very much of what I say.  The only word that she doesn't seem to understand is NO!  Haha...I'm guessing this is typical of toddlers.  She also has good manners and says "thank you" and "welcome" all the time!  One of my favorite things she says now is "that funny!" when she does something silly!  It cracks me up every time.

Oh, another thing about Lyla, she's a climber.  She climbs on top of EVERYTHING.  I turn my back for a split second and she's dancing on top of the kitchen table.  She's a wild woman, that's for sure!

This past weekend we went to Shipshewana to look at swingsets, and when Chad saw how much fun Lyla was having on them he couldn't help but buy her one (he's a softie!).  She loves it so much, especially the slide!  She makes me nervous because she isn't scared of anything, so we did some childproofing on it and have plans to do a few other things to make it a little safer too.  It's great because we know it will last a long time and she (and any other kids we may eventually have) will get many years of enjoyment out of it.

On a less exciting note, Lyla has been teething for the last 3 months now.  She has been working on four molars (two of them are completely through and she is still working on the other two), and just the other day her first canine tooth popped through (which makes tooth #13).  I feel so bad for her because she is always so miserable when she is teething. She gets very clingy to me (and wants me only) and is very moody.  I can't say I blame her, because when I look in her mouth and see those great big molars breaking through the gums it makes me cringe because it looks so painful. 

Some days I just look at Lyla and my heart skips a few beats because I just can't believe she's MINE.  I might be biased but I'm pretty sure she's the most adorable thing I've ever seen.  She is so full of life and character, she makes me laugh and she makes me cry, some days are hard (really, really hard) but every day is wonderful.  I wouldn't trade my job as her mommy for the world.