Cara is 18 months!

I'm way late on this post, but I'm going to backdate it so it won't seem like it's more than 2 weeks overdue. Then I'll have to turn around and write another one in 2 more weeks. #thestruggleisreal

I seem to say this each month, but this is my favorite age. I just love everything Cara is learning and doing and saying, and it's so much fun to be the mommy of a toddler.

Stats:

• At 18 months, Cara weighs 27-15 (93%ile), is 33" tall (82%ile) and her head measures 19.76 cm (100%ile). :) She hit a major growth spurt, but all is even along her growth curve, so we're all good.
• 12 teeth, including all 4 first-year molars--those are BIG teeth!

Milestones:

• What HASN'T Cara done this month? She is a total PARROT! She will try to say anything you say to her--literally. 
• I counted her words for the doctor one day, so when she asked, "Does Cara have about 25 words?" I said, "She had 25 before breakfast." :)
• She is seriously a talker. She loves to label things and name people. It is so repetitive, but it's fun. I love that she is curious enough to try to say anything.
• She can spell her name (most of the time with help, and usually skipping C and going straight to A)
• Repeats her ABCs after you, all the way to the end. It's our favorite thing to do while we walk the aisle of HEB.
• She runs and climbs on most low surfaces--couch, chaise lounge, low chairs.
• Names all her body parts, LOVES to name animals and make their sounds in her animals book
• Calls books by name-usually a word in the title. She says, "moooo" for Goodnight Moon, "Brow Bee-uh" for Brown Bear, "Go Dog" for Go Dog Go, "Bayleeuh" for 1-2-3 Baylor, etc.
• Uses a fork and a spoon with about 80% accuracy. She will sometimes put food on the spoon, and she needs help with scooping food.
• Tells me when she has a dirty diaper MOST of the time. If you ask her, the answer is usually no, but she will tell me when she has to go. We don't always go sit on the potty, but we're getting to that step!

Personality:

• CURIOUS! Wants to know what everything is, what its name is, what it says, etc.
• INDEPENDENT! Wants to do what SHE wants to do and not sometimes what Mommy or Daddy want her to do--wants to walk places on her own and hold hands instead of being carried, wants to feed herself instead of getting help from us, says "no" when we put her in the crib before she decides to lay down on her own.
• HAPPY! Is always looking to laugh or be silly.
• CONTEMPLATIVE! I said this last time, but it continues to be true. She likes to take in an environment and see what's going on before she joins in.
• INTERACTIVE! Once she is comfortable in a place, she wants to be involved with you in reading, talking, dancing or playing games.
• BUSY! She's either on or she's off. From the minute she wakes up, she's on the go until it's time to sleep, and then she wakes up and does it all over again.
• Won't it be so fun to look back on these months and years later to see the development of her personality and how much still holds true?

Sleep:

• bedtime at 7:30
• wakeup at 6:50
• nap at 11 a.m. on school days, 12 on the weekends
• sleeps for about 1.5-2 hours, sometimes even longer if she's especially sleepy
• sleeps with Lovie and Bear in her crib--a must-have
• is getting better about putting herself back down if she wakes up from a nap too early

Clothes:

• size 5 diapers
• size 5 shoes
• 24m clothes, but we're finishing out some 18m clothes too
• We pull her hair up every day in a little fountain pony or in full-on piggies! Such long, pretty, curly hair.

Food:

• She's becoming a toddler, and is refusing to eat more foods now--that independent nature dictates her tummy too!
• She eats everything we eat, and I make sure to give her balanced choices of fruits, veggies, dairy and protein. She sure likes treats too!
• I meal plan for her each week on Sunday so that it takes the scrambling out (unless I scramble eggs--haha!).
• If she had it her way, she would eat Goldfish, Plum pouches, chicken, fish sticks, apples, bananas and milk 24/7. But she is still pretty good about eating most things I offer.
• She LOVES fruit: blueberries, strawberries, apples, bananas, oranges, pineapple, pears, peaches and more. 
• Eats veggies like peas, green beans, corn, carrots, sweet potatoes, and we're pushing for broccoli. Mommy hates broccoli, so I won't be surprised if she does too! Blech.
• Currently loves salsa chicken, guacamole, pita bread, cheese cubes, pineapple chunks and yogurt.
• I read this blog--I know this mama from church growing up, and she has twin girls just a few months younger than Cara. She is a dietician, and she blogs about what her family eats. Lots of great ideas for healthy, balanced toddler meals.

Likes:

• Po and Harleigh
• talking
• singing Itsy Bitsy Spider and Ring Around the Rosy
• READING in your lap
• holding hands while she walks
• spelling her name
• last month, she loved to watch the "Limpics"
• being a helper to bring something to me or do something to help
• swinging or going upside down

Dislikes:

• not being able to communicate
• being told no
• changing her diaper at home--too busy to stop!
• when she's out of milk
• being bored in the carseat
• doing/taking down her hair--still hurts her a little bit

Most challenging:

• dealing with toddler patience, or lack thereof, helping her to understand what we want from her and on what timeline
• communication blocks, when she doesn't have the word for what she wants she'll whine and point, and then it's like playing detective, which can be hard.
• mealtimes can be challenging if she doesn't like what we offer
• All you toddler moms are laughing because I know all these things are going to get worse with age, but hopefully we can get a handle on how to deal with it now so we can be better-equipped in the future.

Looking forward to:

• teaching Cara more words to communicate
• Is it weird to say potty training? I'm tired of diapers, and I know leaving them behind will mean more accidents (in public--eek!), and it's a long process, but I'm looking forward to it, strangely.
• planning her 2nd birthday party--DOUBLE EEK! Is it time for that already?
• finishing up the year at school and spending some time with my girl this summer!

It's only going to get better from here!