emma: 18 months

on 10.11.12 emma turned 18 months! i'm not sure how it happened. she is no longer a baby and at some point became a full fledged toddler. she is such a happy girl and adds so much joy to our family. she smiles constantly (with her eyes closed, nose scrunched up and a big toothy grin...you'll see it frequently in the pictures below) and laughs easily and often. she gets pretty unhappy when she's hungry, but once she's got something in her belly, she's back to her happy self (and who doesn't get like that?!). 

 she loves standing on a chair in the kitchen to "help" cook. anytime i cook, she tries to get the chair to stand on. her other favorite place: standing on the step stool in the bathroom. she has also started using whatever she can as a stool to get to what she wants, like the tub of laundry detergent.

she has become quite proficient with a spoon. she is no longer satisfied if i just put her food on her tray. she expects it on a plate or in a bowl, with a utensil! 

although usually by the end of a thing of yogurt she has resorted to using her hands. 

and it gets everywhere!
(so now you'll know why she has crusty hair the next time you see her)

she is pretty affectionate. she will often come and plop down onto our lap for a quick snuggle before she is back to playing. she loves to give kisses, especially to her brother! i often find her sitting on the pillow (in the picture below) and reading a book. it makes me so happy! it might be time for me to make her a pillow of her own.

she tries to do a somersault a lot. i call it her downward dog position! she is pretty adventurous and especially loves to climb up on things. her recent accomplishment is crawling up onto the coffee table. she is so proud of herself when she stands up on that table! she also loves to play peek-a-boo with her lovie and around corners, while saying "a-boo!" she also loves to hide behind the curtains and play peek-a-boo. she loves to "tunnel" (or push) through our legs while we're standing up. she did it to me yesterday at church, which was pretty awkward since i was wearing a skirt!

she used to eat anything (literally) and she is becoming more picky. it's kind of annoying. but with that said she is still a good eater and just started wearing size 5 diapers. logan wore diapers until he was almost 3 and he never wore bigger than size 4. they are definitely built differently! she loves to dance and can often be found spinning around if there is music playing. she loves her elmo stuffed animal (that she took from logan) and flushing the toilet. 

if we say, "let me see you" we get a version of this face!

she "talks" constantly, although she doesn't say very many words. but she loves to say "hi" and "byeeeee" (she holds out that "e"). she also says "yogurt," "bagel," "mama," "dada," "lovie" (her blanket). she is obsessed with technology. she always seems to be playing with the computer, my phone or the camera. not my first choice for her toys.

she loves to sit on people's backs. if you lay down on your stomach (or even your back ), it only a matter of time before she is sitting on you, bouncing away (or playing not so gently with my hair). 

she has just started throwing things in the trash. sometimes it's trash, sometimes it's not :) she holds her hands together during prayers (her version of folding her arms). she loves animals! she starts squealing the moment we see a dog and has no fear, regardless of the size. she was in heaven trick-or-treating, seeing all the dogs in the houses (we had to keep her from going inside to see the doggies). she was recently at my friend's house and they have a cat and apparently she was in heaven (and wanted to bring the cat home. no thanks!). 

she is a girly girl! she sits patiently for us to do her hair (which is good because if it doesn't get done she looks like a total ragamuffin. which is often how she looks at the end of the day after she's pulled out her piggies). she is a little dramatic (sometimes when she is feeling really dramatic, she'll throw herself on the floor crying. we just laugh!). she loves to wear necklaces, carry purses, play with my hair, pull on my earrings and she is so sweet with her dolly. she covers it with her lovie, snuggles it and pushes it all over the house in a stroller. it is amazing to see how she instinctively knows what to do with the doll. 

we have just entered the world of dress-up, thanks to the 50% off halloween costumes at target. i'm so excited about it and so is emma!

we have found that a princess dress can make any activity better. like unloading the dishwasher. emma loves to help me with whatever i'm doing! she also mimics whatever i do: wiping the table or counter, brushing my hair, putting on my makeup

and your brother's halloween costume works too!

she gets into everything! and i mean everything. she leaves a trail of destruction (stuff...lots of stuff) behind her. i have to keep on eye on her because she is always getting into something. recently this trait caused quite a scare when she got into my father-in-law's medication (that was in his night stand, in a bottle with a child safety lock. we still don't know how she got it open). after calling poison control (our first time ever) and an early morning trip to the ER she was just fine. but she's been to the ER 3 times in her 18 months of life and we would prefer to avoid any future visits! 

we're so happy emma's in our family. she is so full of personality and life just gets more and more fun with her!

18 month stats:
27 pounds, 10.5 ounces - 90th percentile (oh yeah!)
32 inches - 60th percentile
head - 47.75 cm