Vivian had her 18 month check up last week. You can see all
her 18 month giraffe photos here.
It's obvious what a happy girl she is, especially when she has Mama's itouch, which does not happen often. She's grown too, although I swear she's getting skinnier, and the doctor's measurements don't contradict that. Her cloth diapers, which have not changed size (she hasn't been fat enough to size up yet), need to overlap the velcro again. But she's definitely taller. She weighs in at 20 lbs 4 oz, which puts her in the 4th CDC and 18th WHO percentiles. Luckily the doctor uses the WHO growth charts, and he's not at all concerned about her weight or lack thereof as she eats well and is tracking the 25th percentile line without a lot of variation. She has grown 2.5 inches in six months, to 32 inches - 60th CDC and 56th WHO percentiles. And lastly her head is bigger, too, at 18.70 in, 76th CDC and 81st WHO percentiles.
Vivian loves to eat, and often out-eats her older brother in any given sitting. She eats at least five times a day, perhaps more: breakfast, morning snack, lunch, afternoon snack, and dinner. When Theo is all done eating, she loves to inherit his food and polish that off as well. As far as I can tell all that food is going straight through her because she's definitely not adding on any pounds. She loves cheese still, and it's by far her favorite food along with macaroni and cheese, which she calls "mac mac." She also still likes scrambled eggs in the morning but doesn't get them as frequently. The most desired food items are always the ones on someone else's plate or in their glass. She still likes meat much more than Theo, but has grown suspicious of food that looks different. For instance, if there is a speck on her pasta or cheese she will have you remove it before she's willing to eat it. She's very open to smelling and tasting new things and generally once she tastes something, she's all for eating it.
Vivian is still nursing at least once a day. In the morning when she first wakes up, she likes to get into bed with me and have a big nursing session. If she isn't feeling well or wants to have Mama to herself she will also nurse periodically during the day, but those sessions are much shorter. She definitely finds it soothing and will nurse after a big bump to feel better. She doesn't drink very much cow's milk, no more than 5 ounces a day, but does like water quite a bit and has it with most meals and snacks.
The biggest milestone for Vivian in the past three months has been moving into a shared bedroom with Theo. Both kids adore it, and it's super cute to watch them playing together (instead of sleeping). I think it has affected their sleep patterns some, but we've got it mostly downpat now. They take turns depending on mood with who changes and reads books first, and the other is generally quite happy to play or read books on their own while they wait. We've added some levels to the bedtime routine, like tickling Vivian who always cries when we put her sleep sack on, playing "squeak" in the bed which consists of jumping up and down in the bed and making it squeak, and touching the fragile hedgehogs which live up on a high shelf normally out of reach. They often play peek-a-boo, which Vivian calls pop, when we leave them alone in the room.
Vivian is still taking two naps, each one at least 35 to 40 minutes and the later one often an hour and ten to fifteen minutes. She goes to bed later because her bedtime coincides with Theo's now that they are in the same room, but seems less affected by the variations in bedtime, which can range from 7:30 to 8:00. We usually start the routine between 7 and 7:30, closer to 7 when we are at home, and she's asleep by about 7:45 if we have completed the routine by then. She wakes up a little after 7 a.m. most days, sleeping straight through the night for about 11 hours and 15 to 30 minutes each night. She does tend to make up sleep that she misses from day to day, and also does not absolutely require the morning nap anymore. During our Thanksgiving travels she skipped her morning nap both times we had long driving days, but at home she definitely still takes it. The later start to the morning is new and super nice. It began just before the time change at the beginning of November, and got interrupted by the switch. Now it's settled back into the norm again, and usually the kids are talking and singing in their room fairly quietly in the mornings.
Vivian gets changed anywhere from three to six times a day, driven mostly by how often she poops. She can tell you when she is going, and frequently signs for changing when put in her crib, which is also where she often poops. She loves "using" the potty in imitation of Theo who is also practicing that skill. For her that consists of sitting on the little potty and then getting her one M&M reward. She absolutely adores washing her hands and would do it all day long if allowed. She talked the doctor into helping her at Theo's three year check-up since there are sinks in all the exam rooms.
She is generally still sociable with new people, but has definitely picked up on routines and stranger awareness. She knows when certain people arrive (sitters like Ms. Margo and Ms. Lizzie, as well as friends like Ms. Debbie) that Mama is leaving and she does not approve. With most people who come to the house, she is concerned about being left behind with them rather than actually worried about their appearance. Once she's certain no one is leaving, she's quite happy to interact. She is less forthcoming in larger crowds and out and about.
Vivian loves to ride things still, and can get around on the rocket toy we have fairly well. We also acquired a wagon and she loves that as well, but isn't picky. She will sit on top of a box or person or anything and ride it. She also dances with a lot of hip motion which is fun to watch. She loves music and things with buttons especially those that have a reaction to her actions. She has also taken a big liking to the glittery clownfish, "Ryba", and sleeps with him every night in addition to her two small blankets and Lis. She discovered her baby doll in early fall, and loves to put shoes on it and take them off, but is frustrated that the baby's hat won't fall off. She likes watching Daddy leave in the mornings, but is always concerned when he "forgets" his hat, and tries to tell him by signing out the window. She has very specific preferences for shoes and hats and it is not always the same ones on any given day. I can't be certain she is color coordinating, but when I let her pick her outfit she definitely puts together combinations I wouldn't have thought of. And it works really well on her every single time. She's definitely got flair in the clothing department. She can still fit into her brother's 12 month hand-me-downs without a real issue, although in the girl-sized clothes I've had to retire long sleeved shirts and pants smaller than 18 months. She can wear 2T leggings without an issue - unless we are traveling and she is in disposable diapers. Then, as it turns out, she is too skinny for some brands and they fall down. She likes bright colors and patterns like stripes and polka-dots for sure, and almost always picks the pink pants. If you ask her what color of something she wants, she is likely to say purple, unless it's Play-Doh, where we don't have any purple.
She can say so many words. I estimated it at over 50 although most people wouldn't understand the vast majority of them. She is very good about using signs and motions in addition to spoken words to communicate her needs and wants though. Most of her verbal words consist of a single syllable repeated, such as "wa-wa" for both water and wagon. Off the top of my head here are other words she can say: Mama, Dada, "Thew" for Theo, Tet-tet for Tetely, Rock-Rock for Rocket, Rocky (the neighbor's dog) and Rocky (the stuffed animal at Theo's preschool), Grandma, Granddaddy, Ja-Ja (for Dziadzius), Ba-ba (for Babcia), mac-mac (macaroni), boat, car, meow (for cat), dog or woof, shoe or buty, boot, eat, ball, red, yellow, green, purple, star, cracker, melon, walk, pasta, bowl, moo (for cow), quack (for duck), jez, brown bear, polar bear, baby, crash, jack-jack for both jacket and our friend Jack, hat, Blah for Auntie Blah, pillow, blankie, art, mat, poop, Play-Doh, one, two, three, four, bird, bunny, boc-boc (for chicken), candy, gar-gar (for garbage truck), and tractor. I'm sure there are more.
Vivian is still fairly easy in that she is quite content to play on her own and entertain herself. She likes going for walks in the stroller and getting out and about but is also quite happy to stay at home and enjoy herself. She has entered a jealous streak of things she doesn't want Theo to have, and the most common culprits are Mama's lap and cherished books like Brown Bear. Today she had a fit when Theo came home from school and started playing with the Legos she had assembled before we left, so she's either feeling more possessive or, more likely, learning from her big brother's antics.
She loves lift the flap books and puzzle books right now, as well as books with sliding pieces. She still enjoys some of the peek-a-boo cloth books and just discovered the joy in Goodnight Gorilla last week. Vivian loves reading and will read indefinitely in a lap or sitting on her own. She's also fascinated with containers now, taking objects out and putting them back in. She's gotten quite skilled with both a fork and spoon during mealtimes, and can drink from an open cup without much trouble and only occasional spills. She adores climbing things, be it the furniture like sofas and chairs, people, or outside on the playground or even just rocks and other natural items. She can go up stairs mostly unassisted but I still wouldn't let her walk down a flight of stairs without a hand. She loves to jump down a step. She still loves the water though I haven't gotten her into the pool as much as I'd like despite the new indoor heated pool that opened close by. She loves bath time though it is less frequent than intended (twice per week) because of outings, and also excited about brushing her teeth multiple times a day. She likes candy and sweets for sure, especially chocolate and gummy things like bunnies.
She still has very little hair, even less than Theo at this age, which I wasn't sure was possible. Her eyes are darker, much more brown in the hazel shade, and in the green bathtub even still look dark gray at times. She has twelve teeth - four in the front on top and bottom and four molars so far.
Overall Vivian is very happy go lucky and open to suggestions. She understands not only everything we say but also everything Theo tells her and is most often content to go along with his suggested activities such as chase, other running games, making trains from objects, riding or pushing him in the wagon, and much much more.
