18 Months

Libby has been a gift in our lives now for 18 months. I can't believe that our baby girl is now a little girl - something I rarely admit. I like to tell Josh that she's actually still a newborn. On Friday, I helped our neighbor, Engle, look through her baby things in preparation for her first baby - and I had to admit to myself that Libby is, in fact, not a newborn :) Although our Libby is quite tiny, and still in a size 3 diaper, those Newborn diapers are so tiny! I remember getting Libby's nursery ready, stacking the diapers perfectly in a basket and loving the way the smelled, and thinking about the tiny baby in my growing belly. I do still love the way the diapers smell like baby, but they are not so perfectly stacked, nor are they quite so tiny!

Josh and I are cherishing every moment with Libby right now. Her talking is getting better and better each day. We now actually do have conversations with her! Even her speech therapist grandmother Cici is impressed with her! I love asking her if she wants something and she tells me "yes" or "no". Here are some of my other favorite things she says:

- All done
- All gone
- Pop - she says "pop" when she wants to hear "Pop Goes the Weasel," her favorite song
- On and Off (sometimes she says the wrong one)
- Hot (which she says for hot and cold)
- All of her animal noises
- All of her body parts
- Cheese - when she sees a camera or a phone
- Uh Oh - she says all the time, even when our phones ring
- Hi Dada or Hi Momma
- Up - when she wants to be picked up
- Elmo - when she wants to watch Sesame Street
- Coffee - she helps me make coffee in the morning and knows that "momma drinks coffee"
- Cheers - we cheers at every meal
- that - she points at something she wants if she doesn't know the word
- fork - she says for "fork and "spoon"
- outside - when she wants to go out or when she wants to let Buff out
- Counting- she's pretty good at 1-10, but skips 6 and 7. She's super at "8"
- She says most of her family member's names and is finally getting the hang of "Callie"

Some of Libby's best skills are her dance moves. We have taught her to "drop it" - she thinks its so funny and gets lots of attention when she does this move. Her teachers have the kids sit in a circle in class and have Libby dance in the middle - hmmmm, why does this make me so happy?! She is also really good at the "Hokie Pokey", "Ring Around the Rosey", "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes", "Wheels on the Bus" and many others!

Libby is kind of interested in the potty - at least she likes to tell us when she is going or has to go. We're not going to push this issue, but I think its good that she's talking about it!

Putting her to bed at night is still my very favorite time. Its usually our time together and what I cherish the most. After being away from her all day at work, I long for these snuggling moments with her (and I like to think she likes them too). We read and sing and rock, and then I zip her up in her tent :)

Our little Libby is still tiny - although quite tall. Here are her 18 month stats:

Height: 32 1/2 inches - 75%
Weight: 21 lbs - 10%
Head: 45 3/4 - 50 %

Christmas!

We had a wonderful Holiday and Libby was a delight to watch as she experience the magic of the season! We went to Texas to see the Jones family for an early Christmas and were in Charlotte on Christmas day, joined by my family. Before Christmas we celebrated by going to see the singing bears downtown Charlotte and then going to see Santa - a magical day! Libby didn't love Santa this year (scary man in big white beard, who blames her?) Here are so of our favorite pics!