Libby at 20 Months!

Libby is so much fun and we can definitely see the tell-tale signs that she is close to 2! She is changing and learning so quickly right now. Her language is exploding, she is becoming a bit more independent (although still prefers to be carried), is following directions a little better and is having some intense temper tantrums! Some of our favorite things about Libby right now:

1. Her singing - she loves to sing and remembers words to songs and requests them by name. In the car she requests "Pop Goes the Weasel" or "Apples and Bananas". At home, she loves watching the video for "Red Solo Cup" and requests it by name "Party". Funny that our 20-month old is requesting a song about partying and drinking beer? :) She can sing the whole ABC song and count from 1-10 fairly well. She loves watching cartoon videos of songs on the iPad - mostly "Pop" and "No More Monkeys".

2. Playtime - she loves the new car we got her that we push along - she beeps the horn and points out things around her like airplanes, the moon, birds and the sky. We have taught her that she can wake us up by kissing us (my only way to get a kiss from her) , so we pretend to sleep to steel a kiss, which she thinks is so funny! She likes to jump off of things into our arms, and loves to sing the songs about jumping from school: "Henry, Henry, Jump Up and Down". She loves to walk in Mommy's high heels and does incredibly well in them. She loves playing with my jewelry and has a new fascination with chap stick, that she calls "Lips". She loves playing hide and seek - of course she doesn't quite understand the premise, but thinks its so fun to hide, be quite, count and then go find me or Josh. She always chooses the same hiding places and still thinks its a riot when Josh or I find her! She loves playing outside with sidewalk chalk and bubbles and going to the playground - she can even go down the slide on her own now.

3. She is learning things so quickly - she can put on her own shoes, is much more helpful when getting dressed (although she hates it), she helps to scrub her belly in the bath. She loves helping to unload the dishwasher and do the laundry.

4. What Libby does not love is anything that makes her keep still - she still hates being in the car for any amount of time. She does not like sitting in her high chair for very long and is not very good about snuggling with us :(

5. Funny things Libby says:
- When you ask where momma is: momma sleeping
- When you ask where dada is: dada shower
- when you ask where doc is: doc at work
- When you ask who her family is, she names us all (Doc, Bubbie, Laura, Chief, Cici, Callie, Allen, Clay)
- When you ask who her friends are: She always starts with Erica and Judy (her teachers), then she names kids in her class. When I ask "who else", she says "Um... and names someone"
- She calls Baby Owen across the street "baby Omen"
- When we ask any random question, she always says "Chief": "Who's coming to see you," "Who are you playing with today," etc.

Some New Pictures!

Libby's First Haircut!

She did a great job! It was far past time for Libby to have a real haircut since she's had quite a full head of hair since day 1. We did have her "rat tail" cut off at 4 months, but this was the real deal - getting it wet, holding sections up with clips, sitting in the chair, even getting some product. Of course I took her to Amy, since she has been cutting my hair for 7 years. Mommy and Daddy were there and Libby got to have a ring pop to distract her. Her hair looks beautiful - all even and adorable, and quite a similar cut to her mommy :)

Before - quite long and very uneven!

Before we started - looking a little apprehensive.

Libby sat on mommy's lap and ate her ring pop!

Such a big girl with sooooo much hair - Amy even had to use clips to hold up the top!

Tada! Thank you Amy!

So nice and even!

A nice even bob just like her momma!

Oh What Fun!

What fun we've been having!!!!

Valentine's Day...

Just being cute...

Helping Daddy hang curtains..

Having Happy Hour with Mommy...

Celebrating the New Year with Kyle, Abby, Car Bombs and Baby Monitors...

Going to Discovery Place Kids...

Libby could hold onto the fireman's pole all by herself!

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!