Sweet Amelia is 18 Months Old, and she is just turning into such a big girl. She also thinks she is going on four years old. Lots and lots of monkey see, monkey do in our household right now. I'm not going to lie, it's a little frustrating at times when she wants to do what Madeline is doing. Sometimes, she just can't do what Big Sister is doing, but there absolutely NO reasoning with Miss Amelia. Unfortunately, this has amped up the temper tantrum factor in our house, and that's a real bummer.
Amelia is really starting to talk more and more. She has many words in her vocabulary that she uses regularly and properly. There is also a lot of jibberish that comes out of her mouth. Unfortunately, Amelia has what I call a "tight tongue" (the frenulum that connects her tongue to the bottom of her mouth is really tight), and her tongue does not have full range of motion. As a result her speech has definitely been affected. Many of her words are garbled, so the general population doesn't always understand what she is saying. So, it's looking like a surgery is in our future in order to correct this problem and not have further speech issues in our future. Yikes.
Amelia continues to be our eater and sleeper. This girl LOVES mealtime, and although she has her picky moments, she generally eats what is given to her. She has been clued into snacks and chocolate, so those foods are welcomed at any time! She loves milk and icy cold water, and she could take or leave juice, lemonade, kool-aid, etc. Amelia loves her bed, naps, and bedtime. She continues to be a great sleeper (unless she is sick), and her post sleeping playtime in her bed has increased dramatically. It's nice to have a few extra minutes to in the morning or afternoon when she wakes up to finish whatever it is that I am doing. Amelia loves her paci and lovey, and she's fully aware that those items remain in her bed. There have been many days that she pitches a fit when we leave them behind, but as a general rule, I don't let those things tag along throughout the day - just one of my Mama quirks that she has to learn to live with unfortunately.
Amelia has really blossomed socially. She loves other children, being outside, and going to the gym nursery. Her stranger danger has calmed down, and that's nice. I notice her waving to many more people now, and she is all smiles when people approach her. Big improvement. Don't get me wrong, she's still can be pretty clingy and on my hip a lot, but it's gotten a lot better. Amelia loves to play with Madeline, color, play in the sandbox, swing on the swing set, play chase, and slide down the slide. She just loves to be able to roam around freely and be noisy. She can squeal with the best of them, and she can give the biggest belly laugh. One of her most recent favorite activities is playing in bigger shoes. Wonder where she got that idea? She's also really into bracelets, necklaces, and purses. Again, lots of monkey see, monkey do.
(I might add here that I totally missed her 17 month old post, but I can summarize Amelia's 17th month up with just a few unpleasant words - double ear infection, chest infection with wheezing, breathing treatments, antibiotics, no sleep, and general crankiness. Poor baby had a rough month.)
Amelia Bedelia,
You are our bull in a china shop mowing down whatever is in your path. You are our spunky girl that can be giggly and happy one second & mad as a hornet the next second. You are our little stubborn, feisty thing when you don't get your way. You are our child with scrapes, bumps, and bruises. You are our child that needs to be checked on if you are too quiet. You are our child that is constantly blurting out, "UH-OH!" because you have created an "uh-oh" situation. But most of all, you are our lovable, sweet, silly, noisy, clumsy, hilarious little girl who gives hugs, kisses, and big toothy smiles all the time! You keep us on our toes with your antics and stretch my patience to levels I never knew existed, but you fit our little family so perfectly. We love you to pieces.
