Jayna at 18 months

Jayna turned 18 months old on Sunday. Geez. She's beginning to be her own little person. It's pretty amazing.

She had her 18 month well baby visit today and she got a good report all around. At her 15 month check-up, she weighed 26 lbs 15 oz. Today she weighed 28 lbs 8 oz. So she basically gained 1.5 lbs in 3 months. I'm not sure how because she hardly ever eats. If I would let her, she'd live on yogurt and Special K cereal. Weird kid. She is now in the 92nd percentile for her weight. Ahh. We're getting closer to "normal," whatever that may be.

At 15 months, she was 30.5 inches tall. I was sure that it was more like 31 inches though, what with all the "thrashing around on the height measurer thingy." She was 32 inches tall today. And Chris tells me that she did NOT, in fact, thrash around. So that is probably a pretty accurate measurement. She is now in the 65th percentile for her height. And again...closer to normal with the weight to height ratio. It's now a 27% gap instead of around 50%. And I no longer have to call her doctors bitches.

Her head circumference is now 49 cm and in the 97th percentile. More room for brains, people! And this kid is smart! Of course, I'm a little biased. :)

Everytime Jayna goes to the doctor, we get handouts. It really makes me feel like I have homework, but they really do end up being helpful. This visit's handouts include one about time out (which we've ALREADY had to start) and one about potty training. I was under the impression that at 18 months I should be reinforcing the potty training a little more than I have been. But according to the doctor, we're right on schedule. We're just not learning what pee and poop are and what the potty is. She also knows when her diaper needs changing and will often go get a diaper and a wipe and bring it to me. I NEVER turn her down when she does that...if her diaper ends up being dry, I just check it anyway and leave the diaper on. She doesn't know the difference...yet.

So, what's new with the little punk? Too much to list. But I'll take a stab at it.

• She is now jabberjaws. She constantly talks...and we can understand her!! Of course, she has her own words for some things, but for the most part she is able to communicate with us. One of her favorite words is "nex" which means Kleenex. She has been sick and we've been using Kleenex after Kleenex. She picked up the word and now that she isn't even sick anymore she wants a "nex" from time to time. Hilarious. She can finally say Elmo instead of lala. Very cute.
• She climbs on everything like she's a little monkey. The entertainment center, the coffee table, the furniture, the toilet, the barstools, her desk. If she can get to it, she'll climb on it.
• She LOVES to color. And I think she may end up being left-handed. Spooky. (Only Michelle R. and a few others will get that...)
• She routinely refuses to drink milk. So I give her drinkable yogurt. Sort of the same. But different.
• She likes to dress and undress herself. She's still working on the motor skills, but it's still so cute when she comes out of her room with one leg in her pants thinking that her pants are all the way on. She also tries to put on her baby doll's clothes. That's really hilarious.
• She likes to eat what I cook straight out of the pan while I'm still cooking. It's becoming a regular thing and now she thinks every meal should be eaten straight off of the stove or out of the oven.
• She loves to have her hair done.  She loves bows in her hair and pig tails.  And I'm a happy person.

That list is just the basics. She's growing and evolving and doing more and more new things every single day. It's awesome and scary at the same time. I love seeing her develop and blossom into her own.

And now for the pictures:

Eating some "nacks."

Riding in the car with the dog at the mall.

Eating some crackers at Nana M's.

Hanging out with her homie Moe.

Jayna doing her breathing treatment (that Chris has affectionately named "doing bong hits").

Hi, mama!

She takes apart sandwich cookies to eat them...and, of course, eats the cream first.  She IS my kid!

Just being cute.  Doesn't she look so grown up in this picture?  I mean, minus the blanket...

Playing with her American Girl doll.

Helping daddy color blueprints at work.

And there we are.  She'll be off to college before I know it...