18.

  The next time I am faced with the number 18 in regards to your age, I imagine it will be much scarier.

  On second thought, at 18 months I still have the monumental task of raising you ahead of me, and at 18 years I’ll have done the majority of that already – so maybe 18 months really is scarier.

 

  With that said, 18 months is wonderful.  We have so much fun together.  You love to be with me and your daddy – which I am soaking up, because I’m under no preconceived notion that that will last more than a few short years.

  I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, if I were to describe your personality in one word:

joyful.

  You are happy about everything.  And everything is very, very exciting.  And when the joy is just too much to contain, you start spinning in circles and giggling – because apparently spinning in circles only makes good things better.

 

  You are very, very good at letting us know what you want.  When your words fail you, the tantrums strike.  But you’re getting much better at using your words.  You’re daddy didn’t start talking until he was three.  Me?  They were teaching me to try to use my inside voice at your age.  Now your daddy is ridiculously loud (he wouldn’t deny this) and I’ve quieted down a bit.  Somehow in there, I think you got just the right mixture of both of us that you are loud and verbal now, and I don’t really see you slowing down any time soon.  You are saying new words every day.  Yesterday we saw a peacock, and you think that is a very fun word – every once in a while you just yell it.  You’ve started putting two word phrases together too (Mommy, eat?  More water?  Diaper poop?).  You like to try to sing your ABC’s – which comes out sounding mostly like “A, B, C, eee, eee, eee, eee” – but you get the tune pretty well!  Verbal, you are.

 

 

  Your new favorite thing in the entire universe is Elmo.  I’m not sure how this happened.  We don’t have a t.v.  We don’t have any Elmo books.  We have one toy with a small Elmo face on it.  But you are in love with Elmo.  (Lovingly referred to as ‘Melmo’, a name that is only yelled excitedly, never spoken in a normal voice.)  When I finally figured out who you were talking about, I made the mistake of showing you an Elmo video on my phone to see if I was right.  Now any time you see my phone you start asking to watch Elmo.  If we see him at the store you yell his name at the top of your lungs until we go see him.  Obsessed doesn’t quite describe this love you have for the little red guy.

  You’re also still very into your baby dolls, and you are a very good mama.  You wrap them up in their blankets and walk around the house bouncing and shushing them, and before bed each night you put your baby doll ‘nigh nigh’.  Your other favorite thing is swinging (singing), hence all the pictures of you swinging lately. 

 

  Oh yeah, and now that you’re 18 months old – we’re gonna rock you’re world.  Cause any day now, you’re going to be a big sister.  I cannot wait for the moment that you meet her.  I also cannot wait until you fit on my lap again.  You are going to be a great big sister.

 

 

  I love you baby girl.  You have brought more joy to me than you will ever know, and when you are 18 years old, I am sure I will say the same thing.  I thank God every day for the blessing that you are.  I will always love you.

 

  Love you, love you, love you,

                                     Mommy