raising a mommy: our little girl: 18 months

My friends...what a couple of days. Not only is my sweet little girl a year and a half (egad!), but I am celebrating another milestone, as well. Yesterday was my last day of work. Crazy. There will be much more about this later, I'm sure, but for now, let's focus on a cute child. I would have had this post up yesterday, on her actual 1 1/2 year birthday, but my wonderful husband surprised me by winning lower level tickets to the Vikings game...yes, he is a keeper!

Mastered Skills (most kids can do)
Will "read" board books on her own: She does, and it's easily one of the cutest things I've seen. (How often do I say that about her? But really...)
Can pedal when put on a trike: Hmm...I don't know about this one. She usually asks Grammy to push her whenever she wants to ride the trike. We'll have to work on that!
Scribbles well: Like a pro. She's quite the little artist!

Emerging Skills (half of children can do)
Strings words together in phrases: Yes indeed! We've even moved beyond the two word "Elmo pants" to the ever more advanced "Piggy ride, please?" And how do you say no to that? She even said please! (Well, usually it sounds like "peas," but you get the idea!)
Brushes teeth with help: Mom or Dad brushes her teeth, then she sucks the rest of the toothpaste off and wiggles the brush around her mouth. So I guess yes to this one.
Builds a tower of four cubes: She's not much of a builder. I don't know that we even have her blocks out yet. I would say I'll pull them out, but we're moving in two weeks, so they're going to stay packed up for awhile longer!

Advanced Skills (a few children can do)
Throws ball overhand: It doesn't go very far, but she sure tries! She LOVES playing with the puppy!
Takes toys apart and puts them back together: I haven't seen this one yet. She likes playing with tools, though. Mostly just banging the hammer on things to see how much noise she can make.
Shows signs of toilet training readiness: Well...she knows potty and loves reading her Elmo potty book. I think sometimes she tells daddy when she poops, so that's a good sign, right? I'd certainly love for her to be potty trained, but I'm not really in a huge hurry. I'd rather wait another few months and have her trained in a week than start now and have it be a three month long battle!

Other things you might want to know:

-The poor baby has been cutting her molars. The first one came in and we barely noticed, but she sure has been feeling the last one!
-She stopped nursing a few weeks ago. We were down to once a day (just before bed), but she decided that she was done one night. (I know this sometimes happens when mom is pregnant. I am not pregnant, so you don't even need to let the thought enter your mind. This is my preemptive warning.) I never thought I would nurse this long, but I wouldn't change a thing!

New words she's saying:
I can't even keep track anymore. She's mastered the request for a "piggy ride." She's getting better at saying "please." We're also working on "thank you," which she says when prompted. It sounds like "geeky," and she usually follows it up with "welcome." Pretty darn cute.