Lydia is 18 months old!

Stats
28# 8oz
33 3/8"
Both weight and height are in the 90th percentile. She is looking good and large and in charge! She has 12 teeth, 6 on top and 6 on bottom, including four molars but none of her canine (or eye) teeth.

Gross Motor
Lydia loves to climb. She's been able to navigate up the stairs for some time now and just in the last month or so she has really been working on going down stairs. I honestly think it is because she wants out into the yard! There are four stairs to get down into the yard and to the play set and that is totally her motivation! She scoots down on her bottom, which isn't my preferred method of descending stairs at this age, but she has a mind of her own.

In just the last few days she has mastered climbing up on to the dining room chairs. She has now begun pushing chairs up to the table, the windows, the kitchen counter.... this opens up a whole new world of trouble.

She loves to run and is getting much better at navigating uneven ground, like the promise land that is our back yard. In an effort to be just like her big sister she does her best to skip and jump. It is truly one of the most adorable things I have ever seen.




Fine Motor
Unlike her older sister Lydia eats most of her meals with her fork or spoon. While Madeline has to be reminded that her utensils are RIGHT THERE Lydia uses them consistently. She is relatively neat too which is an added bonus. It is when she puts them down and throws the food off her tray that we have the real mess!

Lydia likes to color, but only because she finds crayons delicious. We are working on it though!


Language

Dada
MomMom
PopPop
PawPaw
MawMaw
Gigi
Ma
Baby
Kiki
Bop-oo
Cheese
Bath
Yeah
No
Ice
Up
Down
Elmo (and let it be known she has watched Sesame Street twice in her life... that little red guy has made a huge impression on her!)
mo (more)
peas
pees (please)
um-nums (m&ms)

and I KNOW there are more. She has a language explosion a couple of weeks ago and I know she has more words, I just can't think of them at the moment.


Social Development
Lydia loves her family and friends. When we are around those she is familiar with, she warms up quickly and is a happy little bits. But in public, she is my shy guy. I think she is used to having her sister as a buffer when we are out in public so when someone she doesn't know talks to her or she feels I am too far away she expresses her concern.

Although she has a little more stranger danger she is still a very social girl. She loves singing songs and doing finger plays (like if your happy and you know it and itsy bitsy spider, etc.) and initiates these songs and games.

When we were sick last month she got into a pattern of being whiny and clingy that hasn't really stopped even though she is feeling better. She can be a challenge and has learned exactly what buttons to push to get the full attention of each family member.

• She likes to bite me or walk off with items from the kitchen
• to get Madeline's goat she takes her toys and pulls her hair
• and to get Kevin's full attention she sticks her sticky little fingers on the televison or computer screens.
  

At least we know she is smart, right?

She loves her big sister and wants to be just like her and do everything she does. That relationship is amazing to watch. As a parent there something unique and amazing about watching the love between siblings grow!

That is our 18 month old. Time is going so quickly. Somedays I just want to yell slow down!
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Lydia at 1 year, 9 months, 6 months, 4 months, 3 months, 2 months.

All photos taken with my iPhone and processed with the instagram app.