So listen. I now have an 18 month old. I've been a mom for 18 months. A year and a half year old kid calls me mom.
Hold the phone.
I'm obviously having a hard time wrapping my head around this.
I try really hard not to lament over time and how quickly all of this goes, but instead focus on the current milestone. The current phase. The current weight of her in my arms (25 pounds if you're asking). But DANG. I do believe this second year is going by even quicker than the first one did.
As of late, Aven is really becoming her own little person.
She's still very social and thrives in groups, especially when she knows and loves those people. Her vocabulary has really grown and even if it takes a little while to learn people names, it only takes her a few minutes to learn dog's names. (Little pet lover.)
She occasionally throws tantrums now which is super fun. (sarcasm abounds). They usually start if she doesn't get to go play outside (aka, where she would live if we would let her). She then falls on the floor dramatically and bangs her head on the floor - a move that my little brother used to do so it kind of makes me want to laugh. Just a little. Charlie, did you teach your niece your head bangin' ways?
We are encouraging independence as much as possible because it has never been her strong suit. Even when she was too small to notice if I left the room...uh, she noticed. And this many months later she still hates to be by herself. I've even resorted to propping a gate up in the doorway of the playroom, just so she'll play for 5 minutes without me. Any advice on this is welcome :)
She's very routine-oriented, which I would assume is true for most little kids. These days, she's up at 7-7:30am and eats at the same times we do, with a snack around 4pm. She naps after lunch for 1.5-2 hours, and then its bath and bedtime 7:30-8pm. No more bottles, only milk from sippy cups (this was a big deal for us because girlfriend adored her bottle!)
So although there are always bumps in the road of raising a child, there is also a whole lot of fun going on around here lately.
Toddlers. Are. Crazy.
