I Love a Tiny Terrorist

18 months.  It's the best/worst age ever.  I remember 15-20 months being super hard with Stella.  I am guessing it had a little to do with me being pregnant with Eliza, and a lot to do with being a first time mom and feeling the pressure of doing it all perfectly, with a perfect child to show for my efforts.  With Eliza I was a little more laid back, and was in a good place with my mothering.  Plus I wasn't pregnant, which always seems to increase my patience for things like constant mess making, clinginess and tantrums.  This time at 18 months, I am very pregnant, certainly not at my most patient, but after round three, I think I'm just used to the chaos and constant everything (needs, messes, tantrums, busyness) that comes with these little souls trying to figure out independence.  That's not to say I keep my cool at all times and love every second, but I am enjoying this crazy baby/kid more than ever.

At a year and a half Miss Ivy Jo is busy!  I mean being a toddler is pretty much a full time job with all the cupboards to empty, garbages to go through, and doors to open (she just learned that one a few days ago, and it's stressing me out to the max already.  Pantry!  Garage!  Front door!  Ugh.).  She's can't stay in one spot for long and just wanders from room to room doing her thing and usually leaving a trail of destruction in her wake (she's currently climbing up on the table and licking a candle as I write this).  She likes to feed herself, move from high chair to high chair during meal time (we have a booster seat at the counter + regular high chair), drive the toy car, play in the playhouse or on the the little slide outside, and look adorable while doing it all.  That last part seems to help with the instant forgiveness that accompanies her mayhem.  

She is a fairly good eater, although I feel like I can never think of what to give her so she eats the same things over and over again.  I know she will always eat yogurt, applesauce, apples, popcorn, fruit leathers, bananas, lunch meat, blueberries, and black beans.  Other things are a little hit and miss, but if she can feed herself (or better yet, pull it out of the cupboard herself) she will usually give it a go.  And somehow she has been introduced to juice and of course that's all she wants now.  Thankfully a two ounce shot mixed with lots of water is satisfying her for now.

We are concerned she may have a cashew allergy after some afternoons of throwing up and diarrhea soon after eating one or two cashews.  We aren't sure if that's really it, but my mama instinct is saying it is, so we will talk to the doctor this week at her 18 month check up.

Her hair is getting longer, and seems to have some curl to it.  At least more than either of her big sisters have ever had.  Ryan thinks I am forcing the issue with my daily ritual of water and gel, but I really think it is there this time.  She has a lot of hair in the back, but is still working on on growing out the top.  But we did manage to put in her first set of pigtails the other day, and boy did she look cute.

She is still a pretty unpredictable sleeper.  She will sleep really well for a few days to a week, and then have two or three bad nights where is she up for hours at a time screaming.  It's frustrating and disheartening knowing we will have a newborn added to the mix in a week and a half, so here's to hoping long summer days wear her out enough to sleep good more often than not.  At least she goes to bed like a champ, still loving her lambie binky (and at least three others in her mouth/hands) and napping well most days.  We will be keeping her in the crib for the foreseeable future, with the baby sleeping in our room in a bassinet and possibly even pack n play depending on how long we wait to rearrange sleeping situations.  The big girls will eventually move downstairs, but we just haven't felt rushed to make the change just yet.

Little miss started nursery a few weeks ago.  The first week she could go was our first fill week in our new ward, so it was a bit chaotic without leaders.  I spent the first hour in with her, and then a few people seemed to take charge so I left to help in RS for the final hour.  She seemed to do fine while I was gone, and has been able to go one other time all on her own.  I think she was a little worried a few times without one of us in there, but the newly called leaders are great and took good care of her.  Thankfully it seems like it will be another smooth transition.

When she's not destroying or rummaging or unloading something, she's trying to keep up with her big sisters.  She follows them around and ruins their playtime fairly often, but overall they seem to love her and do a good job staying patient with her (well, Eliza is a work in progress). She is the perfect subject for my picture taking, and when I tell her I want a picture she goes straight to a wall, backs right on up and gives me her best smile. She loves babies, Minnie Mouse (she will actually sit and watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse for about ten minutes at a time), taking baths, trying to ride the scooter, peeling wrappers off crayons, and looking at books in her little chair.  She doesn't like whatever she has decided not to like for that day, hour or minute, and can be very vocal about her disdain.

Her vocabulary is really taking off, and while I am not sure if she is speaking at the same rate her sisters did (because who can remember?!), it seems normal to me.  She is starting to put two words together once in a while, especially things like "no mommy," so of course that's really sweet.  For some weird reason her favorite song is "We Will Rock You," and she tries to sing it all the time--foot stomp and all.  The big girls sang it for their singing group concert, so she has heard it a few times because of that, but it's still surprising that it seems to be in her head constantly.  It's adorable and odd all at the same time.

For all the big girl stuff she tries to do each day, she is still so much my baby.  It has been a process to accept the fact that very soon she won't be the baby anymore, and instead will be a big sister.  I feel a lot of emotions about it all--guilt, sadness, excitement and worry, but I have hope that in the end she and her sister will be the best of friends and everyone will be better for this change that is about to take place in our family.  In the meantime it will probably get really interesting (and frustrating and crazy) trying to balance newborn life with the actions and demands of our favorite tiny terrorist.