18 months

The Doctor's Appointment
Today was Cady's 18 month checkup. She did well, I suppose. These visits have never been an issue in the past, especially with Dr. Choat. He's so good with little ones. But this time was different and Cady wasn't going to have him touching her in any way, shape, or fashion. So there were tears, snot, and defiance. But she made it. She weighed in at 25 lbs. 1 oz. and she measured in at 31 inches. She's in the 29th percentile for height (short like momma) and 61st percentile for weight. Who knew my tiny "not even on the charts" baby would end up in the 61st percentile?

Words
I hear some moms say "Such and such is saying 27 words now." Palease. I'm not going to spend time charting each and every word she's saying and keep a calendar and word count every day. I'd much rather just sit and relish her rapidly expanding vocab and just enjoy this time. But I will say her vocab *has* to be 20 or more. I counted a few months ago and she was at about 12, and it's only multiplied since then. At the top of her list of words is Sylar (She enunciates this one really well.), Ball, Bath, Outside, Bah Bye, Hey, Hi, Dog, Bubbles, Bird, Nana (for banana), Shoes, Dada, and Apples.

Developments
Cady does really well at following directions. She knows how to throw something in the trash (which worries me these days when something comes up missing.), to get her shoes when I ask if she wants to go outside. I'll say, "Want to go outside?" and she'll respond, "Shoes?" If I tell her to get her water from the kitchen table, she'll go get it. She's getting better at climbing on things. She can't quite get on the furniture, but she can sit in her little rocking chair now without having to climb it first. She tries to put on her shoes, but we're not quite there yet. She's always super excited when Justin gets home from work. If I mention "Daddy" at all during the day she runs to the door and waits.

Challenges
In the past couple months we've had 3 issues. Issue #1: poop. Cady will have 1-2 days of non-stop loose stools and then rest for a few days before it hits again. Doctor says it might be something in her diet, but since it's not affecting her growth and development we won't worry about it for now. Issue #2: attitude. That's a given at this age. I don't have to explain anything else here. Issue #3: Sleep. Cady has always been such a great sleeper. She'll sleep about 12 hours a night. But in the last couple months she has been waking 1-4 times a night and waking early. This just fuels Issue #2. We're lucky in that she usually puts herself back to sleep. But it still doesn't give me back the sleep I lost when she woke me up. Her nights have been better the last couple nights, so I'm hoping she's gradually moving past this phase.

After the Appointment
I was all geared up for Cady getting her shots and said we'd hit McDonalds afterwards for a fruit and yogurt parfait to cheer her up since it would be snack time anyway. Well, she didn't need shots, but a plan is a plan right? I was quite relieved though because I was kinda worried how mixing shots and the holidays would work. Shots take it out of her, and so will going non-stop for 2-3 days. Crisis averted. So we hit McDonalds. Of course I had to get a Peppermint Mocha since they'll be gone soon. We got Cady's parfait and then let her run around the play place. There weren't other kids she could follow and understand what to do, so she just ran around the room and would sit on the ends of the slides. It was so nice to have the entire room to ourselves and just enjoy a breakfast out and family time. Granted we only spent $10 (which is a big deal to us since we never eat out anymore), but the moments were just so precious it was money well spent.