Lavinia Grace: 18 Month Update

Happy Friday friends! We’re almost to the weekend which I’m extra excited about this week. This is our first week back to the early morning wake ups since before Thanksgiving so I’ve been extra tired. I’m glad to be back in our “in-season” routine but that initial adjustment period is kinda rough. Looking forward to the opportunity to catch up on sleep this weekend (even though “catching up on sleep” isn’t actually possible… let’s pretend just this once though 😉 )

Lavinia Grace turns 18 months old today! I can’t believe that she is as close to 2 as she is to 1 – seriously, where does the time go once you become a parent? Henri and I have said this about every stage but this is truly our favorite! She is learning and growing so quickly these past few months and is just so stinking fun to be around! 

She is talking up a storm, learning more words every day and regularly communicates certain things like “help”, “more” and “thank you” through both sign language and words. 

She is curious, loving, goofy, daring and smart! 

We are so in love with her and feel so lucky to be her mama and dada!

STATS: We don’t have her 18 month well-visit for a week or two so I don’t have specifics on her height/weight but she is growing fast and furiously! In the past 3 months she’s gained about 2 pounds is officially over the 20lbs mark. Still a peanut for her age but she’s growing along her own little curve which is perfect. 

EATING: Liv is generally an awesome eater. She likes any and everything and usually eats generous portions but every now and then she’s not as hungry or doesn’t want to eat very much. I don’t stress out about these times because she is growing and thriving in every way. For meals at home we just feed her whatever we’re eating and for the most part she does really well with this. If she really just doesn’t like what I’ve given her I will give her a go-to that I know she’ll eat – like applesauce pouches, a granola bar, LaraBar Bites, or a smoothie. 

We’ve also reached the point when we order her her own kid’s meal when we go out to eat because otherwise she’ll eat a LOT of our food!

SLEEP: Lavinia has been a good sleeper for a long time! She is still sleeping 7-7 (or even 7:30/45) and thrives on this routine. She can be running around like a crazy person at 6:30 but settles down QUICK once we start her bedtime routine.

As far as our bedtime routine it looks like this:

6:30pm – start talking about bedtime and that we will have to clean up up
6:45pm – put her toys away and head into her nursery
Change her into nighttime diaper, put on her jammies, settle into her chair, read 2 books, turn off light, cuddle and sing “Jesus Loves Me”
After we sing I usually linger and cuddle a bit before I put her in her crib with her stuffed animals, turn on her sound machine and creep out of her room

LIKES:

• Our Dogs/any dogs – She’s really developed a love for dogs over the past few months, especially our new puppy Copper. They follow each other around, cuddle and try and steal each other’s food.
• The park – The park is probably her favorite place! She loves to swing and slide and could do both forever if we let her 🙂
• Doing things on her own – we are taking full advantage of this and teaching her to pick up and put away her own toys ha
• Doing “headstands” 
• Being silly 
• Running around
• Walking on her own
• Eating – especially any type of fruit!
• Being with mommy and daddy – its tough for her when we are all together and then one of us has to leave, she’s not super used to that because I typically leave for work before she wakes up and Henri get home after she’s down for bed.
• Her grandmas and grandpas (and uncles and aunts!)
• Dancing/music

DISLIKES:

As I always say, Lavinia is a pretty mellow kid. That being said she is definitely in the toddler phase and 

• Being told “no” or “all done” – especially when it’s in reference to a snack she wants or has finished eating
• Not being able to walk when she wants to 
• Teething
• Having her face/hands wiped down 
• Being told what to do/having to switch gears or focus when she doesn’t want to

NEW:

• TV – Up until a month or so ago Lavinia wasn’t super interested in TV, now she’ll sit and watch up to 20-30 minutes of a show. She likes anything animated where the characters are singing. We watch an episode of Doc McStuffins almost every night right before dinner and she even says “Doc” when she wants us to turn it on for me. I’m trying not to fall into bad habits with her TV watching and I think we are doing a good job so far. But it is really nice to be able to put on a show for her and cook up dinner really quick!
• Peeing in the Potty – A few weeks ago Liv started communicating about when she was going pee and poo and when she wanted her diaper to be changed. We seized the opportunity and went right out and bought her a little toddler potty. She was all excited to sit on it at first and the second or third day we had it she even peed in it! Cue all the excitement from her mommy and daddy, BUT the sound of the pee in the potty terrified her and now she’s afraid when she just sees the potty. Womp, womp. So we’re putting the potty on hold for now, haha.
• Playing with friends – it has been so much fun to watch Liv and her little friends grow and start to interact with each other more and more each time I get together with my mama friends. Livy’s best friend just started walking on Christmas and it’s one of my favorite things to watch them chasing each other around! 
• Ponytails, Pigtails + Top Knots – Our little girl’s slow-growing hair is FINALLY long enough to be put up in little do’s! It is the cutest thing ever! I also have to give Henri a shout out for his attempts to do her hair too (since I work early mornings he’s going to be doing her hair a lot)
• Dedication – At the beginning of November we dedicated Lavinia at Church and promised to raise her in a Christian household. It was a very special day for us as a family and we are so thankful for being entrusted with raising her to know the Lord.
• Playing In the Snow – We got a white Christmas while visiting my parents and we took her outside to play/go sledding and she had a blast!

THINGS I WANT TO REMEMBER

• The way she intently “reads” her books now, I love watching her turn the pages and babble to herself
• Her smile when she seeing me picking her up at daycare
• How she says “cheese” when we’re taking her picture
• Watching her snuggle and play with my grandparents over Christmas vacation
• The feel of her on my chest when she falls asleep while I hold her (a rare treat these days)
• The pride she feels/shows when she does something she’s proud of – she looks at us and claps!
• Her little voice and the way she says “mama” and “dada”

I seriously could not be more in love with this girl! She is our whole world!