Sunday, February 2, 2014

Harper at 18 Months


{i write these updates every month, yet i rarely share them here. i thought 18 months was a good reason to put it on the blog...  peppered with iphone photos from the month}



My sweetest Harper,


It's official now.  There's no denying it.  You are no longer a baby.  Truth be told, you haven't been for quite some time, but now the numbers confirm it.

In so many ways, this is such a fun age.  And in so many other ways, this has been one of the hardest months yet.

Here's what you're up to:

  • My favorite thing about this age is your curiosity, your desire to explore.  You investigate everything, and I love seeing you learn and figure things out and experiment.  This, of course, means you are into EVERYTHING, meaning I have to chase you and check that doors are closed and be crazy-vigilant about what is left out.  The smallest, most dangerous thing is always the first thing you notice.  But every day I see you learn new skills that you effortlessly remember the next day, and it's such a beautiful thing to see the world through your eyes, with everything shiny and new.



  •  You are a walking machine.  No longer do you need to pull up - instead you pop right up and run, usually - headlong without a care in the world.  You have no fear, and unfortunately, not the best balance yet, even after two months of walking.  This, sadly, led to your first real injury this month, when you fell at the playground.  You got a big scrape just below your eye, as well as a big goose-egg on your temple, leading to a giant black eye the next day.  You were a sight to behold!  This made your mama pretty sad.  I want to let you explore and play and have fun, but you just don't really know your limits sometimes.  You have the body of a big girl, but since you were a little slower to get to the walking stage, you just can't quite keep up yet.  A day later, you fell in the hallway at home, literally for no reason, and busted your top lip.  There was blood everywhere and you were so upset, and then I got upset, and it was not a pretty scene. (it was fine once we all settled down and healed quickly!)  I want to protect you, but it's clear you are just accident-prone, especially in the face area!  You are gonna be a crazy big kid, that's for sure!

  • You are testing boundaries like crazy.  You will run up and touch the tv, look back at us, then keep doing it as we say no.  You try to stand on the fireplace hearth and chase the dogs and drop toys in the dog water bowl and put your hands in the toilet and touch the stove and and and...  I do a lot of getting up and redirecting.  It's...exhausting, mentally and physically.  But this is something every parent knows -- consistency is both mandatory and a pain in the butt.

  •  You're still a dancing pro!  Anything with a beat gets you moving.
  • Doors are your new fascination.  Luckily, you can't turn doorknobs yet, but you love to almost close them, then pry them back open, over and over - until you shut yourself in a room and cry.

  • You still love to take things out of containers - and certainly don't put them back.  You are all about disorganization and general mayhem.


  •   You climb and jump and roll off things.  It's terrifying.


  • You're getting better about playing with your toys.  For a while there, I was afraid you would never play independently.  Your attention span is still incredibly short, but you will go willingly to your toys and play for a bit.  You got a Cookie Monster play kitchen for Christmas, and once I showed you how he eats his cookies ("nom nom nom" in a deep voice while shoving fake cookies in...), you were hooked and love to do the Cookie Monster impression now.  It's 100% hilarious.  You are coy when I get the phone out to record it though...


  • Your absolute favorite "toy" is actually your books.  They always have been.  You love the board books that are on your level, but really love the real books that are kept on the shelf since you can't be trusted not to rip them.  I read you soooo many stories throughout the day.  I do love this, even though it's sometimes exhausting!

  • You learned how to "answer the phone" and you do it when you hear any sort of ring or alarm.  You also use the remote, a toy, whatever and use it as your phone.  Your "hello" is super cute.



  • It's so funny to watch you try to do things all by yourself like a big girl: brushing your hair, putting shoes on, trying to put a shirt on, brushing your teeth, buckling your car seat.  It blows my mind how much you know already and how you know how things work - you just don't always have the motor skills to make it happen.



  • Some days you are so clingy, and seemingly nothing can make you happy.  The hours creep by and I find myself eagerly awaiting nap time.  I know, just like everything, that this is a phase.  I can't wait for you to be more independent and therefore happier.

  • You say so many words!!  How do I have a kid who can say real words?!  You don't say all of these perfectly, but you have specific words for: daddy, mama, Roxy, Sandy, airplane, hi, bye, all done, hungry, thirsty, doggie, bird, duck, WOW!, all gone, jump, bath, ball, belly button, NO, good morning, and probably more I can't think of.  Daddy and doggie are favorites that you say perfectly - often yelling over and over until we acknowledge you said them.  You really only say mama if you're crying, but recently you started actually saying mommy when you're happy (which sounds more like 'money'), which makes me very happy.  My new favorite is "WOW!" which you say really exaggeratedly when you are excited by something.  Cracks us up every time!

  • You say NO constantly now, but luckily you don't say it defiantly - you just say it about anything and everything - probably because you hear us say it to you so much!

  • You love your belly button, and it's hilarious to watch you find it by pulling your shirt all the way up and practically falling over to look down at it.  Then you have to find ours!

  • You're thinning out as you move more and more, and part of me misses those little fat baby rolls.  

You're doing so much I can't even keep track of it all.  I am amazed that just a few short months ago you were just a newborn baby, now you are a full-fledged kid.  You're our precious big girl and you fill our lives with such joy!

8 comments:

  1. Awww! I love the update!!! Even all bruised up, she's adorable!! :)

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  2. Sweet. I love her Cookie Monster impression so much.

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  3. Love this update- she's too sweet!! :)

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  4. She is such a wild and crazy little thing! Reminds me so much of Lucy when she was 18 months....those first born girls ;)

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  5. She is too much cute. I love that little polke dot sweater, too.

    I just loved reading this update. So much similarity to Henry. It always blows my mind when he does something like pout his shoes on or brushes his hair. He is a little sponge. And he's still testing boundaries at 20 months. I think it may be an ongoing thing.

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  6. So cute. So so cute. It's amazing how much they start to pickup right before the 18 month mark, isn't it? She's an absolute doll, Claire!

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  7. Hello Claire. I send an email to aPeachtreeCityClaire@gmail.com. Please check

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  8. Hello claire,

    I saw your blog for clubbed foot. My baby boy also has one clubbed foot. He is 2 months old. I would like to contact you for more details and some helpful tips and answers for some of my questions. I am more worried about his foot. We are in his process of casting through ponsetti method. Please give me your contact information. Thank you so much in advance.

    ReplyDelete

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