18 Months

Today Aliyah went to her 18-month doctor's appointment.  She weighed in at 23 pounds, 13 ounces (63rd percentile) and measured 32.6 inches (71st percentile). 

In the past 6 months since the previous update, the biggest milestone she has reached has been learning to walk around 15 months.  She is also quite the climber, now able to get herself on the furniture.  She has become a master of crawling up the stairs at a pretty fast pace and scooting back down. 

As for her language development, Lia is able to understand what she hears more than what she is actually able to say yet.  She is an observer.  She is able to keep herself entertained. 

Aliyah is a true Daddy's girl.  Ian has a soft spot in his heart for his daughter, too.  One weekend when both kids were spending the night at my parents' house, he was wondering how she was doing since she sometimes finds it a bit of a challenge to be somewhere other than home.  He mentioned that she was his "little buddy."  Aliyah knows when Ian comes in the house in the late afternoon he almost always will take her outside with him for a while.  If he doesn't grab her coat right away, she will point to it indicating she wants to go outside and gets really upset if he goes back out without her. 

Lia also enjoys playing with Eli especially now that they are able to be more interactive together.  They spend lots of time playing with the types of toys they can push around the house.  She loves to be outside and go for both stroller and shopping cart rides. 

While Aliyah cried during her first haircut, she doesn't seem to mind it as much anymore and sits on my lap content while her hair is trimmed now.  Now that she is even more mobile she would rather stay on the move than stay in one spot for too long.  Aliyah is still not a big fan of the car wash and is relieved when it is over.  When other people try to talk to her in stores, she becomes wide-eyed and cautious and will oftentimes reach out to be held by me.  She is wary yet of unfamiliar people.  At this age, Eli had a couple of favorite TV shows he liked.  Lia seems to have no interest in watching any TV yet. 

Oatmeal, graham crackers, maid-rites, fruits, and of course the occasional treat (especially donuts, cookies, and ice cream) are food favorites of Aliyah.  She can eat just about any type of food and a variety of textures even still with just her 5 teeth (2 on the bottom and 3 on top).  She loves her milk and still prefers just plain water to juice.  She is learning to use the fork more effectively as well. 

About a month ago, Aliyah traded in her 2 naps a day for just 1 afternoon nap.  She goes to bed between 6:30 and 7:00 at night, and I get her up at 7:00 in the morning to get ready for the day. 

When Aliyah turned a year old, she started going to daycare on a daily basis.  As expected, it was a very challenging transition for her.  I often left as she was crying at drop-off, and even when I returned at the end of the day to pick her up, she started crying again (maybe she was mad at me or my mom's theory - she was relieved to see me again and expressed it in more tears).  She refused to nap there for about 3 weeks straight, so I would pick her up after lunch so she could take at least an afternoon nap at home in her own crib.  One day after that, she decided to take a morning nap at Barb's house.  Another time, she took an afternoon nap.  S-l-o-w-l-y but surely she became accustomed to her new routine and would take 2 naps there so she was able to stay all day.  The crying lessened and then stopped altogether.  She became friends with another little girl around her age there, and those two would seem happy to see each other.  Now when I drop Lia off in the morning, she goes off and plays right away, gives Vivi (her little friend) a hug, or reaches out immediately for Barb to hold her.  When I ask Lia if she is ready for Barb's house as I am getting her out of her car seat in the morning, she responds with a big grin from ear to ear, scrunches her nose, and squints her eyes.  The only other time she has the same response is when you ask if she wants a treat, so going to Barb's house now must be a treat for her!