18 Months Old

My baby is 18 months old today. I can't believe it! Here are 18 things about Allison Brooke:

1. She spoke her first "sentences" last week when she said, "Up, peeese", and later in the day she said, "Bye-bye baby"!

2. Mandarin oranges are her favorite fruit. She is currently on a banana strike.

3. She says ball, mama, dada, Lauryn (La-la), bye-bye, uh-oh, balloon, night-night, up, down, off, rock-rock (in the rocking chair), all done, more, bubbles, thank you, eye, nose, no-no, apple, hello, bow, airplane (a-pay), Elmo, and Hope (ope).

4. Bathtime is one of her favorite activites, and she cries when we take her out.

5. She makes the animal sounds for cow, chicken (even when we're eating it..."bock-bock"!), horse, dog, cat, sheep, lion, pig, and elephant (my favorite!)

6. She adores going to our school twice a week and loves her teachers.

7. She loves to "talk" on the phone, and will hold it up to hear ear and walk around saying, "Hello??? Hello???"

8. Every morning she has the same routine. When I get her out of her crib, she puts her baby and her pacifier on top of the dresser and waves bye-bye to them. Then she immediately points to her hair and says, "Bow!" (usually her hair is in her eyes first thing in the morning!) We go and get a bow to pull her hair back, and then she's ready to eat breakfast!

9. She gives kisses on her terms...but it's soooooo sweet when she does!

10. Her idea of a good time is playing Ring-Around-the-Rosey 73 times in a row.

11. She loves being read to (finally!) and Goodnight Moon is one of her very favorites.

12. She is a wonderful teether. I never know she's getting a tooth until I see it after its already in!

13. The trash can is her new favorite toy. She loves to pull things out of it and bring them to me. She is also starting to put things in the trash can all on her own...including her shoes.

14. She LOVES to sing Wheels On the Bus and especially likes the hand motions to the "move on back" part! She also loves to sing the songs she learns in chapel at school. She does all the hand motions and it is so adorable!

15. If we ask her to dance, she grins and then twists back and forth at the hip.

16. She entertains herself very well. She loves to sit next to a basket of anything and just empty it out, one item at a time (books, toys, clothes, etc.)

17. She can't stand having her picture taken in a studio. She is afraid of the big backdrop.

18. She is one of the most easy-going, happy, energetic, loving children ever, and we are so blessed that she is ours!