Charlotte is 18 months old

Charlotte went for her 18 month appointment on Wednesday and was such a good girl. She weighs 23 lbs, 11 oz (50%) and is 32.3 inches tall (75-80%) so maybe she'll end up being tall and skinny! I had to fill out a report card on her and answer all sorts of questions about what she's able to do. I remember doing this with Nathan! I answered yes to almost everything...does she like to climb, can she pick things up with two fingers, does she take you by the hand to show you something, does she point to what she wants, can she stack blocks on top of each other...Yes, Yes, Yes to everything! And then this question: Does she say at least 8 words not including Mama and Dada? Can I count Mommy and Daddy? Nope, it has to be 8 words besides any form of "mom" and "dad". So I had to answer no to that. She says Mama, Dada, Mommy, Daddy, up (which can mean the literal UP like she wants to get up, or it can mean CUP) Bah Bah which either means BOTTOM or ball, and that's about it. So she's a little behind on her words but I'm not worried about it and neither is the doctor since she understands everything we tell her. I can ask her to do just about anything and she knows what I'm talking about.

She is still very shy around people she doesn't know well. When Dr. Guetersloh was doing his exam, she was trying to be a big girl, but she kept looking at me and her little mouth was turning down like she was about to cry but was trying not to. At one point he picked her up and took her across the room to watch her walk. As soon as he put her down, she RAN to me with her arms straight out and said "Mommy." When I picked her up, she just laid her head down on me and patted me. So cute! Charlotte didn't get any major shots, but she did get the flu shot and a finger prick to test her iron. She cried just a little but then loved getting a band-aid. When we got home, I tried to take it off, but she didn't want me to. And when it came off in the bathtub, she led me to the pantry where we keep all of the band-aids and pointed to the box! She wanted a new one!

Here is our usual "serious" Charlotte

Little Miss Serious looking at her band-aid...and then I got her to actually smile for the camera! The next two pictures are of her smiling because I made her laugh and then the last one is her smiling all by herself because I asked her to.

 

Charlotte is just the sweetest thing ever! She is extremely loving and loves to cuddle. She is super sensitive so I have to be careful when I tell her no because her feelings get hurt VERY easily. She still loves her babies and loves to see real babies when we're out. She's even gotten to where she recognizes a baby carrier. Even if a blanket is covering it, she squeals and points if she sees one, or even a stroller because she knows there's a baby in it. Where Nathan loves to look at a toy catalog to see the toys, Charlotte loves to look at it to see babies! And she and her brother are so cute together. Nathan is normally really sweet with her and likes to play with her, but he can be naughty too. The other day I heard him telling her that Mama and Papa were at the front door. He said, "Little girl, guess who's outside? It's Mama and Papa!" And then he would laugh when she would run to the front door to see them! It was kind of sad but also funny. Nathan has also come to realize that Charlotte pretty much thinks I am only HER mommy. If I hold Nathan in front of her, she comes over and starts to cry or tries to pull Nathan's shirt to get him down. And Nathan thinks it's funny! There have been so many times that he wants me to hold him just because Charlotte is right there and he wants to see her reaction. Sometimes I'll say, "Now Nathan, don't TRY to make her upset." And he'll say, "Mommy, we have to teach her to share."