THE BECK FAMILY: Elle's 18 Month Highlights!

Your 18 month statistics from Dr. Petrovich:

Weight: 23 pounds - 56%

Height: 32 inches - 57%
Head Circumference: 46 centimeters - 43%

Your personality is growing, sweet girl! You love to babble as if what you are saying makes sense, which it probably does. We just aren't sure what you are saying yet! We do understand a lot of what you communicate. Here are some of your words:
bubble, thank you, please (eeeese), mama, dada, nana, papa, gra (for grandpa and grandma), Reesh, no, wawa (water), mine-ah (mine), dah (dog), ni-ni (goodnight), uh-oh, haaa (hot), kick-kick, and stop (with a strong t and p). You shake your head "yes" dramatically when you really want something. On Reece's birthday, you asked, "Ma dohna, eeeese!" (more donut please) while shaking your head and signing please. The cutest is when you say, "shhhh" you press your finger to your nose. You know coffee is hot, and when you smell my coffee breath in the morning, you will say, "haaaa". If you don't get your way, you will cross your arms and stick out your lower jaw and lip.

You've put together a few phrases:

I wannah ree-ree now.

Elle, me!

I wannah see.

Ess ko! (Let's go!)
Hiiiii dah! (Hi dog!)

You regularly sign: water, milk, fish (for real fish and Goldfish crackers), please (while saying eeeese), more, and thank you.

You are beginning to engage with the television and enjoy watching Little Einsteins, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, and Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood. Each of these shows asks the audience questions, and you will answer them very seriously by saying, "Uh-huh" and shaking your head yes. You ROAR when you want to watch Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood.

You wave at and blow kisses to strangers and dogs. They all love you! You love to tickle-tickle, especially babies.

You think most things are funny, including things you aren't supposed to do, like hit mom and laugh, and then repeat (even after I ask you please not to).

Your bedroom is also a playroom and quickly becomes a battleground. You and Reece are learning to share, and to have patience with each other. If Reece is working on something (blocks, puzzles) he will instantly scream and defend his hard work the minute you walk into the room. He's in fear of your demolition, and you gladly accept the mission with a sneaky grin. You love to tease your big brother, and are learning how to push his buttons.

Your personality is coming in strong. One meal you chose to throw your food on the ground. I told you "no" but you did it again anyway, so I slapped your hand. You look me straight in the eyes and did it again. We continued back and forth three more times, so I decided it was time for your first "Time Out".

Even though you seem to be strong-willed, you easily break in moments of frustration and smile or laugh. One evening your arm wouldn't go through your pj shirt, so you began screaming and clenching in frustration. I started singing Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, and you stopped and started doing the gestures to the song, all while still crying from frustration.

You love books! A few of your favorites right now are:
No More Monkeys - you shake your fingers and are very serious when scolding the monkeys.
Goodnight Gorilla - you are intrigued by the page with the animal eyes in the dark, and flip back to it over and over.
The Jesus Storybook Bible - you love the animals!
Little Mouse, The Big Hungry Bear and the Red, Ripe Strawberry - You say, "Boom-boom-boom!" and "Huh!" with your hand over your mouth, just like little mouse.
Little Lamb's Big Scare - You love to find the owl and say, "Whooooo!"
Jonah's Adventure - You pinch your fingers like the crab and are very concerned about Jonah being inside the whale.

You also love any song with hand motions: Twinkle-Twinkle Little Star, Pat-a-Cake, This Little Piggy and The Itsy-Bitsy Spider. You sing the ABCs with made up letters/sounds, but accurate intonation.

A few more random things about you these days:
-You have a crazy appetite all day long, and prefer snacks (raisins, Goldfish, cheese cubes, grapes, etc.) over meals.
-You are still messy, especially when eating!
-You love to play with stickers, even the stickers on fruit. You love sticking them on yourself and others.

-Your eye teeth are already coming in!