18 Months - Ilyana

My baby girl is a year and a half. I can't believe it! Ilyana is a walking, talking, hilarious toddler. Seriously, she's a hoot! She can walk, run, climb, and jump, and she loves to explore. She has about 8 words that she consistently and correctly uses as well as a multitude of animal noises and words that she will copy. She also has 11 or 12 signs that she often uses to communicate. Her newest obsessions lately have been light switches and the microwave. Every time we pass either she asks to "see that" (zeee dat! zeeee dat!). She has also recently has figured out how to nod her head yes or no. Usually no. I'm so excited about her developing communication skills, I'd love to know what that little mind of hers is thinking! Over this past month Ilyana has started becoming a bit of a social butterfly. She no longer cries when someone looks at her and even will walk up to strangers and give them a hug. Ilyana's favorite TV show lately has been "Bubble Guppies". She loves dancing and clapping to the theme song and Jake and I love laughing at the ridiculous puns. For the most part, Ilyana is still a great eater. She loves meat and fruit and especially loves anything she can dip in ketchup. Her favorite snack right now is probably yogurt covered raisins or the m&m's that she gets for dessert when she eats well. Ilyana has definitely discovered that she has her own will, however she is still a very obedient, easy child. In fact, a few weeks ago I told her "Ilyana, you need to stop throwing a tantrum or you're going to be spanked.". She then proceeded to spank herself and quit crying. Like I said, she's hilarious. We're very excited for Ilyana to start gymnastics lessons this week! I think this will be a great opportunity for her to try new things and learn new skills while also having an opportunity to be around other kids her age! Ilyana still absolutely adores her little brother. She loves to play peekaboo with him, share her water and (age appropriate) food, and give him toys. She is such a sweet and caring big sister! A big change in Ilyana's life this month has been giving up her pacifiers. We wanted to do it before she turned two and she has started building a connection with a couple of stuffed animals so we decided that it was a good time to go for it. We just did it cold turkey and had her throw them away before a nap. She gave them all one last suck and threw them away. The first couple of days had quite a bit of crying before nap and bedtime but after 3 or 4 days she seems to have forgotten about them. We're so proud of our big girl!

Ilyana likes: Bubble Guppies, baby dolls, animals, her family, any sort of technology, her Pichu and Pikachu stuffed animals, music,

and coloring.

Ilyana dislikes: bubble baths, broccoli, and the church nursery.