18 Months... and a little more

I decided I better write Chyler's 18 month update before she turns 19 months. I'm cutting it kind of close!

Weight: 21 lbs. 7 oz. (3-10%ile)

Height: 31 1/2 inches (25%ile)

Her weight and height have stayed around the same percentages her whole life. Part of me thought she'd "grow out of it," but I guess she's just a petite little girl.

Here are some highlights:

One MAJOR achievement I am so proud of is that I am now able to do Chyler's hair. You're probably thinking, big deal. For some people, it may not be, but for me, it's HUGE! Chyler's hair is super thin. That, combined with me never doing a girl's hair ever and a very active toddler who won't still for anythng made it almost impossible. But, after practicing every morning for 10-15 minutes while Chyler was eating, I am finally able to put it up in pigtails or something similar every day. It might not always look great, but it's up and out of her eyes!

Chyler's vocabulary has started to explode! She's dropped a lot of signs now that she can say most of the words now. The words we hear most often are "oh no," "shoes," "thank-you," "help me!," "Mama," "baby," "no" (or as she says it, "mo!") and "eww!" One cute things she does is with the word "thank-you." Whenever Chyler gives me a kiss, I always say "Oh, thank-you! That was sweet of you." So now every time she gives anyone else a kiss, she says "thank-you!" I just think it's so cute that she's started to copy me, even if it's not used exactly right.

Here's a video that shows how much Chyler loves to say "no!"

Chyler loves to play "mom." From sweeping, to holding the baby (her baby doll, not Jackson), to pretending to cook, and more, Chyler loves to copy me. She also loves to run around outside, play with bubbles, practice putting her shoes on, and snapping buckles together over and over again. She just started enjoying movies, like Dora and Leapfrog letter videos.
 

Chyler loves music. Whenever she hears any kind, she immediately starts bouncing up and down. One Sunday, we were walking down the hall at church before it started. She heard the organ playing prelude music and started dancing. I couldn't help but laugh!
 

Time-outs work! It took a while for them to start affecting her attitude, but now it does wonders. I can actually see her change her mind and make good choices. I am very happy with this development :)

Chyler has mixed feelings about being a big sister. Sometimes she showers Jackson with kisses, but other times she gets a little jealous. (Let's just say hitting is one of those things she goes to time-out for.) Due to the jealousy, she's also reverted back to doing some baby things, such as putting Jackson's pacifier in her mouth.

I saved the best for last :) Chyler LOVES watching Justin Bieber's music video "Baby." It's so funny because she wants to watch it over and over. When the video ends, she'll either start pushing buttons to get it to start over or she'll say "Help me! Help me!" until we do it. Brian and I think she likes it because the song has the words "baby" and "down" in it, both of which she uses on a regular basis.