Time Flies

It's been a while since I have updated so here goes...

Josie is more amazing every day. Every day she learns something new. We had her 18 month check up a couple of weeks ago and here are her stats:

Height - 34 inches (97th percentile)
Weight - 26.5 pounds (75th percentile)

When the doctor entered the exam room, he looked at the stats that the nurse had given him and said "she's a BIG girl". He said that she has grown quite a bit since her last visit. She did a million times better at this visit than at previous visits. She usually screams the entire time the pediatrician is touching her. You would think that he had pins in the end of the stethoscope and laser beams shooting from the eye light. Not this time. She allowed him to check her from head to toe without a fuss. She didn't even flinch at the needle that she received at the end of the visit. I think I remained in a state of shock for the rest of the day :)

Here are some new things that Josie can do. I can't list all of them. To do so would require me to follow her around with a video camera and note pad for the entire day :)

She can count to 2. I was so proud when I saw her point to a block and say "one", and then point to a second and say "two". We practice things like this over and over and eventually it clicks.

She can recognize several colors including yellow, red, green and blue. One of her favorite things to do now is to point out all of the yellow things that she sees and yell "yellow!"

We are working on shapes and circle seems to be her favorite right now. She has mastered all of her shape puzzles and can complete them without assistance.

She loves, loves, loves to help out around the house. She helps load and unload the dishwasher, she helps us vacuum, she helps us to put the groceries away (even though boxes of cereal don't go in the fridge...I correct this when she is not looking), she helps with the recycling and crushes the boxes before they go in the paper bin.

She also has a strong sense of independence which can be frustrating for her sometimes. She can put on her own socks, pants (almost) and shoes. She likes to choose which hat she wears to go outside. She buckles herself into the car seat and high chair.

One of her biggest accomplishments is that she has gone on the potty several times now. She started expressing an interest in the potty about a month ago so I figured, hey, let's go with it. She loves her Dora pull-ups and we hope to be fully potty trained before warmer weather comes.

She is quite the chatterbox. She talks all day long. I have to laugh sometimes when she is telling me the same thing over and over and I just don't get it. She cocks her head and looks at me as if to say "woman, are you that dumb? I am clearly telling you that Max and Ruby is on and I would prefer to watch something else." Only when she finally hands me the remote, do I get it. I guess I am learning right along with her.

I am sure there are 100 things that I am missing, but suffice it to say that she is not a little baby anymore. She is growing up way too fast and I am trying to cherish every little moment with her. Like when she is laying in her crib at night and rubs her hair, signalling me to rub her hair for her. Or when she wraps her arms around my neck and kisses me and says "momma".

Motherhood is amazing and no matter how tired I am or how much work I have to do, Josie is the most important person in my life.