18 Months Old...

Well Riley has turned 18 months old and that's a big deal to me...in my head that's where she crosses from baby to toddler...not sure why that's the magic number for me but it is and it makes me sad!

We are having so much fun with her and are in awe of how much she absorbs and learns every day...she's a little person with her own likes and dislikes and she can show love to others and that's just awesome! Instead of pictures I uploaded a few videos that we have taken over the last few days...I had in envisioned recording this video to show all the things Riley does and knows...well she had a different idea! Every time I went to shoot the video she was so enamored with the camera and wanted to come sit in my lap and watch herself on previously recorded videos...we did get some cute stuff in spite of the challenges we faced!

Here's what Riley is up to at 18 Months:

• Sleeping - Well Riley took some time to adjust with the move and all but she eventually did. She is back to her normal 7p to 7a and a 3 hour nap most of the time...she did have two off nights this past week that threw us for a loop. She woke up during the night several times and was up ready to go at 5 am...ouch! When you are used to a solid sleeper a couple of "off" nights messes you up! We are not sure if some teething issues are going on or what but I am happy to report that she slept her normal schedule last night with zero interruptions and is over 2 hours into her nap as I type...woohoo!
• Eating - She's eating great...playing with her food more than she ever has and one night threw her entire plate on the floor...that didn't work out well for her! She is toning back her eating over the past week so I think the growth spurt has subsided for now...I can't notice it too much in her clothes but I can in her shoes...time for new shoes...yeah!
• Talking, singing, and dancing - This girl loves them all and she is always wooing people with her talents...not sure where she got all of these from but she loves them and we love watching her...she really has good rhythm for a kiddo her age!

• Discipline - I have to say she has spent very few moments in the corner in the last month...perhaps since our house is all put together there are less things to get into or maybe she's learned a thing or two from the corner...who knows! She definitely responds better to her Daddy than me...he can scold her and she's bawling whereas if I scold her she smiles and laughs at me...nice!
• Crafting - I'm getting more adventurous with doing crafts with Riley...I am not fond of a mess so sometimes it's hard for me but thanks to Crayola's fabulous products we are doing pretty well. Riley has markers, crayons, colored pencils, and now paints...she just did her first painting that we are giving to Jason for Father's Day...lots of fun! She does a craft each time she goes to school too and we are starting to get piles of Riley's work...how to decide what to keep and what not to keep!
• Independence - Riley is much more trustworthy on her own...still only a few seconds with her out of my sight are allowed but that's a big difference to having to keep her contained with baby gear or furniture in order to get anything done! She is getting used to our house and hasn't gotten into too much trouble! She was "helping" me get the clean laundry out of the dryer yesterday and I saw her grab a couple of clothing items but I thought she just threw them on the floor...no, no, no...she took a pair of Jason's gym shorts and put them in the toilet...what a helper she is!
• Reading - She's still loving reading books...I have to admit it's hard for me sometimes to read with her because of my Type A need to fully read each page before turning it...she wants to be in control of turning the pages but she always turns them before I'm done reading...how silly is it that I have to literally talk myself through just reading as much as I can before she turns the page...geez! She just got a new book from France from our neighbor who took a trip there and brought it back for Riley...it's got all kinds of great paintings and stories to describe them...she is enjoying it so far!
• Swimming - We have made many trips to the pool so far and Riley is loving it...she can walk around in the baby pool pretty well...we still are right there because every now and then she will stumble and take a dip! She likes being in the big pool as well and climbing up and down the steps to get in the pool...she tries to escape our arms though but obviously she can't do that since she can't swim. She starts swim lessons in a few weeks so hopefully we'll have some things to work on with her at the pool! Two days ago we were there with some friends and I along with the other mom were within inches of Riley but she decided she wanted to leave the baby pool and head to the big pool and stumbled and fell so quick that neither of us could even respond quick enough to prevent it...she took the brunt of the fall with her hands but smacked her forehead pretty hard...it was awful! I felt so bad...it really could have been way worse so I'm thankful we didn't have any blood! I grabbed her up so quick and wanted to see just how bad it was so I coaxed her with goldfish and she immediately stopped crying and wanted the goldfish...that's my way of gauging whether a trip to the ER is necessary or not...if food does not fix the problem we are off to the ER! She has an almost perfect circle bruise in the middle of her forehead...I have to admit I thought it was going to look MUCH worse than it does...poor thing!

That's the scoop on Riley for this month...who knows what she will be doing in just a few short weeks...they just grow up way too fast!