The Little Princess, 18 months

We are loving watching little Lucy as she grows into a little girl.  She is sweet and silly and very verbal.   If you make silly faces at her, she will make them right back at you.  She loves to watch herself in the mirror and is enjoying learning to dance and jump.  Her brother has taught her well in the ways of mischief, so it’s not uncommon to find her jumping on the couch or standing on the dining room table if you leave her alone for a few minutes.  Thankfully she is a bit more cautious than he is, so she will at least ask for help getting down (from the table, at least). 

Lucy as a younger sister, and often one of the “babies” in a playgroup, has learned at once to be possessive of her own things (“mine” was one of her first words many months ago), but also to share and give things to others.  Today we have some friends over and Lucy has been bringing them their water cups and blankets all morning, saying, “Here, Elsie!” and, “Here, Lola!”  Henry thinks this is all great fun, especially when she decides to share her food with him (leaving Mommy to wonder how his stack of crackers got so tall).  She also likes to hand us things when we are cleaning or folding laundry or doing puzzles, which is actually helpful. 

When we went for Lucy’s 18 month checkup, I laughed when the pediatrician asked me about Lucy’s vocabulary.   How many words can she say?  Give me a category and I’ll try to count, but she says way more than I can keep up with.  Not to mention the fact that she’ll repeat everything she hears, so she’ll probably learn several new words just during the course of an afternoon.  I love this stage!  While not every one of her thoughts is expressed in complete sentences, several of them are.  Some things you might hear her say today:

“I want more water!  Cup!” (or whatever else is being offered)
“I closed the door, Mommy” 
“I do it.  Self!”  (car seat buckle, getting dressed, etc.)
“I brush the teeth!  Self!”  (yes, there is a bit of a theme here)
“Look!  A hat!  Up there!” 

One of my favorite things is how much Lucy loves her Daddy.  She gets SO excited when he comes home from work, or appears around a corner at home.  Good luck getting her to stop saying “Hi, Daddy!” for several minutes.  At the same time, she enjoys being “bashful” around him.  When he leaves for work in the morning, she’ll sometimes run to him and ask for a hug and kiss (repeatedly).  Other times she’ll turn away at the last second and start giggling, refusing a kiss. 

I can’t wait to see Lucy as a big sister!  She loves to kiss her baby brother (who apparently lives in my belly button) and to look at his picture.  She doesn’t have much in the way of dolls to play with, but when we go to friends’ houses, she finds all the baby dolls and loves to hold them and give them bottles and take them for stroller rides. 

Want more about little Lucy?  Guess you’ll have to come visit and play with her yourself!  Our house is always open.