The Daily Alice

Things I love about Alice, at 18 months:

1. The way she says “I want it.” or “I don’t want it.”
2. When asked a question or given a choice, she says “ummm….”
3. When she wants something opened or uncapped or unpeeled, she says “open it.”
4. The way she laughs hysterically when we turn on the blender for smoothies.
5. Her love/hate relationship with King.
6. The way she says “All done” and hands over her plate when she finishes eating.
7. The way she waves at my belly to say hi to the baby.
8. The way she says “halp!” when she buckles herself into something and can’t unbuckle it.

I could go on, I suppose!

How do I talk about 18 months? A whole year and a half. I’m not even going to try. Just know this. My 18 month old is the funniest, sweetest, crankiest, temperamental, most independent and loving creature I have ever known. In short, she is an actual person now and has been for quite awhile, I suppose. Also, she really, really, really loves Yo Gabba Gabba.

Happy 18 months to my bear.

[This is where I would post a photo but something is broken. C'est La Vie.]

Oh, hai. We’ve been busy being toddlers!

Alice is picking up speed with every passing day, literally. Her favorite infuriating habit at the moment is running for the hills when she sees a washcloth headed for her grimy face or a clean diaper in mom’s hands. In other news, she is having a lot of fun at playing “pee pee on the potty.” This little game involves getting on the potty, off the potty, on the potty, off the potty, repeat, rinse, etc without so much as a pee. We’re not actively training her at the moment but since she’s been asking to go on the potty, we’ve introduced the potty seat. She clearly gets the concept, which is the first important step.

Alice has a new sibling coming in April and we’re not sure she understands *that* concept though she does point to mommy’s belly and say “baby,” as impressionable kids are wont to do when that’s all they hear from other adults. In any case, she received some baby dolls for Chanukah, from Grandpa and Grandma Barb. I think the role playing will help her adjust later when she sees mommy feeding and holding the new baby.

Here’s a little taste of Alice’s humor these days:

Shrieking from Nancy Cavillones on Vimeo.

Alice, the copycat.

Yogurt from Nancy Cavillones on Vimeo.

Alice loves greek yogurt with honey, especially when she can feed herself!

Alice on the Run from Nancy Cavillones on Vimeo.

Paul’s Park, Riverdale

Alice turned a year on Tuesday! Amazing! At her one year check-up, she clocked in at whopping 18 pounds, 6 ounces, which is surprising since she usually manages to eat all her food, and mine, too and yours and his and hers and so forth. She has 4 teeth coming in, bringing the count up to 12. She’s also gearing up to be a real chatterbox: mama, dada, baby, no, uh-oh, woa, ouch and Ari. I guess the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, after all!

Navigator from Nancy Cavillones on Vimeo.