Maya at 18 Months

Yesterday was Maya's 18 month check up with the doc and here are the latest stats:

Weight: 24lbs 13oz (around 55th percentile)
Height: 31 inches (around 25th percentile)
Head: Still big...around 95th percentile.
Teeth: 11 are showing...12th is nearly there.

She's healthy and developing well. Yay!

Here's a little update on everything else Maya...

She's become quite a little mimic (no bad words allowed). She imitates Daddy when he is lying down on the floor or Mommy when she talks on the phone. She routinely picks up little specks of dirt from the floor and hands them to me (definitely makes me feel like a great housekeeper). I was surprised one day when she picked up a piece of something lovely from the floor and marched over to the bathroom trash can and threw it away herself. Never taught her that, but I guess that's exactly what I do every time she hands me one of her little dirt treasures. She notices everything.

She's very affectionate. She loves hugs and kisses and has now mastered the kiss complete with 'mwaaa' sound. She likes to hug familiar adults and babies. She's still pretty even tempered and generally happy. She not very aggressive, but she's not timid. She likes to engage with people and she still loves all animals. She's really starting to remember people and places and seems to be more relaxed when surrounded with the familiar. She loves to look at pictures of people that she knows and say their names like 'Lulu,' 'Pop,' 'Papa,' 'Coco,' and 'Nick.'

She's starting the communication explosion that is fairly common at this age (as I've been told). A few weeks ago, she started trying out new words and enunciating words more clearly than before. These days it seems like she tries new words every day. Some of my favorites are 'yummy,' 'elbow,' 'ice,' 'shark,' 'bee,' 'house,' and the perennial 'turtle.' Her 'Mommy' and 'Daddy' are pronounced very clearly. She likes to say 'hi' or 'hello' to just about anyone she sees and likes to yell 'bye' very loudly when we leave somewhere. There are times when she just goes off speaking in gibberish, gesturing away as if we are having a long conversation that only she can understand. There are moments of frustration where she wants us to know something but we can't figure it out, but I'm surprised at how well we can understand each other.

Maya is developing and exploring her physicality. She's walking and running, climbing on everything. Recently, she started liking hide and seek which entails us running away and hiding and her following and finding us. She loves pushing a little stroller or carrying big objects around. She's able to stack blocks really well and is also very good at knocking them over. She likes shape sorting toys, puzzles, stackers, and she love bouncy balls. She is very into cars and trucks and has recently figured out how to push them around on the floor. She loves playing with my wallet and pulling out the money and giving it to people. Luckily (for our finances), our good friend, Jake, gave Maya her own wallet complete with cards (playing cards) and Maya bucks. Very cool.

Maya adores books and is very picky about which ones are read to her at various times. Her current favorites are Goodnight Gorilla, I Like it When, Things that Go, Flotsam, and Hug. She will frequently walk up to us with a book and plop down in our lap for a story. She likes music a lot and will frequently do a little dance and sway her head when her favorite songs are played. She claps at the end and if she likes the song she will say 'more!' She seems to enjoy electronic and folk music with a special place in her heart for Michael Jackson's, Beat It.

She's a pretty good eater. She's changes her mind about what she likes and doesn't like every day and usually the food you spend the most time preparing is the food she likes the least. Overall, she eats a decent amount each day with a pretty good variety. Her favorite foods are peas, blueberries, french fries, ice cream, and yogurt. She eats most of her food by herself with her hands or with a spoon. She frequently get's annoyed if we try to help her finish. She is pretty good with sitting in her chair for a whole meal which makes it easier to take her out on the town.

Whether it's food, books, or activities, Maya loves making choices and there's a lot of 'yes' and 'no' these days. She's realizing that she can have some say in what happens to her and she's not shy about letting us knowing her opinion. You go girl!

To celebrate this milestone, we'd like to present a visual trip through the last 18 months. Enjoy!

The Child Prodigy

Maya just started taking art classes in January. These classes are essentially large paint explosions in a controlled space. We soon discovered that Maya is a child prodigy when it comes to eating paint. We always knew she was special.

Maya as photographed by Mommy's mother's group friend, Sarah (her son, Olen, is in the class too).