18 Months Old

Everyone,

Butterfly turned 18 months old today. I can't believe how much she has changed in the past month. We took her in for her 18 month check up and she is 26 lbs, 5 oz and 34 1/2 inches long. This is one tall girl we have. She's off the charts in height, like 117%. She has only gained 1 pound in 3 months so her doc said to make sure she is eating at least 3 meals a day and 3 snacks a day. Hello, this kid eats ALL DAY LONG. Here is a breakdown:

Breakfast: she normally eats about half of my bowl of cereal (won't eat her own, monkey) and 2 scrambled eggs. She also has a sippy cup of milk, and a package of fruit snacks. If she's really hungry, she will eat some of Juice's cereal too.

Snack: she always has a snack mid-morning, about 9:30 or 10. It's either string cheese and more milk, or an apple or banana.

Lunch: her favorite thing is mac and cheese. She will eat half a box, if not more. We also have applesauce, milk, maybe some string cheese and a cookie.

Snack: after her nap I always give her a cookie and milk, dried cranberries and raisins.

Dinner: anything we are eating. She loves beans, rice, lentils, chicken, pasta, and guacamole. It's been a struggle to get her to eat dinner the past few days. She's more interested in playing and doesn't want to sit and eat. Tonight she had veggie lasagna, turkey, jello with berries, salad, some pasta tomato thing, and water. (We went to a potluck for our church.) This is the meal that I try to get her to eat more veggies, but she typically refuses anything but broccoli stems and frozen peas. Yum.

Snack: right before bed she always wants something to eat. (Probably because she didn't eat all of her dinner.) I try to offer her the rest of dinner, or string cheese. Oh, and milk.

I don't think she is starving. They just want to make sure she stays on her curve for growing. But of course, it's made me slightly paranoid that she's not eating enough. I know she is, but I guess it makes me doubt myself. Stupid doctors.

Let's see...she got 2 shots today. DTaP #4 and tetanus. She did not scream this time. Probably because she had a sucker in her mouth. The first sucker she's ever had. Huge amounts of drool during her shots, but no crying. It wasn't until after she was done and I took the sucker from her that she bawled. I don't mind that they give her a sucker for her shots I just wish they could pick something healthier. And also ask me if a sucker is okay. The nurse ripped the paper off and gave it to her without okaying it by me. I could have said no, thanks, but Butterfly had already tasted it and I knew we would have a battle. Better to battle the sucker removal after the shots than right before.

We went to the park today with my mom's group. Butterfly ran, and ran, and ran. She never stopped running from the moment her feet touched the ground. She is a mover, that one. She loves slides so much and I like that I can just be near the slide and she can get on it, slide down, get on it, slide down, without my help.

I'm looking forward to the days of going to the park and sitting on the benches and watching her run around. Soon.

Safire

PS- She spilled something on her shirt right before we went outside to take the pictures. I like that shirt or I would have changed her. It makes her eyes look so green!