Dear Everleigh (19 Months!)

Dear Everleigh,

This post is a few days late (sorry!), and you are now 19 months old! Like---a year and a half plus one month ;) Right now, you are getting into everything all the time. You couldn't be more curious, and it's kind of exhausting but also really neat to behold. You are constantly putting the pieces together and figuring out what's what, who's who, and how to get what you want done (you are becoming an expert at this). This was a big month for our family, and you've been a real trooper. Here's what you've been up to:

New House: We moved a few weeks ago, and you gained a giant fun-filled playroom in the move. You love your playroom, and still call our house "new house". Sometimes when we're all downstairs, you'll say "playroom" and then "Mommy come too" or "Daddy come too".  You're super good at recruiting playmates! You have adjusted to the move really well, and tell us all the time that you love the new house. You are now sleeping in your new room about as crappily as you did in your old room, so you're settling in :)

"Yeah Man, Yeah Dude": I don't think these are things we say very often unless we're joking. But somehow, you've glommed on to them and you now say these two phrases frequently. I have to admit, it's super cute. You're our little hippy baby.

Waking Up: you've started doing this funny thing where literally the second you wake up, you start talking. Lately, you've said some really funny things right off the bat. Yesterday, you woke up and said "Oh man". And the other day you woke up from a nap and said "meow". It seems like you have so many words in your head that need to get out, you can barely take a break at nighttime and nap time.

Little Words: You are now saying lots and lots and lots of words. You will repeat almost anything, so we have to be extra super careful what we say. You tend to repeat bad words 10 times as much as good words if you catch wind of them. Some of your favorite things to say? "Mommy's home now", "I love you", "Daddy does it" (as in "bagel with cheese please. Daddy does it"), "tall baby" (we really started something with that one :) you request tall baby at least once a day...often saying "tall baby, Mommy/Daddy/Tory/"whoever you think you can convince to put you on their shoulders and walk you around).

Okay: One of your favorite tricks to pull is to say a word, like "grapes". Then when someone says "oh, you want grapes?" you say "okay", as it they just thought of it and you guess you'll go along. Even the way you say "okay" is all drawn out with the emphasis on the first syllable, almost like "I guess I'll let you do this for me, if you insist". It's brilliant and I'm thinking about incorporating it into my daily life:
ME: "raise"
MY BOSS: "what's that? You want a raise?"
ME: "o--kay".
Thanks, Everleigh for coming up with such an awesome strategy for getting your way and making people feel like it was their idea.

Growing: At your 18 month check up, you weighed 23 pounds and were 30 inches tall. This makes you kind of small for your age (like 25th percentile), but the doctor says you're perfectly proportionate and healthy so you're on the right track. Plus Daddy's a shorty, so you're probably not going to be super tall. And that's ok ;) Lately, you've been going through a growth spurt and you're hungry all the time. We feel like we feed you all day (and all night), and it's still not enough. You are a good eater, girly....something you may have inherited from me ;) Your favorite things to eat right now are bagels with cream cheese, corn, chicken nuggets, goldfish, anything noodle-based, cheese, yogurt, grapes, blueberries, and green beans.

Dance Party: At the new house, we have an unfinished basement that Daddy has turned into an art studio. At first, you thought the basement was scary and weird, but after Daddy put up his art and got some color going on and some speakers and whatnot, you decided it is party central. We've had a few dance parties down there, and you love to groove. So now you want to go to the basement all the time, and will say "basement" and then dance this little dance where you tuck your elbows in and bounce up and down while turning side to side. Last night we paused a movie to have a spontaneously requested dance party in the basement. You're that good ;)

Reading: you have always loved books, but lately you are so eager for new information, you can't wait to read. Your favorites? "When I get Bigger", "Ten Little Babies", "Snuggle Puppy", "Go Dogs Go".

Bike Ride: you spotted Mommy's awesome bike she rarely rides in storage in the basement, and insisted we put you on it for a ride. We just let you sit on the seat, but then you leaned in to grab the handle bars like an old pro. You soooo want a bike, but I think you forget like, all the time that you are ONE. So...we're thinking of the best kind of kiddo bike/trike to let you try out this summer. I can already see you wanting to ride a motorcycle or something in the future. Your daredevil nature has not faded one bit.

Genius: So this one may be a stretch (or not?), but we are convinced you're the smartest baby in town. Last night when I was reading you Ten Little Babies, you looked at the number 8 on the page and said "eight". You know some of your colors (blue, red, purple, yellow, green), and you have a really good sense of comedic timing. Genius or not, you're definitely destined for great things!

Vintage: This month Grandma and Pappa went through their storage and attic spaces and found three large tubs full of baby and big girl clothes that used to belong to my sisters and me when we were little. I was born all the way back in the 1980's, and my parents were still pretty big into the 70's still, so a lot of the clothes are 70's ish handmade pieces that Grandma sewed way back in the day. I had so much fun digging through the tubs and reveling at all the amazing little vintage finds. You definitely have the start of a killer vintage collection at one and a half, and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't jealous. You could really take it or leave it, but it's been fun for me to put some of my old clothes on you and take your picture!

You surprise me every day with how smart, loving, and brave you are. I write so much in these posts, because I don't want to forget any of it--your little words, your quirkiness, your little crooked toe, the way you laugh when other people laugh even if you don't know what's funny....these are the things that fill my head as I fall asleep at night and that bring a smile to my face when I first wake up. You are the joy in my life, and I will be forever thankful to you for that.

Love always,

Mommy