18 Months!

1.5 years! How did you get so old baby girl? You are a full toddler now and you won't let me forget it. You are so much fun to be around and I love to watch you learn and grow. You can do so much including:

- Walk up and down stairs all by yourself. I make you hold my hand if there are more than a couple but you don't really need to.

- Spin in a circle until you get really dizzy. Fall down or stand wobble for a few seconds. Repeat. You think this is hilarious.

- Count to 1! You love counting. After one, you just point and I say the numbers but you recognize what numbers are in several of your books.

- Pick out the color yellow. After we painted the kitchen, we collected lots of yellow things and now you can pick out yellow from a group almost all the time. Sometimes you get other colors but not nearly as reliable.

- Select the "big" one and the "little" one. If I ask you to hand me the little or big you get it right but you don't know those signs so you call the big ones "mommy" or "daddy" and the little ones "baby". This makes sense when we are talking about rubber duckies or toy animals but less sense when we are talking about blocks but you'll figure that out later.

-Talk. You are so funny. You still prefer signing to talking but I know you actually can say a fair number of words. Repeat words include mom, dad, ball but you most often say a word just once though. Just a day or two ago, you said "upstairs" - and grandpa was around to hear it to. I haven't got you to repeat it and probably won't. Its like you slip up and let us know you can talk then realize your mistake and clam up again. I would not be surprised if you hold out for a bit longer then just start talking in complete sentences.

- Reply in the negative. The one "word" we do hear a lot, "Nah" - accompanied by a very empatic head shake. You don't seem to understand the difference between my asking you something and my telling you something but if you keep insisting with the "Nah," I just tell you that it is a "Mommy decision" at which point you hang your head but accept your fate.

- Make animal sounds.  Meow, Woof-woof, moo, baa and gobble gobble are the most frequently heard.

- Give fist bumps. Your uncles taught you this one. At first I just rolled my eyes but now I will admit, its pretty adorable.

- Socialize with people other than mommy daddy grandpa and bubbie. You've finally decided that other people are okay and will occassionally let uncles/aunts hug or even hold you. And you liked greeting the hospice workers and certain family friends now that you've seen them a few times. You'll even share your toys with them.

You are getting such a personality and are definitely a little girl. We bought you new shoes last week and you had very strong opinions on what you wanted. Then we got home and you walked around the house showing everyone your new pink converses! I like that I can see you start to do things that I do. You ask me to rub your back a lot, which is something Bubbie always did for me. And you sleep with your arms tucked under you just like I do.

Mostly though, I just like you. Back in the letter I wrote you when you were just one month old, I said you were my little sunshine and it's true. You fit your name. God gave you to us at a difficult time but I believe He did so because He knew we would need you, need your laughter, your smile, your silliness. You brought such joy to your Bubbie this past year and a half and I know that right now you are lighting up the lives of your grandpa, your uncles and I in what, without you, would be a very dark period for us. I can't imagine what my world would be without you, and I'm so glad I don't even have to try.