Rachel: 16 - 18 Months

By 16 months:

• she has a very good receptive vocabulary
• had her first night without mom and dad while we were at my cousin's wedding
• becoming a picky-eating toddler, doesn't like to eat much for dinner anymore
• she has developed quite a mind of her own! The tantrums!
• we have weaned her off of bottle-to-sleep. She gets a bottle after dinner, but not in her bed with her.
• she is obsessed with picking things up and/or carrying things around, the bathroom/ kitchen stools mostly. Then when she puts them down they end up on her toes and she cries.
• she has found a love for SHOES!

By 17 months:

• says 'NO' to EVERY question she is asked
• she's got the beats! she loves to dance/ bop along to EVERYTHING, including the beeping of the oven at Timmies
• she has been teething quite a bit, and now molars have made for a very grumpy Rachel!
• she brings me a book and climbs on my lap
• really communicating well with (single) words (down, done, etc)
• has finally been weaned off of formula, but seems to have an intolerance to cow's milk, so she gets an almond and coconut milk blend now.
• has learned to play peekaboo in the curtains
• she has started playing with Laura
• realized object permanence of my boobs and goes looking for them in my shirt
  (given the rocky nature of our breastfeeding relationship, I secretly love that she is seeking them out)
• dropped bedtime nursing. We're working on having milk with dinner instead of at bedtime. Generally only nursing in the morning and at nap time now.
• has over 60 words, but is starting to repeat back pretty much everything we say now.
• finally has beginnings of a relationship with a lovey - her pink blanket knitted by Aunt Judy :)

by 18 months:

• we took the side off her crib to make it into a toddler bed for fear that she would climb/ fall out.
• she has become a grazer. She hates dinner and seems to rely on her nightly bottle to fill her up in the evenings. :/
• loves cleaning up :). She even makes messes just so she can clean them up.
• calls Josh by name hahaha
• uses three- and four-word sentences to communicate her wishes.
• swims on her own with water wings! She also really loves the water slide at the pool, as soon as we get to the bottom she demands "gain! gain!"
•  developed a love for stacking cups/ toys. I've never seen her focus for so long on one activity.
•  I think she might be ready for potty training, physically, at least. We are going to give it a go next time we have three days in a row at home, and see if she takes. 
• she nurses only 1 or 2 times a day. But since dropping other feedings she has become much more interested in her morning feed (also probably because she is starving since she never eats her dinner), and all but throws herself at me when I come in in the morning. We have taken to nursing on the floor because she is getting too big/ wiggly for my lap. I am so happy we made it to my (revised) goal after we struggled so long. I would still love to make it until 2 with her, but we will take it one day at a time. Right now, I am very happy with our accomplishment. 

Can't believe we have a little toddler now!