Avery at 18 months

*Avery still loves Elmo, but now has a new favorite character...Thomas the Train. Every night, she sleeps with her small Thomas train and his friend Percy. She actually loves trains in general, but Thomas is right up there with Elmo.

*She is saying pretty much everything now...it's hard to think of a word she can't say! Her words are also becoming much clearer. She can say "bicycle" and "motorcycle" perfectly, all syllables.

*She is putting more words together. Some of her current "sayings" are "Slow, slow...fast, fast, fast!", "C'mon Dixie", "Where is it", "I see you", "Slow down Paige," and she will say "hey (whoever)" and "bye bye (whoever)."


*Speaking of fast and slow, she is starting to grasp the concept of opposites. She obviously doesn't understand that they're "opposites," but she does understand the difference between the words. She knows fast/slow, inside/outside, up/down, open/close, off/on, hot/cold.

*Avery is an accessory girl! She loves to carry around purses and wear hats. If I ever leave our closet door open, it is a given that she will walk out with a hat on...and always on backwards. She also loves sunglasses, but her favorite accessory is a bracelet. At any given time, she may have as many as 3 or 4 bracelets on each arm. Much to my dismay, though, she does not go for the hairbows. She likes to try to put them in hair, but will not keep them in.



*I think she is part monkey because of her love of bananas. Seriously, she can eat almost an entire banana in one sitting!

*She is really getting into imaginative play. She loves to sit at her little table and have a "tea party." She will even sit her animals or babydolls in the extra chair and occasionally pretends to feed them. She loves to play with dolls and will tote them around or put them in her baby stroller and push them around the house. Her "mothering instincts" are starting to show, and it's too cute.





*Avery loves other kids and refers to them all as "babies." Even if it's an 8 year old boy, she calls him a baby and blows him kisses.

*Not only will Avery go up to just any child, but she'll talk to anyone. We can be in the grocery story and she is waving and saying hey to everyone within view. Shayne and I have NO idea where she got this outgoing personality from because I was always painfully shy growing up and Shayne claims he took up residence behind his daddy's leg as a child. Avery is quite the opposite...

*She does not stop for a second. She is constantly moving from one thing to another. Sometimes, she just likes to run laps and laugh along the way! She is definitely an active child.

*She can now count to 13 and likes to try to count as fast as she can. She still loves the ABC song and can now say every letter of the alphabet.


*She absolutely loves music. Once she hears a song a few times, she can sing it. If it's a kid's song or rhyme, she can sing every word. If it's a longer song, she can fill in words here and there. She loves "Ice Ice Baby." Not sure why, but she does. I can sing parts of the song and leave words out and she can fill them in (only the appropriate words, of course). She also loves certain pop songs I listen to in the car. I can watch her in the mirror and she will be dancing to the music, singing and then looking at me to see what I do to the music. It's very funny.

*On that note, Avery reminds me of a much older child (which I don't really like). She loves to sit on her auntie Paige's bed and will dance and listen to music with her and her friends. She'll also throw herself back on the bed and laugh and smile, like she's embarrassed.

*Avery still loves books and can recite her favorite ones. We won't even have the book and I can start reciting it and she will say it along with me. She has a pretty powerful memory.

*Along with all the wonderful things, she also has her moments. She is super sensitive and a little on the dramatic side, to say the least. It doesn't take much to start the waterworks. She also has quite the attitude and shows it from time to time. She tends to throw things whenever she gets mad or frustrated, which we are working on. Gotta love those toddler tantrums!

*Overall, she is a sweet, loving little girl with such an amazing personality who never ceases to amaze us. She keeps us on our toes and always keeps us laughing and well entertained!