18 Months!

Somewhere along the way, my little baby became a toddler. And then all of a sudden, that toddler turned 18 months old. About a week and a half ago! (Yes, I'm behind on my milestones post!)

This past month has been one of the most dramatic in terms of changes in Ginger. She is her own person more so than ever. She has wants, needs, and desires...and she knows how to let you know what they are! ;-)



She is extremely happy and affectionate. She loves her big sister, her mommy, and especially her daddy. When he comes home from work, she runs to him squealing and melts in his arms. Her favorite place to be is sitting on his lap, reading a book before bedtime.



Ginger is adventurous and fearless. She loves thrills, but only as long as I am nearby. She loves to run really fast and keep up with her big sister. She is a master tickler and she loves to be tickled.



Her vocabulary is exploding! She can say a few sentences, and a lot of words. Her favorite word is chocolate. Which is appropriate, because chocolate is also her favorite food. Like mother, like daughter! ;-)



She understands completely what we say to her, and is able to follow directions well. She is very helpful and will do things like go get her shoes, put her shoes on, go get her pajamas, bring her clothes to us, help throw things away in the trash, help pick up toys, and locate lost objects (like, ahem, cell phones that mysteriously go missing).

She is very good at climbing. Probably as good as Paprika was at this age, which is really saying something. Her favorite thing to do (if left unattended for even a moment), is to take a kitchen chair and bring it over to where she wants to climb. Then, she will add things to the top of the chair to make it taller. This gives her a launching pad to climb onto the counter, open up the upper cabinets, and have at it. Thankfully, all of our bookcases and big furniture were anchored to the walls months ago because she has already used them as her own personal Everest. No fear, I tell you. No fear.




She loves all food, and loves feeding herself. There is no way that she will let anyone else feed her (she's been this way for months and months now). She is still nursing and will not give it up - in fact, there is no use in trying because she just wants it more! I know there will come a point when I will need to set limits with that, but right now it's fine.



Paprika is fiercely protective of her sister, and doesn't want anyone outside of our family to touch her. We were at a neighbor's party last week and someone who Paprika didn't know well tried to pick up Ginger, and oh my...it was not pretty! LOL.

She will defend her sister to the end. They are best friends, which is weird to say, since they are almost 3 years apart. But, they seem to have an understanding of eachother and a love that is so strong that not many people can imagine it.

There is no jealousy between these two. Just love.



So there ya have it, the 18 month deets. I can't believe soon I'll be planning for her 2nd birthday. What?! Life just gets brighter and sweeter each day Ginger is in our lives. I never take a moment with her for granted - she is more important to me than my breath...and to think, about 18 months ago, I was holding her in my arms for the first time.