Grace's 18 Month Check Up

Grace's doctor's visit went pretty well. She's wise to the whole doctor's office thing. She was happy as could be in the waiting room, but as soon as a nurse opened the door and called her name, she shook her head and said, "No" repeatedly as we carried her in. Then, unfortunately, the nurse that Grace hates was the one to take her measurements, so, naturally, she screamed and fussed a bit. After the nurse measured her length, Grace began doing the sign for "All done" and kept saying, "Done" and "Bye" to the poor nurse.

When the doctor came to examine her, Grace was back in tears. Keep in mind, this was before the shots! She kept telling our doctor, "Bye!" On the upside, when the doctor asked about Grace's development and learned about how well Grace speaks and understands, she suggested Grace might be ready for potty training. I informed her that we do have a potty for Grace (Grace can say "pee" and "potty" too now) and that she sits on it when I go to the potty myself. She also knows she can use toilet paper when she goes on the potty (a huge selling point).

When the doctor left to get the vaccines, Grace was ready to go. She kept repeating, "Bye" and "Door." Then she tried to get Daddy and Mommy ready by putting our sunglasses on our faces...she was quite disappointed when the doctor showed up again. She screamed during the shots, and made the "All done" sign again. Afterwards, the doctor said, "You don't have to come back for six months now!" Grace clapped and said, "Yay!" After leaving the doctor's office, Grace was right as rain again!

Paparrazi

Grace...enjoying an impromptu photo shoot.

Boo!

This picture was taken in May while in Arizona attending a friend's wedding. Grace is peeping through a hole in a tree trunk at the Phoenix Zoo.

Look Who's Cooking Now!

Patrick and I bought Grace a red retro play kitchen! I have been eyeing kitchens for a while. You see, Grace joins me in the kitchen every morning as I make breakfast. She has her own tupperware containers and often digs through the cupboards to haul out a pan or two. She will go to our utensil drawer and get a spoon or spatula. As I cook, she will sit looking at recipe books or pretending to stir something in her tupperware, all the while saying to me, "Hot." She's been doing this a while and seems to be into imaginative play...so I was looking around for a kitchen of her own. I received a discount coupon for a website which sold a kitchen I was interested in...and, well, ended up purchasing a kitchen for Grace a bit sooner than planned. It's a pretty cool kitchen (see for yourself!) and Grace seems to really love it!

We bought a few play food sets to go with it. The other day, while I was in my kitchen, she was in her own. As I was cooking, Grace walked up to me with her pot in her hand, her toy spatula in the other and said, "Look." So, I did. She had an assortment of play food inside the pot and she was stirring. I "tasted" her meal, and she happily tasted it too, then returned to her kitchen to put the final touches on her dish! She's a happy camper! And loves the sink in her kitchen especially. She says, "hands" and places her hands under the faucet to "wash" them. It's so darn cute.

Grace's Latest Antics

Grace is awesome. And at 17 months, she's officially a toddling toddler with antics that keep mommy and daddy amused. A few such antics include:

• Today, Grace and I went to the store to get some fruit and snacks. As I was putting things away in the fridge, Grace dug through the grocery bags, pulled out the plastic-wrapped seedless grapes and used her chompers to gnaw her way to a grape (through plastic and all). Hilarious!
• Grace LOVES bath time. She knows how to say bath and sign it in ASL. Nothing makes her happier. She will stand at the tub and place her hand under the water, without removing it, until I turn the water off and strip her down!
• Grace is a dancing machine. She comes up with her own dance moves and will dance to just about any catchy tune (including the ice cream truck music, commercial jingles, or even a humming mommy). Some moves include raising her hands above her head, twisting her shoulders back and forth, stomping her feet, flapping her arms...speaking of flapping her arms...
• Grace will flap her arms and make "Bac, Bac, Bac" chicken sounds anytime you say the word "chicken." So, guess what she did when we mommy told her we were having "chicken" for lunch?
• Grace now says something very close to "Thank you" and gets a kick out of hearing "You're welcome" in response.
  
• Grace brushes her teeth (and tongue)...and now mimics mommy by bending over and pretending to "spit" in the midst of it. Please note, she does not "spit" into the sink, but onto the floor. The first couple times, she just went through the motion of it. The last time, a little spit did hit the floor. Uh-oh!
• A short time ago, Grace had a little bit of a diaper rash on her bottom. So, I would allow a little more wait time before putting on a diaper. After we gave her a bath, I dried her with her towel, then let her play with her music table for a minute. Suddenly, I see her walk to the bathroom (not unusual as she is obsessed with the bathroom and the bathtub)...when I followed her, I saw her sitting on the floor. Up she stood and left behind a little puddle of pee. I don't know if it was intentional or not, but one could say this was the first time Grace peed in the bathroom. Now we just need her to do it on the potty. (And spit in the sink).

Every day is a new amusement, a new story to tell...Grace amazes me with her humor, her kindness, her affection, her intelligence (I can't believe how perceptive she is), her memory...what's most amazing is that she's our little girl. She is our joy!