At her check up on Monday, I was happy to hear that, even though she's started walking, she hadn't dropped in weight at all. Yay! In fact, she went from the 5th percentile in weight to the 15th percentile. Yay!!! The doctor said she actually had a spike in both her height and weight and we were thrilled! :) I guess the nutritionist's advice to add butter and mayo to her food along with some other tricks really worked!
So, at 18 months old, here are Mia's stats:
- height: 31 3/4 inches long, which put her in the 50th percentile
- weight: 19 pounds 13 ounces (still not twenty pounds, argh!), which put her in the 15th percentile
- head circumference: 48 1/2 centimeters, which put her in the 90th percentile
Mia has a collection of signs as words that she uses to communicate and amazes us at how quickly she picks up language in word and sign. She mimics what we say a lot, and she leaves off a lot of the ending sounds of words, but it's fun being able to see her learn new things. I'm not sure how many OTHER people would be able to understand her on the street, but we sure appreciate that she is starting to be able to let us know things. She has the following signs and words that she uses to communicate:
- signs: hungry, all done / no thank you, more, stop, please, drink, hot, cookie, owie, brush teeth and baby
- words: up, dog, woof, cat, meow, hot, more, all done, hi, bow, mama, dad, car, flower,boo, thank you, go, bye-bye, outside, down, duck, quack, hello, banana, moo, vitamin, baby, drink, cookie, agua (for water), tickle-tickle, knock-knock, ding-dong and (our absolute favorite) I love you!
Mia is a little mimic and is making a lot of new sounds and copying a ton of words. It's so fun to have a little echo and to see her realize that words are how we communicate. Of course, this can also lead to frustration when she can't communicate what she wants. She also loves helping and is my little shadow - she follows me around and always wants to be doing what I'm doing whether it's dishes or vacuuming or sitting at the kitchen table.
Mia is a big fan of taking shoes and socks off. I rarely bother putting shoes and socks on her at home unless they can be double knotted - and even then they aren't always Mia-proof. More often than not, when we drive somewhere and arrive at our destination I have a happy bare-footed baby in the back seat - shoes and a sock tossed around the back seat. She usually only tosses one sock and keeps the remaining sock to put on her hand. I'm not sure if she sees it as a sock puppet or a mitten, but man is she a fan.
Mia's also enamored of the wipes container. She can find them anywhere, even inside the diaper bag (which she also loves to empty) and loves emptying them out. She keeps one in her fist and squeezes it over and over so that it "juices". lol Then she loves to stuff it in her mouth and munch on it - chewing it like bubble gum while drool POURS out her nostrils and mouth. Man, she's such a little goof ball.
She also loves to crawl onto things, whether it's the play structure at the park, the coffee table, rocking chair, couch, etc, Mia's all about climbing onto it. One of her favorite things to do is climb up onto the back of the couch and either throw herself onto the couch cushions or sit on the back of the couch with her feet in the window sill and look out the window. I fear that one day she'll try it and instead of putting her hands on the window she'll push on the screen and tumble out the window. It makes my heart stop just thinking about it. Luckily she can usually be distracted by something else.
Mia likes to eat by herself with a fork and spoon, and she's actually pretty good at it. Unfortunately, once she's got it sufficiently covered with food, she likes to comb her hair with the utensil like Ariel from "The Little Mermaid". I try not to laugh, but at the same time it can be a little frustrating when she JUST came out of the bath and smells so sweet. She's such an independent little soul and is starting to want to do things all by herself such as wash her face and hands and high chair tray as well as brush her hair and teeth.
Her new favorite things are this little cat she got for Christmas and the book "Buenas Noches Gorilla" (Goodnight Gorilla). There is a gorilla on the front cover that has his finger to his lips as if to say, "Shh", and Mia not only does it every time she see's the book or him doing it on a page, but also throughout the day. It always makes me smile and just want to hug her to pieces! She also loves to point out the banana on various pages. I was confused at first as to why she called it "aba" all the time until I realized that I would always ask her if she wanted a banana, or I'd point and say that it's a banana. "A banana" has become "aba" to Mia. :)
Mia is awesome at giving kisses. She's the best little pucker-er! You ask her for a kiss and she'll turn to you lips a-puckered. lol She's also just starting to say, "Muah!" when she gives kisses. She loves when daddy comes home from work. She shouts/squeals, "DA!" and hustles down the hall to greet her papa. She also loves it when daddy calls from work and sings her "Eensy, weensy Spider". She gets this huge smile on her face and will bob her head back and forth to the music and sometimes try the motions. When papa finishes she'll holler "moe!" (more) for papa to sing another round. :)
She's a great little sleeper - goes to bed at 8 pm and wakes up between 7:30 and 8 am and usually goes down so wonderfully. I snuggle her and sing her a song and sometimes she's already arching for me to put her down. I lay her down with her pink knitted blanket and close the door. She'll sometimes complain a little in a talking voice in her crib and occasionally fuss for a moment, but often she'll just go right down. It's SO nice! She's dropped a nap so she only has one afternoon nap. She'll usually go down for a two hour nap after lunch.
Mia also likes to play with her kitchen and pretend to wash her hands and drink from the little cups as well as chew on the plastic carrot sticks. Sharing is still kind of tricky but she will usually quickly and happily "trade" for something else. She's a little turkey as well and likes to get a rise out of mama and papa by catching our eye and then holding eye contact as she does something she knows will get our goat - like stuff a wipe in her mouth. She's also a big fan of throwing herself on things - on the couch, love sac (beanbag) and mama and papa (which is scary when we don't see her coming).
She loves to dance in the car and wear her sunglasses - well, she loves putting them on and taking them off. Today I went to the mall with my friend Olivia. She was looking for ear rings for piercing her baby girl's ears so we were in Claire's looking around. I'm pushing the stroller and the isles are really narrow. I turn to say something to Olivia and turn back to find this:
I guess I need to get my rear in gear and get an 18 month photo of Mia with her blanket and giraffe to add to the collection. I'll try and get it done this weekend. :) Feel free to get after me if you don't see one.
Okay... UPDATE... here are her 18 month photos finally. I had them on the big camera and I don't download from it as much as I should. My little girl is growing up! (And I now have to bribe her with a sucker to get her to stay still for a half a second!
\
Mia is a big fan of taking shoes and socks off. I rarely bother putting shoes and socks on her at home unless they can be double knotted - and even then they aren't always Mia-proof. More often than not, when we drive somewhere and arrive at our destination I have a happy bare-footed baby in the back seat - shoes and a sock tossed around the back seat. She usually only tosses one sock and keeps the remaining sock to put on her hand. I'm not sure if she sees it as a sock puppet or a mitten, but man is she a fan.
Mia's also enamored of the wipes container. She can find them anywhere, even inside the diaper bag (which she also loves to empty) and loves emptying them out. She keeps one in her fist and squeezes it over and over so that it "juices". lol Then she loves to stuff it in her mouth and munch on it - chewing it like bubble gum while drool POURS out her nostrils and mouth. Man, she's such a little goof ball.
She also loves to crawl onto things, whether it's the play structure at the park, the coffee table, rocking chair, couch, etc, Mia's all about climbing onto it. One of her favorite things to do is climb up onto the back of the couch and either throw herself onto the couch cushions or sit on the back of the couch with her feet in the window sill and look out the window. I fear that one day she'll try it and instead of putting her hands on the window she'll push on the screen and tumble out the window. It makes my heart stop just thinking about it. Luckily she can usually be distracted by something else.
Mia likes to eat by herself with a fork and spoon, and she's actually pretty good at it. Unfortunately, once she's got it sufficiently covered with food, she likes to comb her hair with the utensil like Ariel from "The Little Mermaid". I try not to laugh, but at the same time it can be a little frustrating when she JUST came out of the bath and smells so sweet. She's such an independent little soul and is starting to want to do things all by herself such as wash her face and hands and high chair tray as well as brush her hair and teeth.
Her new favorite things are this little cat she got for Christmas and the book "Buenas Noches Gorilla" (Goodnight Gorilla). There is a gorilla on the front cover that has his finger to his lips as if to say, "Shh", and Mia not only does it every time she see's the book or him doing it on a page, but also throughout the day. It always makes me smile and just want to hug her to pieces! She also loves to point out the banana on various pages. I was confused at first as to why she called it "aba" all the time until I realized that I would always ask her if she wanted a banana, or I'd point and say that it's a banana. "A banana" has become "aba" to Mia. :)
Mia is awesome at giving kisses. She's the best little pucker-er! You ask her for a kiss and she'll turn to you lips a-puckered. lol She's also just starting to say, "Muah!" when she gives kisses. She loves when daddy comes home from work. She shouts/squeals, "DA!" and hustles down the hall to greet her papa. She also loves it when daddy calls from work and sings her "Eensy, weensy Spider". She gets this huge smile on her face and will bob her head back and forth to the music and sometimes try the motions. When papa finishes she'll holler "moe!" (more) for papa to sing another round. :)
She's a great little sleeper - goes to bed at 8 pm and wakes up between 7:30 and 8 am and usually goes down so wonderfully. I snuggle her and sing her a song and sometimes she's already arching for me to put her down. I lay her down with her pink knitted blanket and close the door. She'll sometimes complain a little in a talking voice in her crib and occasionally fuss for a moment, but often she'll just go right down. It's SO nice! She's dropped a nap so she only has one afternoon nap. She'll usually go down for a two hour nap after lunch.
Mia also likes to play with her kitchen and pretend to wash her hands and drink from the little cups as well as chew on the plastic carrot sticks. Sharing is still kind of tricky but she will usually quickly and happily "trade" for something else. She's a little turkey as well and likes to get a rise out of mama and papa by catching our eye and then holding eye contact as she does something she knows will get our goat - like stuff a wipe in her mouth. She's also a big fan of throwing herself on things - on the couch, love sac (beanbag) and mama and papa (which is scary when we don't see her coming).
She loves to dance in the car and wear her sunglasses - well, she loves putting them on and taking them off. Today I went to the mall with my friend Olivia. She was looking for ear rings for piercing her baby girl's ears so we were in Claire's looking around. I'm pushing the stroller and the isles are really narrow. I turn to say something to Olivia and turn back to find this:
That's a headband you say? My sweet Mia sees sunglasses. :)
Playing with her kitchen and food with the "big girls". :)
I guess I need to get my rear in gear and get an 18 month photo of Mia with her blanket and giraffe to add to the collection. I'll try and get it done this weekend. :) Feel free to get after me if you don't see one.
Okay... UPDATE... here are her 18 month photos finally. I had them on the big camera and I don't download from it as much as I should. My little girl is growing up! (And I now have to bribe her with a sucker to get her to stay still for a half a second!
\Man, she's getting so big!
Look how little she use to be and how much she's grown!
Mom! You're really cramping my style!
My little snuggle monster, so darn tiny!
Bribery (aka, sucker) will get you anywhere! :)
Man, in another 18 months, my little Mia-moo will be three and starting pre-school. Boggles the mind!!!
Hi! Thank you so much for your blog. Your little Mia is super cute! My daughter Lydia was born in October with a bilateral complete lip and palate. Your blog has been an encouragement to me and I've enjoyed reading it!
ReplyDeleteBecky, so glad we were able to share some encouragement, and congratulations on little Lydia's birth! I know that when I first found out and that first year after Mia was born I had some mama's and babies that I followed on their blogs and the Baby Center cleft group that gave me hope and encouragement as well. So glad I could "pay it forward" in a way. :)
ReplyDeleteLittle Miss Lydia is probably old enough now that she's heading into some surgeries. Best of luck with all of that and feel free to ask any questions or share any concerns you might have. Us mama's gotta stick together! :)
Oh she is growing up! And so smart! We need to get these gals together. We are going to SLC Feb 10-20 if you happen to be there too...probably not but one of these days our visits will line up and we'll NEED to have a play date. Love you lady. Loved your Christmas card too.
ReplyDeleteMan, we totally DO, and one of these days it's GOTTA overlap. We're actually going to be there Jan 24th thru the 31st so looks like we'll just miss you guys. Bummer!!! Loved your Christmas card too! So fun that we have babies the same age. :)
Delete