18½ Month Snapshot

18 month stats from her doctor's appointment a few weeks ago.

Weight: 22 pounds, 5 ounces (20th percentile)
Height: 31.5 inches* (50th percentile)
Head Circumference: 18 inches

Two, two, two... We count with Ainsley all the time and she has recently picked up on it although she only counts with the number two. It is hilarious. She will be playing with her toys, separating items one by one while saying "two, two, two" to each one.


Yes & No... The day that Ainsley turned 17 months old, she learned the word 'no' and said it over and over and over to every question you asked her. She didn't do it defiantly but rather just excited about her new word. And it was really cute because she drew out the 'ooohhh' at the end. Still, we worked on her saying 'yes' as well as 'no' and now she responds to most questions with either reply. This new trick of hers can come in quite handy (eg. when she says she doesn't want a snack before I go to all the trouble of making her one). But her responses aren't foolproof yet and I have already gotten myself in trouble a few times by trusting what she says she wants or doesn't want completely.

Zebra... For Christmas George's stepmom, Amy/Yaya, gave Ainsley a stuffed zebra. Ainsley has lots of stuffed animals but for some reason this one made a connection and has now become one of her prized snuggle/comfort items. It is right up there with her loveys and she now sleeps with it every night and at naps. She also shares her milk and snacks with 'bra' as she calls it. It is sweet to see her pretend. Here she is below not ready to part with Zebra after her nap.


Big-girl crib and bed... In preparation of Ainsley's lil brother, we moved the full-sized bed that was in the baby's room into Ainsley's room and got her a big girl bed frame. We're not going to transition her to the big bed yet so she also gotten a new big girl crib so that the baby can have her crib, which is nicer. She took both transitions with excitement and ease... I'll post more on this later.

Ainzey... Ainsley has started calling herself 'Ainzey' and pointing proudly at her chest. Sometimes (especially in the car) she gets stuck on auto-repeat and does it over and over. But I don't mind because it is so sweet to hear and to see how happy it makes her to know her name.


Mama... I forgot to mention that over Christmas she finally started to say mama, which comes out more like 'baba' sometimes. Even though she would run to me when I said, 'where's mama' I have been waiting quite a while for her to call me mama herself especially since she has been saying dada for months! Still, the wait made it all that much more sweet.

Dora... We intentionally waited a while before introducing Ainsley to TV but with pregnancy exhaustion this fall we began letting her watch one episode of Dora the Explorer a day. At that point she would only kinda watch while she played with her toys. But now... she is seriously in love with Dora, Boots, Backpack, Map and all the other characters and will call them by name. Now as soon as we turn it on, she is glued and often responds to the question prompts. We still try to limit it to one a day... but on rough days (either hers or mine) I'm guilty of letting her watch a second one. Below is her standard Dora-watching position... in her mini chair, with her Dora doll, talking to the TV. :)


Sweet-hearted... I know that we are biased because Ainsley is our daughter but both George and I think she has, for the most part, become such a sweet, kind-hearted little girl. She is so friendly to other people (even strangers, which at times can be a little un-nerving) , loves to give her friends and teachers hugs, and is sure to tell everyone bye and thank you when we leave restaurants or stores. Of course she has plenty of grumpy, whiney moments but quite often the word other people use to describe her is 'sweet' and I couldn't agree more! :)


*Her height must have been measured wrong at her last appointment because otherwise she shrank about .75 inches in 3 months. And I can assure you by the jeans that keep getting shorter and shorter, she is NOT shrinking. :)