Peyton, 18+ months

As we come to a close on 2011, I thought it would be a perfect time to do Peyton's 18 month (she is now 19 months, oops mom for not being on top of it) blog post.  Peyton is developing quite the personality these days.  She is anything but shy, has a gigantic vocabulary, and continues to amaze us with everything she has learned.  We have thoroughly enjoyed this past year with her, reaching many milestones, working through the challenges that come along with having a toddler, and learning to be patient (this is KEY!!).  Please continue on to read about what Peyton has been up to the past 6 months. 

Clothing:

• Peyton is currently in size 24 months-2T. 

Eating:

We've continued to have great success with tofu, a favorite of hers for months now.  At this point, we try almost everything with her at least once so we can add to the list of foods that she will do well with.  We continue to make some puree's including fruits, spinach, carrots, and butternut squash, however she is for the most part eating cubes of solid food with her hands or with a fork.  She still isn't hot on meats, which is why we are thankful she likes tofu (so she gets protein).  She continues to have whole milk out of sippy cups with each meal, and we are working on supplementing her with water throughout the day with either a sippy cup or cup with lid and straw.  For the most part, she is a fantastic eater.  She eats poorly when we are around big groups of people especially when there are kids there because she becomes so distracted and wants to play.  Favorite foods, which may have not changed much since the last blog post include tofu, carrots, spinach and applesauce, eggs, sandwiches, and oatmeal.

Sleeping:

Peyton sleeps very consistently 11-11 1/2 hours a night, without waking up.  She continues to take 1 nap per day, around 1:00pm which lasts anywhere from 1 1/2 hours-3 hours.  She will on occasion every couple of weeks or so wake up once in the night (seems to be possibly a bad dream, or tummy ache), and just needs a quick snuggle and then is back to sleep.  She did have one night this past month which was very strange for her in which she woke up every half hour or so starting at 12:00am all the way until 3:00am.  That was pretty terrible, but we found out the next day it was due to a backed up tummy.  She still sleeps with her white noise ipod in regular jammies with footie pajama's over those, and a blanket. 8:00pm continues to be here bedtime and she is still sleeping on her tummy.

Vocabulary:

Peyton has too many words for me to list out on this blog post what she says.  At this point, she will repeat anything that is 2 syllables or less and speaks in small 3 word sentences (i.e. "what is that?").  She seems to be excelling in her vocabulary compared to other kids her age, although we know at this point all kids develop cognitively at all different levels.  I still credit the amount of reading we do to her big vocabulary.

Doctor/Dentist

In the past few months, Peyton had both her 18 month doctor visit and dental check up.  She was very healthy at both appointments.  However, she has started being pretty scared at both.  She was hysterical when she got her shots at the doctor, and also when her teeth were being examined.  She had a pretty nasty cough during Halloween and they checked her for Whooping Cough, which thankfully was negative.  She had some faint staining on her 2 front teeth, which the dentist said was very common for any child that has had iron supplements and that it will go away.

Potty Training:

We started working on sitting Peyton on the big potty at about 18 months just to get used to it.  For Christmas mommy and daddy bought her a little potty which has been great.  We aren't pushing the subject very hard yet, but every few hours or so we will take her in there and most times she will go.  She even has gone #2 in there several times.  She gets an M&M each time she goes and likes to flush the toilet when she is done.  We know this could be a long road, and so we are starting off slowly.

Other tidbits:



• Peyton continues to LOVE books.  She will sit in her room and flip through books by herself for a good 45 minutes.   She is always asking us "read book" and we continue to read books every night before bed as well as throughout the day.
• Peyton is working on learning her colors and counting (she can count to 4 on her own as of today). 
• For Christmas Peyton received a Fisher Price bike from Nana, a helmet from Nana, a Dora guitar from Grandma and Grandpa, a kitchen set from mommy and daddy, a personalized step stool from mommy and daddy, a cabbage patch doll from mommy and daddy and several other fun toys, books and clothes.
• Peyton loves to hear motorcycles, airplanes, trucks and buses when we see them outside.  Her ears and eyes are sharper than a whip and she always spots these items before we do.
• For Halloween, Peyton trick or treated at Debbie's, Grandma and Grandpa's, and Auntie Katie and Uncle Todd's house.  After trick or treating we went back home with Nana, Colin and Anna and Ky and answered our door for trick or treaters.  She also attended 2 Halloween carnivals the week before Halloween where she got to wear her bee costume.
• Peyton's favorite move during Christmas was Home Alone.  She would sit there for an hour or more and just be mesmerized by the T.V. 
• She enjoys playing games on mommy's ipone.
• She is into playing pretend with her dolly's, or kitchen set.
• She loves being around other kids (especially her cousin Hank)
• As any toddler, she is into EVERYTHING and we are working on her obeying skills.  She threw her first fit the other day when she couldn't have something she wanted.  She threw herself on the ground kicking her arms and legs and crying.  It was pretty comical.
• She enjoys giving hugs and kisses to almost everyone.
• This past month, Peyton has gone through short phases where she only wants here dad, or only wants here mom.  Apparently, this is common for kids her age.
• She loves talking on the phone to mommy, daddy, and Nana.

Next up, AGE 2!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!