18 months

Smiling girl

I know this is a little late, since Gabby turned 18 months on Saturday, but I was waiting until her 18 month check-up so that I could post her "official" stats.  And here they are:

33.25 in tall (86th percentile)
27 lbs (92nd percentile)--and I actually believe this weight, so they must have fixed their scale.

She's still very tall and very skinny, just like mom and dad.  She also has another ear infection.  I think she somehow knows when she has a well-child visit and just decides to get sick right before it, because she's the picture of health in between them.  At least this time it makes sense--they just combined her daycare with another one, so there's a huge crop of new kids (and new illnesses) for her to play with.  Thank goodness we live in the age of antibiotics!  I will say despite the infection, she's handled the combination of daycares really well; she's been shrieking with joy when we roll into daycare in the morning!  The Merryhill kids had a rougher time, since they were switching buildings, while at least the former Phoenix kids were staying in the same place!  It seems to have gone as smoothly as these things can. 

It's been a busy month for us.  We went to the State Fair with our friends, and we all had a great time.  It was a bit warm (it is summer in Sacramento, after all), but we got to see the farm animals, visit the petting zoo, eat some yummy food and Charlotte got to ride some rides.  I'm looking forward to next year when Gabby and Phoebe are old enough to go on rides too!

On our way to a fun day!

Phoebe's stroller had a flat, so she got a rental.

Porcupine

Gabby was fascinated by the birds (not pictured)

So was Phoebe

Walking to the petting zoo

This was by far Gabby's highlight of the day.  She liked the goats, but the sheep blew her mind.

She loved touching them

The goats were very aggressive when food was present, as Stephanie found out!

Charlotte by the deer

Gabby did let me put her down...

but wanted back up immediately when a goat came over!

Looking at the baby animals

Phoebe up close

Piglets!

Enjoying a snack

Fish

She refused to touch them, but loved watching them swim

Charlotte and Stephanie on the log ride

By the way, I promise that we do hang out with other people (and by ourselves), but Brian seems to only bring the camera on outings with the Berrys!

I'm done with my summer class now, and Gabby spends 1 day a week with me.  This Thursday, we walked up to the park together and saw some ducks.  Gabby was in love.

I do apologize for my random conversation in there--another person stopped and we talked about how the ducks always congregate here.  I'm enjoying time with her again, but I have to say it's a lot harder now than it was when she was tiny!

Gabby loves to be outside.  She'll grab her shoes and go to the door and say "outside?".  If you don't give in, she gets really mad.  She loves to walk by herself now, and it's a struggle to get her in the stroller.  She's becoming very independent and wants things done her way.  That's about right for the age!

Her words are still increasing a ton--I estimate she has around 50 now.  She's started with simple 2 word sentences (usually "Where ___?"--her favorite being Where toes?, but Where Daddy, Where Mommy, Where Dubby, etc get thrown in there too), and very clearly understands a ton of what we say to her.  She's also started to day "biper" (diaper) when she's pooped.  It's a cool trick, and keeps me from having to awkwardly smell her all the time.  Her teachers at daycare says she's really good at listening and following directions there, and communicates what she wants very well.  She's also an expert napper and eater for them!  She does nap well at home, but I think sometimes she eats so much at daycare that she's really not interested in supper!

Gabby had her first taste of hot chocolate (really the whipped cream off my hot chocolate), and she loved it!

I made the mistake of getting hot chocolate with no whipped cream the other day, and she threw a fit because she couldn't have any!

We're headed to St. Louis next week to visit my side of the family, and I'm a bit worried about the flight.  She hasn't flown since Christmas, and she's gotten to be way more active (and headstrong) since then.  I've pretty much resigned myself to being "that family" on the plane.  Maybe she'll surprise me.

After our trip, I'm back to school, with an evening class on M and W, and a lab on F.  I've taught the class before, and I have all of my materials ready, so I'm hoping for an easy semester!  At least it will be better than summer--that was intense!  I actually bought a pedometer because I was curious about how much I would walk during those three 6 hour days.  It turned out to be almost 8000 steps, which was basically 3.5 miles!  At least in fall it's only 1 lecture and 1 lab on M and W, and the lab on Friday is a make-up lab, so fairly light on the walking.

Lastly I want to say a huge congratulations to our friends Judy and Robbie and Elizabeth and Lawrence on the birth of their daughters Ellie and Katelyn (respectively).  Ellie was born on August 3, and Katelyn on August 12.  Judy had a MUCH rougher time than Elizabeth did, but all moms, dads, and daughters (including Elizabeth and Lawrence's first daughter Samantha) are home and doing well now!