Emery Rose { 18 Month update }

I've always been more of the sentimental/nostalgic type, and becoming a parent has magnified those specific traits of mine tenfold. Emery hit her 18 month mark on Christmas Day a few weeks ago, and it made me a little sad realizing that she's now fully into her toddler stage of life, and that this is the last "monthly" age mark that I'd be able to document without sounding like too much of a weirdo. So before time slips away from me anymore, I'm going to take a second to slow down and reflect on my sweet baby girl and all that she's currently doing. 💕

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weight & height: 25 pounds and 33.3 inches long. She's in the 75th percentile for her weight and the 88th percentile for her height, and her doctor figures that as she grows she'll probably end up being long and lean like her parents. 
current vocabulary: mama - dada - Chelsea - please (vocally + the sign for "more") - thank you (vocally + signed) - hi - bye - see you - peek a boo - breakfast - banana - blueberry - yes - no - mine - sorry - show - book - bath - dog - baby - all done (vocally + signed) - high five - bow - wow - yum - yay - again - uh oh - milk - water (vocally + signed) - bite - happy - beep - love you. ❤️   If we're remembering everything then she currently knows how to say over 30 words on her own without prompting/in the correct context, and will also say a few others (mainly colors and people's names) with prompting. 
family & relationships: Emery absolutely adores Kyle and will ask for "Dada" several times a day while he's away at school, but is also my little shadow, rarely ever being found far from my side. She has also taken to calling me "Chelsea", despite all of my best efforts to get her to call me "Mama" again. 🙄  She's rarely shy and loves pretty much everyone, especially her grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncles, and her dental school baby/toddler friends. 
energy levels: Kyle & I are convinced that Emery has somehow inherited the energy of about 16 fully grown adults, and unless she's sleeping, will spend almost all of her time, running, jumping, dancing, climbing, and trying to get into everything that she shouldn't. She doesn't love taking long naps and we're lucky if she sleeps for longer than an hour and a half most days, but she gets a solid 13 hours of sleep at night so we count our blessings and don't complain. 
favorite foods to eat: Breakfast is usually Emery's favorite meal (buttermilk waffles, milk, and a banana/blueberries), but she also loves most fruits, yogurts, cheeses, and any type of cracker/graham. She's not a super picky eater, but refuses to eat raw vegetables, and will take mac & cheese over anything else if it's being offered. She's also a huge fan of peanut m&m's, and if I ever grab myself some as a snack you better believe I'll be expected to share. 
favorite things to do: Aside from taking apart everything in our apartment, Emery LOVES playing pretend and is under the impression that she's a fully grown adult about 60 percent of the time. She loves playing with her kitchen and cooking food, trying to get herself dressed, talking on the phone, taking pictures, shopping (grabbing her purse and walking around the house opening and closing doors while saying "bye" to everyone), and brushing her own teeth. She also loves getting out of the house to either go outside or at least go somewhere new, and will usually cry if someone leaves for somewhere without taking her with them, even if they're leaving to their own house. 😆  She loves reading books and taking baths, and is EXTREMELY affectionate, giving hugs and kisses to everyone and everything as often as she can.
mom & dad's favorite part of this stage: Kyle loves that Emery is in a constant state of learning and that she's at a point now where if we try to teach her a new skill, she'll catch onto it fairly quickly and work it into her everyday routine. He'll always be first to jump to the task of teaching her something new, and loves whenever she does something that he considers "adultish". I love that we're currently at a point where I feel like I'm getting the perks of a sweet little baby that loves to cuddle and give kisses, and a sweet spunky toddler that finds no greater joy than following me around and keeping me company every day. Although there are days with plenty of sass and tantrums, more often than not Em is filled with so much enthusiasm and excitement for the life around her and it's contagious. I love how quickly and readily she loves, and I hope she never loses her incredible spunk for life. We sure do love this crazy, sweet girl!