18 Months!

It's so cliche but it is so true - time flies when you have kids! It's hard to believe that Anna is 18 months old already. She is a sweet, independent, hilarious little person.

At 1.5 years old, Anna:

• is a little chatterbox, just like her sister! I can't even count how many words she knows now. She is putting together more sentences lately, like "help me, sneakers, Mommy" and "DeeDee, where are you?" and my personal favorite, "I luh you, DeeDee!" She has the cutest little voice and I love hearing her talk. I think watching/hearing the girls learn how to talk is one of my favorite things about being a parent. It's amazing.  
• is funny. She has a good sense of humor and makes us laugh all the time. 
• loves getting baths, and will often protest when it's time to get out. 
• still doesn't sleep through the night! Considering Grace slept through the night from 4 months on, the fact that Anna is still up at least once a night drives me crazy. Usually it's a quick wake up and she settles back down easily, but come on, kid!
• is napping better. For the past few months she's been having one nap per day and usually sleeps for 1.5-2 hours. When I dropped her morning nap she started sleeping better in the afternoon. She still gets tired in the mornings but it's worth it to keep her awake until after lunch. She used to have two short naps a day, about 20 minutes each so this new, one long nap is great!
• loves to drink water! She has had watered down juice and doesn't like it - took one sip, made a face, and wouldn't drink anymore. I'm not complaining!
• is not a fan of sweets. We gave her a chocolate cupcake on her first birthday and she was not interested. We've offered her bites of other sweets/desserts since then and she usually spits it out. Clearly she takes after Brian on this one!
• likes most fruits, loves pasta, hates potatoes and eggs (just like her big sister) and is a big meat eater. She likes some veggies and we're working on getting her to eat more veg. 
• loves babies! She just adores her little cousins and is so sweet with them. She always uses this quiet little voice when she talks to Madeline or Kamryn, it's so cute. 
• enjoys spending time outside, but lately likes to do her own thing. She doesn't want to be confined in the stroller anymore, and will sometimes throw a little fit if we have to leave the playground before she is ready. 
• is in size 4 diapers, size 4 shoes, and is already wearing some 2T clothing. She's wearing some of Grace's old stuff that Grace just wore last Fall!

Anna, you are sweet, strong-willed, loving, and hilarious. I absolutely love watching you grow into this amazing little person. I'm so lucky to be your mama and I love you so much!