Every Little Thing That You Do, Baby I’m Amazed By You

Our perfect LP is now 18 months old and I find myself constantly amazed by how much she is learning and what a lovely little person she is becoming.

Last Sunday LP took her first unaided steps and has since ‘walked’ 3-4 steps in a row each day until yesterday when she walked the width of our lounge and this evening she walked the length of our dining room in search of cheese! Everyone has said to me over the last few months that LP will walk when she’s ready and they were right, she is definitely now making up for lost time! I am truly amazed that she has already got to the point of walking – considering she broke her leg at 14 months she is definitely now catching up!

LP continues to have an amazing appetite, a huge capacity for food and is willing to try whatever we offer her. She eats cereal for breakfast most days – usually Cheerios or a combination of Cheerios and Bitesize Shredded Wheat followed by a banana. She’ll then have a jacket potato, toasted sandwich or something on toast for lunch followed by fruit and she’ll have a ‘side plate’ size portion of whatever we’re having for dinner – Enchiladas tonight, Sausage Tagliatelle last night, Mustard Chicken the night before. LP will at least try most foods but her favourites are still mashed potato, jacket potato or pasta! She also has a clear love of fruit – blueberries, raspberries and mango especially! I have never bought so much fruit in my life!

LP’s vocabulary is also coming along greatly. She now says Hi and Bye regularly, says Daddy and Nanna often and ‘chats’ constantly. Other words we can understand are Door, Dog (at any furry animal), Bib, Shoes (at shoes, socks, tights) and Eyes. She’ll also point to the relevant things when we say Head, Hat, Coat, Shoes, Cat, Nose, Eyes, Ears, Tummy, Hair, Bum and many more. She makes us laugh by sticking her tongue out when we ask where her tongue is and if we say Cough or Coffee she’ll cough twice!

LP also insists on playing ‘Row-Row’ wherever we may be – in the pushchair, highchair or a shopping trolley – Incredibly entertaining trying to push a trolley and play Row the Boat at the same time! She gives kisses and cuddles unprompted, patting our shoulder during most cuddles and will also kiss the cats and any other furry things – Teddy Bears, Dogs etc.

LP has great long imaginary conversations on her Fisher Price Retro Telephone (you remember, the ones we used to have!) saying Hi, Bye and randomly talking and listening at regular intervals – watching her hold the phone to her ear and ‘listen’ is always entertaining for us!

LP always comes upstairs with me when I get in from work to get changed and tonight she decided that when I walked around closing the curtains that she’d say ‘Bye-Bye’ to the outside each time – a ritual that she started when we closed the curtains and blind in her room a week or so ago.

LP has a love of routine. She now insists on the radio being turned on before each meal and reminds us that she needs her sleeves rolled up, her bib put on and her hair tied back before She’ll eat. She also knows that after lunch she has her nap and that after dinner she has a bath, books and bed.

Her sleep has improved hugely over the last couple of months and I think it is now safe to say she has a good sleep routine. LP goes to bed at 7:30-8pm every night and will sleep until 8am at the earliest – if we leave her to wake naturally she has slept as late as 9:30am some days but on others I have to wake her at 7am to take her to the childminders. She’ll also have a nap at 2pm if we’re at home which can be up to 2 hours long but if we’re out then she’ll happily go without or nap in the car on a long journey.

LP is learning constantly and it’s amazing to watch her grow, learn and practice everything. She shows so much love not only for her family but for everything around her and she is happy 99% of the time. She really is a joy to be around and I cannot remember a time when she wasn’t a part of my life – life must have been so meaningless before LP arrived. She really does amaze me daily and I feel so lucky to have her in my life.