18 months!!

She sure has become 'Toddler Laurel" and is quickly leaving babyhood behind.  In fact, I'm pretty sure that if you asked her she would tell you she is a three year old just like her sister.  In her mind she is a big kid.  She refuses to sit in her booster seat at the dinner table and thinks the highchairs in restaurants are for babies.  She carries her dishes to the kitchen to put them in the sink (while leaving behind a trail of food).  Brushing her teeth with her sister is her favorite thing to do right now.  She prefers to drink water out of a real cup instead of her sippy. She wants to use the grown up silverwear and not the small kids version.  She wants to carry her own lunch box to and from school.  Ever since she moved up into the next class at daycare she has developed this new level of independence.  In fact, they moved her up a month early because they couldn't keep her out of the room with the older kids.  The teachers like to joke that they have never before had a one year old make the trasition decision for them!

What do I love about Laurel?  Her sense of humor.  She is such a goofy kid and is always looking for a laugh.  She LOVES music and enthusiastically dances to it in her carset.  You know when she is ready for bed, she walks over to Maya and Daddy/Mommy for kisses, grabs her blanket and walks right into her room for story time.  Although she wasn't a reader in the beginning she is now obsessed with books and puts up a fight when it is time to stop reading bedtime stories.  She is very nurturing and is always covering up her dolls, stuffed animals and the cats with her blanket while patting their backs.  Everytime she makes a sound like a monkey she also uses her arms to imitate a monkey.  She is very reserved in new situations and with new people, but once she warms up she will light up the room.  She is unlike any kid I have met before.

She is weighing in at 20lbs 10oz and is 30" tall (both at 10%).  She isn't much bigger than Maya was at this age... except for her giant head which is still in the 90 percentile!  She is developing perfectly but man was she ticked off about having to get a shot!  Here are some fun Laurel pics:

A new favorite activity is to take all the pillows off the couch and jump on them.

This is a common Laurel look - an "I am not amused by your attempt to make me smile" look.

Art projects!

 

Ferry boat ride - checking out the wa-wa, seals and birds.