Kendall's words

I've been meaning to document the words that we hear from Kendall at 18 months:

13 words:
Mama
Dada
Rah = Riley
no
uhh (with head nod) = yes
down
pup = up
bye bye
night night
wa wa = water/waffle
coo coo = cookie
nose
ball

4 signs:
please
thank you
milk
more

2 sounds:
snort = pig
roar = lion

So, we're not seeing the language delays that Riley had, thank the Lord.  And as a teaser for my next Riley post, it looks like he's done with speech therapy.  Can I get an amen??!!

Shelby

18 months

Time sure does fly.  It seems almost inconceivable that our girl is 18 months old.  She is changing constantly, so here are some updates.

Communication

Kendall is starting to use a words more often and is pairing them at times with sign language and gestures.  Her communication skills are definitely improving, although her answer to almost any question is, "No."  She does say yes when she really wants something though.

Wednesday when I picked her up from daycare I didn't have Riley with me and she looked at me and said, "Rah?" and held her hand out palm up in a questioning gesture.  She was wondering where her brother was.

A week or so ago I was sitting in the kitchen having lunch and she came in, pulled out a container of animal crackers, brought them to me and said, "Coh Coh" while signing please.  I was overcome with her cuteness so of course she got cookies.  She has since started calling cookies, "Coo Coo."

She is also pointing at things all over the place and saying, "Dah?"  This can mean any number of things many of which are undecipherable.

 

Communication is such a blessing and it is great to start seeing two way conversations beginning with our girl.

Shoes

Kendall recently got her first pair of shoes that were made for walking.  At first all she did was cry and try to take them off, but now she loves them and gets excited when we go to put them on.  It's kind of funny, she fights me over putting pants on, but she holds her foot out for me to put her shoes on.  She's also starting to put on and take off shoes on the stairs like her big brother.  She does a little dance of excitement every time.

Kendall and her new shoes

I get a real kick out of watching her walk.  She is no longer tentative and can really move out.  She doesn't really walk like a toddler any more and she's actually starting to run.  We're having to keep an eye on her in the driveway...

Play

Kendall shows very little fear in play areas.  She's willing to go down slides if you're there beside her and is starting to climb.  She has this habit of always wanting to be in the most dangerous spot possible.  Frequently this is at the exit of a tube slide.  The bigger kids come down quickly and she loves to climb in as far as she can get.  Drives Daddy crazy!  I suppose she'll take her bumps and bruises and come out fine.  Daddy will do OK too.

Kendall is a social girl and the reports I get from daycare are that she gets along with the other kids and they all love to play together.

When she's playing alone at home she's a fairly normal toddler who loves to pull all the toys out and spread them everywhere.  Her favorite lately is a gumball machine Shelby got for the kids:

Brother

Kendall adores her brother and is frequently found by his side.  If he's playing Legos she will sit in the middle of what he's building (which does NOT make him happy.)  If he's playing with a toy she wants to play with it too.  She wants to check out and usually do everything he does.  Fortunately Riley is very good with his sister.  It's fun to hear him calling her in to his bedroom to play with him.  His room is one of her favorite places to be.  I've always hoped that my kids would be close.  So far, so good.

Development

If you look at Kendall's 16 month blog you'll see what Kendall is doing.  Eating, sleeping and napping are all the same.  Mealtime is less of a battle, but still can be challenging.  She's still a peanut; at her 18 month appointment with the peditrician she was at 45th percentile for weight and 25th percentile for height.  Mom and Dad aren't tall so that's no surprise.  She's a healthy girl and is growing and developing just fine.

She is a Momma's girl.  She doesn't like it when Mom leaves her sight and will cry nearly every time, at least if she can't follow.  She is NOT like this with Daddy, for better or worse.

It's amazing to me that a year and a half have already gone by with our Kendall Girl.  Watching her grow and change is a joy.  She's a strong willed girl with a sweet side and we love her like crazy.  With her our family feels complete.

We love our Kendall Girl!


Jonathan