So What Can Lauren Do @ 18 Months Old???

The last two weeks I've been asked four separate times about the capabilities that Baby Lauren currently possesses... So since I'm well versed on her abilities right now, I thought I'd share them with you all:

- Vocabulary of approx 18 words (to include: no, please, ball, SpongeBob, sissy, baby, bye, Papa, daddy, Mama, yeah...)
- Is a stair pro, thanks to our living room stairs
- Claps for herself
- Initiates dancing when she hears ANY music
- Gives high-fives!
- Scoots to/from on her tricycle
- Scribbles with pencils & crayons
- Empties/refills toy chest & backpack
- Can bring garbage to the trash when asked to :)
- Climbs in/out of the Tahoe
- Turns book pages one-by-one
- Grabs remote when she wants to watch a kid show verses mom's show
- Will pick-up toys when asked
- Drinks from water bottles, straws...not so great @ the open cup yet though :)
- Crouches to pick-up things
- Summons mom when Olivia/"sissy" is crying
- Climbs on table chairs & bar stools, in hopes to get on the table or kitchen island
- Can identify candy ;)
- Builds block towers & then knocks them down with a chuckle
- Loves her baby dolls--hugs them & pats their backs
- Pretends to use the toilet
- "Washes" her hair whenever she has water on her hands
- Pretends to blow her nose when handed a tissue
- Folds her arms to pray, then proceeds to babble through the prayer
- Climbs into/out of her highchair
- Actively seeks her shoes & jacket when I tell her we are going bye-bye
- Wipes up spills/crumbs...more like smears it all...
- Waves good-bye to anyone & everyone!
- Kicks balls & throws overhand
- Will do pretty much anything that you ask after hearing the magic word--TREAT!

...okay, that's all I have off the top of my head. At any rate, we are super proud of our sweet girl & pray she continues her progress in normalcy! ;0)

Christmas in South Korea

So Nate was in South Korea for the Holidays, & did what he could to keep busy. He did dinner & festivities with his squadron &/or friends for both Thanksgiving & Christmas...& Christmas festivities included him playing Santa Claus & rolling around in the base firetruck...sounds like he was a hit & enjoyed his time playing the part. But only in Korea would Nate get asked to play this part ;0P He's not really what you think of when you imagine Santa's "famous belly that shakes like a bowl full of jelly!"

Lauren's 18 Month Check-ups

So we've had a whole slew of 18 month check-ups for Lauren last week & this week.  Last week she had three evaluations--OT, PT, & Neurology--& she passed all with flying colors!  She is walking, talking, and acting like an 18 month old infant. Which is exactly what we're aiming for--normal! Though there were some items during the PT evaluation that Beth noted sweet Lauren could work on: standing on one foot, walking backwards, and catching a ball...so we'll for sure be working on those. Anyone have any ideas on how to get an infant to walk backwards? ;0P

As for feedback from our neurologist, Dr. Smyser, he said that he couldn't be more happy with Lauren's progress. That she again had the best report card one could give an infant at this age and with her abilities. Woohoo! He did say that with patients who have frontal lobe issues, as Lauren did at birth, that there were concerns with their social behavior. So far there are no indicators that this should be a concern, but we'll definitely be eyeballing her conduct from here on out...

Now to today's appointment with Dr. Venuti, Lauren's pediatrician...
Statistics:
height-35" (95th percentile)
weight-29.5lbs (95th percentile)
head-18.1" (25th-50th percentile)

We saw a Physician's Assistant (PA) before Dr. Venuti today and he was just LOVING Lauren.  Before he left go grab Dr. Venuti, he turned to me and said, "This is the best 18 month old baby I've examined--ever! She's so cooperative and let me do all the checks that I needed to. And what a beautiful girl she is with those eyes..."  Needless to say, I was a very proud mother. :) Then Dr. Venuti came in and Lauren lite up as usual around him with his goofy antics... He said he was very excited to hear what Dr. Smyser said and would renew her OT and PT consults as requested by neurology. Then the PA came back in the room with some M&M's for Lauren, stating he just had to give her something for being so good...& you know our Lauren, she was all grins and ate the candy right up! Then Dr. Venuti did a quick weight check on Olivia per my request. I told him I just wanted to make sure we were on the right track since we missed her four month appointment. Olivia weighed in at 17lbs even, which is the 90-95th percentile for her age...not sure about her height yet, but we'll find out at our make-up appointment in the beginning of February. Good health news all around for the girls, which makes for a very happy Katy & Nathan!

Toy Chest Antics

So Baby Lauren loves to play in her toy chest...yes INSIDE her toy chest.  She'll empty out all the toys and then invite her friends to come inside and sit down so they can play "surprise" with whomever is in the room! This video looks like it gave both Baby Lauren and our friend Natalie Noorlander, a couple headaches...yet this video was taken by Ryan, Natalie's dad, who was sitting MAYBE a foot away. And if it's a decision between getting good video footage of little kids cold-clocking themselves with a toy chest lid, or stopping them to save some brain cells...well humor and headaches will win everytime! :)  I sure love this Baby Lauren and her shoulder touching "prise!" Or as we people with vocabularies larger than 19 words--"surprise!"