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| Kate: 18 Months |
I know eventually we’re going to rue the day she learned to form words—but that certainly isn’t happening anytime soon! We continue to be amazed, amazed, amazed by the things that come out of Kate’s mouth. I’ve stopped writing her words down because I don’t think there’s anything she can’t say at this point! Some of our favorite words to hear her say right now are “caterpillar,” “octopus,” “grasshopper” (heard in the video below), and “grubby” (usually said in reference to her hands after she gets them dirty).
“Soccer ball” is another favorite to hear. G points to her soccer ball and asks, “What’s this?”
“Soccer ball,” she replies.
“What do you do with it?” G asks.
“Kick it!” she replies, and then squeals with delight as she runs up and kicks it.
I’m also amazed at how she knows to change words in a sentence. For example, we’ll look for something and I’ll say, “You found it!” and she’ll reply, “I found it!” I’m awestruck. How does she figure these things out?? One thing is clear—she is so eager to learn! She wants to know the names of everything, and wants to be read the same books repeatedly until she’s got them committed to memory. If we’re not hearing, “Again! Again!” from her at the finish of a book, then it’s “Right? Right?” asking us to confirm that she correctly named something she was pointing to. Her little brain never shuts off! We have a set of alphabet books
, and one of her favorite things to do is go through them and name the words/pictures on each page. Here’s a video of her and G doing just that:
, and one of her favorite things to do is go through them and name the words/pictures on each page. Here’s a video of her and G doing just that:(You can view more alphabet book fun here if you’re interested.)
Another favorite activity of Kate’s is sweeping! We keep a broom and dustpan by the table to sweep up after Kate’s meals, and she’s turning into quite the little helper. After she’s finished eating she declares the floor “messy!” Then she grabs the broom and says “sweep up” as she slides it across the floor, dragging bites of food previously contained to the small space under her chair all around the house.
As much as she loves her soccer ball, toddler trivia, and sweeping…nothing beats Elmo. We record the end of Sesame Street (the Elmo’s World part) and she gets so excited when we turn it on! Elmo always starts his show by saying, “Say hello, Dorothy” to his pet goldfish, and Kate replies, “Hi Dorothy!” Sesame Street ends with a review of the letter and number of the day, and Kate likes to shout it back to the TV after it’s announced. The fun never ends!
Kate sounds a lot like my little boy, Owen, was at her age — couldn’t get enough books and chattered up a storm. Now, at 3.5, he is reading at easily a second grade level or possibly higher and doing late K/first grade math — we don’t push it — he just seeks it out. It is crazy to watch him and we are perpetually blown away. I don’t think you will rue the day she learned to talk — there is nothing better than having fun, intelligent conversations with your kids (though I do sometimes enjoy the silence when they are asleep!)
Kate is adorable and sounds very smart! This is random, but I remember you saying that Kate had/has a pretty early bedtime, like 6:30? My 7 month old goes to bed around 7 and as a working mom I would love if she could stay up later so I can spend more time with her! Did Kate’s bedtime shift later at some point?
Aww, she is as cute as ever! Growing up so fast!
I have to ask, where did you find those alphabet books?
You are so blessed. I have a son with autism and at 18 months he could only say a handful of words. Now at 3 1/2 his vocabulary is still that of a typical 18 month old (or less). My daughter (who is not autistic) is doing much better. Thank goodness. Anyway – you are so lucky to have a little talker on your hands!
She takes after her mom, in the way with words category. What a cutie! Love the little foot segment. She KNEW the foot pic was in that book.
jbhat
Oh man! The foot! I cried! So smart!
grass—hopper! LOVE IT!
Thank you for your comments everyone!
@Erica–Owen sounds so smart for a 3.5 y.o. I can imagine how much fun he is!
@Lindsay–Kate still has a pretty early bedtime. It is now 7pm and we don’t anticipate it getting any later than that anytime soon. She loves her sleep!
@Suzy–I added an Amazon link to the alphabet books in my post. I’ve also seen them at Target.
@Heather–Thank you. Your son may not be as verbal but I’m sure he shines in other ways!
@jbhat & Allison–It’s been months now, and the foot thing is STILL cracking me up, hahaha!
Love it! That foot!!!! Keep sharing your precious daughter!
Her foot IS a perfect match!! So sweet. I love the way she looks back at you like “You filming this, mom?”
She is adorable. I will meet her one day!
At the risk of sounding nuts, if she was born in January 2010, wouldn’t she be 21 months?
Either way, she’s precious.
Thanks ladies!
@Robyn–Yep, she just turned 21 months on 10/9. As you’ve noticed, I’m a little behind on her monthly posts. Trying to catch up!