Bethany at 18 Months

I keep wishing someone would tell time to slow down a little bit so that my baby would actually stay a baby! She becomes more like a little girl every day. She walks, runs, jumps (sort of) and makes up games to play with Emmett. She's the little boss of our household and everyone adores her.

Bethany loves to draw with crayons almost as much as she loves to eat them. She is especially good at drawing circles. She draws them over and over exclaiming each time, "It's a circle!"

We took Bethany to her well baby check on January 2nd and in true Bethany fashion she screamed hysterically the entire time we were there. It didn't matter that there were no shots at this appointment, she just hates to go to the doctor. They could hardly get her measurements and I wouldn't be surprised if at least her weight was a little off on this visit since she wouldn't hold still on the scale and kept clawing for me to pick her up and save her. Additionally, while measuring her height she kept fighting and kicking, so who knows how accurate that was as well.But for what it's worth, this is what we think her stats are:

Weight: 18.61 lbs (still staying firmly in the 0% for her age)
Length: 30.71 in (22%)
Head: 18.0 in (27%)

At this point in her life, Bethany has finally realized that she love Mom too and not just Dad. For a while there she wouldn't even let me touch her if Casey was home and would run away screaming, "NO!!" and flailing her arms wildly in protest if I got too close to her. I'm relieved that stage seems to be over because while I can't say it hurt my feelings, it was really annoying that I couldn't touch her without her screaming and fighting it. She still adores her daddy, but no longer is quite as obsessed with him and even has moments when she prefers her mom. I'll admit, it's rare, but it's enough to keep me going.

A little chatterbox, Bethany is rarely quiet. The only times she is silent is if she's around someone she doesn't know or if she's fascinated by something new. What makes her talking especially adorable is that she often omits or mispronounces the vowels.

Bethany is quite a dancer and has some great moves. She shakes her booty and waves her hands over her head. She does the most hilarious squatting dance while swinging one arm in front of her. I'll try to get a video up here so you can see, we have several.

Bethany loves her big brother and her favorite thing to do is help me wake Emmett up if he has slept in or taken a rare nap. She goes running into his room screaming, "HI!!!! Buh-buh!" During the day she will play with Emmett occasionally but spends most of her time running away from him screaming, "NO!" and hiding items behind her back. Emmett gets offended that she yells at him so much and we've tried to explain to him that if he stops taking things from her all the time then she might not get so upset when he comes into the room. Pretty sure that none of this has sunk in.

When she does play with Emmett it's on her terms and they play whatever she directs. This is usually (but not limited to) "Ah-boo!" the name of the game Bethany invented last October where they throw themselves down on pillows or blankets and giggle, bouncing their heads against the back of the couch, and twirling in circles until they fall over.

Bethany is finally sleeping better at night. For a long time she would reserve her greatest marathon tantrums for the middle of the night and scream from 12am until 4am. We finally got so exhausted and sick of it that we actually put her in the pack and play in the basement one night and let her scream it out down there by herself while the rest of us went back to sleep. I felt awful about it, but she hasn't thrown a midnight tantrum like that ever since and we only had to do it once (so far). It's been three or four weeks and we're all feeling better rested than ever, so I can't say any of us is sorry. She does still cry frequently at night, but only short little five second bursts in her sleep when she rolls over, so I think we're finally through the worst of the night time episodes.

One of my favorite things Bethany does at this age is the way she constantly wiggles her hands and shoulders, but especially when she's excited or happy about something. When she runs away she waves her arms around, picks her knees up high with each step, and shrugs her shoulders up and down to try to increase her speed but only succeeds in looking absolutely hilarious. She still only has four teeth, but the way she is drooling lately I'm sure there are more on the way.

Bethany loves to give hugs and kisses. After every prayer both kids insist on kisses all around before anybody eats. If you hold out your arms, Bethany charges right in for a big hug. She loves Elmo and the stuffed Elmo toy that Grandma and Grandpa Gasser gave Emmett a few years back is her favorite, but in a pinch she will be more than happy to carry around a substitute.

Every time she sees another baby, Bethany exclaims, "Hey Baby!" which results in some pretty funny looks and giggles from strangers if we're in public. She happily hands things to me all day long and empties our bookshelves one book at a time and proudly gives me each book exclaiming, "Here ya go!". If I put them back in front of her it hurts her feelings and she cries, so I have to wait until she's not looking to sneak things back to their proper place.

Everywhere she goes people fawn over her and point out how cute she is. I have to agree, but honestly, they have no clue. You really have to spend time with this little sweetheart to see how wonderful and funny she is. She still has the most hilarious laugh, snorts, and chortles and makes every day better just by being a part of our family.