18 MONTHS!

Almost. I figured I better start on this post now because it might be a long one. There's no way to describe this spunky little girl in one blog post. She's still our happy, fun baby with even more personality than before. She makes us laugh all day long, and she's getting smarter and smarter. I've lost track of how many words she's saying on her own, and she can copy just about anything. Two of my favorites are "Bompa" (Grandpa) and "Papa" which she says perfectly and sweetly. 

Daily words and phrases:

No - still her favorite. Means yes or no. She often nods her head while telling me no.

Hot -pronounced "Ha" (she blows on all of her food even if it's cold and informs us that it's "haaaa")

I wa see ___ or just I see -but it's more like "I SEE I SEE!" (She's awfully demanding. She needs to see EVERYTHING that we are looking at (phone, computer, books, etc. Don't even think about leaving her out!)

Hi and Bye

Hello - when she gets her hands on our phones it goes immediately to her ear

Ow or Owie - anytime she gets bonked she rubs that area in agony

Please

Thank you - pronounced "Ga goo" (she'll tell this to YOU while handing you something-the other day I was making my bed and suddenly she was handing me throw pillows saying "ga goo")

Cheese! - she says this every time we take her picture and we usually get a big cheesy grin as well

Outside

Mimi go? - we hear this ALL day long. Sigh. 

Fishies - pronounced "Ishies or sometimes "shishies" (goldfish crackers)

There go (when she hands you something)

Go? (when she doesn't know how to pronounce what she's looking for)

 Water - pronouned "wa wa"

Cracker - pronounced "cackie"

Favorite foods:

Pizza (hot or cold)

Pasta

Brocolli and green beans

Eggs

Cookies (which means any type of treat) 

Keeping her eye on an ant

Her favorite part of the day is when daddy gets home

She's quite animated

Her arms go up in the air all day long, whether something is missing or when daddy leaves, etc.

 The other day we planned to Skype with Steph and her kids and we I was cleaning up Bentlee's room while we waited for them. I left the room for a minute and while I was gone they called so the computer was dinging. Bentlee knew what that meant and when I walked in the room she was pointing frantically up at the computer saying, "I see I see!" She has a book that she loves because on one page there's a zookeeper holding bananas. She'll bring me the book and say "I wa see nanas" so we'll find the bananas and then she's usually done with the book. The other day after we found them and flipped the page she said "Where nana go?" 

The other day she picked up Kyle's phone, held it in front of her face and said, "CHEESE!" I probably take too many pictures....

A fun song came on the radio in the car the other day and I saw her dancing through the mirror in the backseat. I started busting a move which normally would make her smile and dance more, but this time she scowled and shook her head at me until I stopped, then continued to dance by herself. I might not find this funny the older she gets. The song "Roar" is our favorite right now. During the chorus when Katy Perry sings, "Ro-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-oar" Bentlee chimes in "Ah-a-a-a-a-a-a-ah", complete with hands to the elbows shoulder. You know, as in what a monkey says. While monkey noises are definitely her favorite, she's getting cow, snake and tiger sounds down pretty well also.

I love the moments when she surprises us with a new word or phrase and it takes Kyle and I completely off guard and we look at each other in shock like, "Was that for real?" About a month or so ago I sneezed in the car and she blessed me from the back seat. And a few weeks ago I noticed she wasn't eating her green beans so I sprinkled a little of salt on them. While I was walking away she took a bite and said very enthusiastically, "Mmmm that's yummy!" 

Her favorite things:

Books.

Books.

More books.

She plays with nothing else, and that is not an exaggerations. Girl's obsessed. But more on that later. 

I'm kicking myself for not taking away her binki months ago. It's like she knows that it's time to get rid of it because she's 20 times more obsessed than she ever was. One of my favorite things about her though is the way she trusts us with it. The only time she'll ever voluntarily take it out of her mouth is when she's eating or drinking milk. And when she does, she is sure to put it in the hands of either daddy or mommy. For some reason I find that so sweet.

Nine times out of ten she will wave and/or say hi to people at the store, especially the cashier. And she still LOVES kids and has a blast playing with them, whether we're at home or the park. Speaking of parks, she loves slides, especially the part when she's done sliding down and she thinks that means she's supposed to climb back up. She's gotten very brave and would go down just about any slide by herself if I let her. When she's with friends, it's pretty much the only time she doesn't play with books. 

I'm not sure if it's a little anxiety, or just the simple fact that I can't get enough of her, but too often I worry that something's going to happen to this girl. She brings so much light and happiness to me each day, that I literally can't imagine my life without her. I don't know if I could get out of bed in the morning without her sweet, smiling face to greet me. I can't describe how grateful I am to be her mommy and to be able to stay home with her every day and watch her grow up. People say you discover who you are during your college years, but at this stage of my life I would have to disagree. While I may not be the best one, I feel like I was born to be a mom. Not just "a" mom, but Bentlee's mom. She is who I am. Without her and her handsome daddy, I would be lost. I love this family of mine!