Rainey at 18 months

Time has really flown with this little doll.



I mean it. It's pretty hard to stop and gather your thoughts for posts about all of the changes/milestones/new words your precious babe has had when she doesn't stop moving. Ever. If you don't stay right with her you'll find her into or on top of something she shouldn't be. She loves the tabletop, drawers, cabinets, keys, the trash can...unlike Sam at this age Rainey doesn't seem to have scruples, or any sense of self-preservation. She runs everywhere and is always so very interested in whatever I ("Mama") or Brother ("Baba") happen to be doing. If you tell her no, or stop, she gives you this impish grin and then looks you straight in the eye as she continues to do whatever it is. Busy, busy, busy chickie.

I don't have stats on her yet, her well-check isn't for another couple of weeks. But she's gotten lots heavier and taller so I'm pretty sure she'll keep her 60/40 height/weight %iles.

Aside from keeping all of us on our toes, here are some things about our spirited girl that I want to remember:

Food

Food can be a little tricky. She wasn't the worlds biggest fan of baby food. She never went for baby oatmeal and as soon as she understood that she was eating something different from the rest of us it was completely over. Trying to feed a baby with only a sprinkling of front teeth spaghetti, brisket, apples...you name it...when she won't let you mush it to oblivion gets tricky. I just kept the BLW/Baby 411 tips in my head, tried to shut out the mommy guilt/fear, and trusted that if she needed to eat more or differently she'd make it clear. She finally has had 4 of her molars break through and we can pretty much give her anything now.

She likes: beans, most fruits (all of which she currently calls "nana"), crackers ("kak-rrrrrr"), popcorn, most meats, some veggies, and she prefers her beans/meats/veggies cooked in a sauce or soup. If its just roasted, steamed or mashed she's not super crazy about it. Like her brother she's snack ("nak") time crazy and like her Daddy ("dada") she's nuts for cookies ("kook") and sweets in general. If its curried lentils and rice for dinner you can't give her enough and she'll typically eat more than Sam at dinner.

She doesn't like:
Avocado, green beans, dairy...Seriously, the girl will squinch up her mouth and turn her head at a spoon of ice cream. Yogurt, cheese & cow's Milk? Nope. Goat milk, nope. Almond or soy? Nope and nope. Coconut milk? Occasionally. Pretty much if its white or cheesy its a no go. This is a major change from Sam who would eat milk, cheese and bread all day every day. Since she hasn't tired of nursing our pediatrician and I decided not to totally wean quite yet so she still gets the healthy lipids. The girl loves water ("wower") though, she'll drink tons and tons of it.

Breakfast has proved to be a tricky meal. Since dry cereal takes forever she gets bored quickly. I've taken to making a hot cereal that has small grains with coconut milk in it for both of us and just alternating bites for each of us. It took forever for me to get her to even try it though, I guess because it looks a little creamy. Sigh.

Motoring:

Well, the girl started walking at 10 months and picked up speed quickly. She is lightning fast. She can climb onto anything and can push a chair or carry a stool over to anything she can't. And she will. She loves to dig around in the pen/post-it/office supply drawer which she has to get onto our computer chair to reach. In the kitchen she's fascinated with the cabinets and everything in them.



Pretty much she loves to open anything. Child-resistant medicine caps are NOT Rainey-resistant. She can also get into lotion, sanitizer (yipes!), or pop the cap off of anything. If you bust her being bad, or tell her to put something back she just turns around and runs. Fast. We are very fortunate to not have had any really terrible mishaps.

She LOVES to be outside ("eye"). In fact, this is often the best way to keep her out of trouble. There's only so much damage she can do in a fenced in yard. Except she prefers the front yard, naturally. She's a free-range chickie, David's parents ("Nan Nan & Bub Bub") house is heaven for her. Lots of outside to play in. (The inside scares mommy to death. But I won't go there.)



She loves to play with her shopping cart, "ball", princess castle and baby dolls ("yie yie") Rainey also commandeered one of my scarves as a lovey. I've tried to wear it a few times and she just screams bloody murder until I take it off and hand it over. She is only now starting to sit still long enough to be read to and often will start doing her own thing with the pages while I'm reading. Current favorites are "the belly button book" and "curious George and the rocket".


Personality:
In case you didn't get my drift, this sweetheart has a mind of her own. She has lots of cuddles and kisses and loves to be held. She is shy around strangers and in places that aren't home is generally much slower to start running around like a madwoman. She is a great imitator and will ape almost any sound Sam makes with his toys and likes to "put on makeup" with me. She has a very loud shriek that she will give you when she doesn't get her way, and an imperious pointer finger that will show you exactly what she wants. She's also started to say "diss" for 'this' I think. If you ask her a question she'll give you a "mmm-hmm" for yes and "mmm-mmm" for no.



Random things:
She'll tuck my/her scarf or any blanket type thing under her chin and then lay down on it.

She has to pick out her own spoon/fork to eat with.

She adores shoes ("boosh"). And bows "booh" and hats "haa". Whether they stay on or not is a different story. For awhile shoes were the first thing she wanted in the morning and the last thing she took off at night, but it's less so now. But if she thinks you're leaving the house she'll run and grab a pair of them because she doesn't want to be left out.

She loves to look out the windows at squirrels/dogs ("D"), and birds ("brr").

She points out flowers, ("wow")

She loves to tell people "bye" or "buh-bye". She'll say "hi" sometimes too but not as much.

She loves to play chase with her Baba. She does NOT love being caught or in any way restrained.

She has apparently decided that Caspian's crate is Yie-yie's crib.

She is still in cloth diapers and we still love it. One nice thing about them is she's already aware of when she's going potty. ("Tee-tee" or "teen-tee") fingers crossed for early potty training!

She continues to LOVE having baths ("baff") and the bathroom in general. It was her happy place as a baby and it still is. If I take a shower when she's awake it's pretty much a given she'll hop in too. With all her clothes on. And shoes.