Margo turned 18-months-old on October 20. Based on her 18-month check-up, she is right on track in her growth (despite some days when she only consumes a yogurt and some cheerios throughout the whole day). She weighed in at 22 lbs, 15.75 oz (okay, lets just round that up to 23 lbs) and measured 32.5 inches tall. She is in the 25th percentile for weight (basically following the same growth curve since birth) and the 75th percentile for height.
At 18-months, Margo’s verbal skills continue to astound her parents. She is a little parrot and will repeat everything that is said to her. She is starting to combine words together (“mommy’s shoes,” “daddy’s snack,” “bye-bye people”), make simple sentences (“daddy sit here,” “mommy read book,” “I see ball”), and even relate whole narratives (“Oh, no. Drop it. Cracker. Find it.”). She knows the names of every kid in her daycare (and can also identify which lunchboxes and jackets belong to each of them). And she knows the words to several of her favorite books, as shown in this video of Pierce reading to Margo and her friend Patrick.
Margo also loves songs and knows some of the words to several of her favorites. She knows almost all the words to Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star and when she sees a star shape in a book, she says “tinkle, tinkle……how I wonder.” When her parents sing “Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed,” she will say the whole last line: “No mo monkey jump in bed.” And she says “row, row, row” when she wants you to sing “Row, Row, Row Your Boat.” Unfortunately, Margo’s singing has proved somewhat difficult to capture on video due to Margo’s strong desire to hold the video camera, but here are a couple moderately successful attempts.
Eighteen months holds new challenges for the Avidons as well. Margo has a strong preference for her mommy these days and really finds it unacceptable for Maia to be directing her attention to anything other than Margo at all times. Margo is also starting to express her feelings a little more intensely. She wants what she wants when she wants it. And if she isn’t getting it, she lets you know — sometimes by crying and throwing herself on the floor. Luckily, distraction seemed to work fairly well so far. Even when it doesn’t, Margo’s tantrums are usually fairly short lived. And, she’s pretty much the sweetest person in the world the rest of the time, so Maia and Jake are managing these developmental changes fairly well.
The biggest changes Maia and Jake have noticed about Margo recently is how much she seems like a little girl and not a baby anymore. She has likes and dislikes. She has favorite books (Kika: My First Word Book) and favorite games (Ring Around the Rosy is a current favorite). She bosses her parents around. She makes jokes. She is growing more independent and wants to do things herself, such as using a spoon or fork to feed herself, as shown in the next video. And, though sometimes it feels like she’s growing up too fast, it is mostly just amazing to watch her personality emerge.
