18-months!

Meredith is now a whole year-and-a-half!!!

First, let me tell you about the debacle that was her 18-month pediatric appointment. I should have known there was a problem with the appointment when I never got a reminder call from Hillcrest Pediatrics, as I should have last week. So we get to the office (at IMED) and they have us down for November . Hello! Luckily, they were able to work us in, but it took about 2 hours before we saw the doctor. Yuck. You can imagine what kind of mood Meredith was in by the time Dr. Vierra was able to see her. No fun. So she gets her flu shot, and we are sent to the lab because Dr. V is worried that Meredith is only in the 7% for weight. Gah. This frustrates me a little - Meredith is perfectly happy and healthy. So what if she's just petite?

The lab was an experience. Poor Mer was way past naptime and her breaking point. I didn't know they were going to be taking so much blood...Dr. Vierra made it sound like they were just going to be pricking her finger. Nope. It was the real deal. It took me and three phlebotomists holding/soothing/poking Meredith to get the two vials of blood they needed. VIALS! Does a tiny 18-month-old even have that much blood? They didn't get enough on the first draw, so they had to stick her in the other arm, which was just so not cool. Honestly? It was sheer torture for me. I'd already been crying in the pediatrician's office, explaining all Meredith's sleep woes. I'm surprised I didn't have a full on breakdown in the lab. To all you mothers who have had to watch their children get any kind of medical procedure, bless you. It's just the worst. In retrospect, I might should have played the mom card and postponed/denied the blood draw, but it's so hard to know what to do sometimes.

ANYWAY....

(I write these things for my own benefit/journaling/family history. I realize Meredith's milestones may not be that interesting to some).

At 18 months:

• She can say "hi", "daddy", "doggie", "ball", "bubbles", "baloon", "baby", "apple", "up", and other various sounds that I know she thinks are words, but we have yet to decipher. The other night at dinner, I handed her a bowl of spaghetti, she put a bite in her mouth, then pulled it out and said "hot", which floored me because she's never said that before. Her brain is just a crankin' away.
• She has started to imitate us more. I love this.

• She likes to be rolled up in blanket like a burrito.
• She love balls. She spots them everywhere.

• She can mess up the house faster than I can clean it.
• She's been to a BYU football game.

• She likes to play peek-a-boo
• She loves her grandparents on both sides. She has definitely started to come out of her shell a little.

• She loves to go out to the garage and play in the cars. Luckily, this has translated into me being able/forced to clean my car often. Trust me, it needs the attention. Meredith is a "dumper".
• She loves to climb! She climbs up on the kitchen chairs, climbs up on the toilet to get to the sink, climbs up (and over) the back of the couch, climbs into her stroller, etc. I even found her climbing along the outside rail of the inside stairs the other day.
• She loves libraries! She doesn't so much like reading the books as pulling them all off the shelves, but I'm happy she likes to be around books period. One of my greatest hopes for her is that she'll grow up to be a reader. Books are the best. I've been trying to take her to the baby and toddler story times, but she is starting to protest going into the auditorium because she knows all the books are out in the kid's section.
• She loves to get into the pantry. She pulls the trash out of the way and grabs for whatever boxes or bags are within reach. Sometimes she likes scoop the dog food out of the bin and carry it over to the dog bowl (most ends up on the floor).
• She's eating better, meaning she's a little more interested in food than she has been. She doesn't eat much, but she has made a little progress.
• She doesn't like the skins of fruits. This translates into lots of apple and grape "carcasses" all over the floor.
• She loves stuffed animals.
• She loves the park and loves the slides.
• She likes to roll around on the floor.
• She's running.
• We went to a BYU football game a few weeks ago. At the game, the band would play the Star Wars "Death March" and the crowd would bang their arms up and down. Meredith has learned this. Now, as soon as you start singing or whistling or playing the "Death March", she pumps her arms up and down.