Claire at 18 months

So Claire is 18 months today! I'm excited to celebrate her, bloggy-style, but it's late in the evening and I'm kind of tired, partially because dear Clairy-Bear is still waking once at night and then rising early. Usually it's 2:00 and then up for good at 5:30 (though I often lay back down and nurse her in bed), but I was thrilled that this morning it was 4:30 and then 6:15! I'll stop complaining, though. I got to sleep until 9:30 one morning at my parents' house last weekend, since we had grandparental reinforcements around, and it was fabulous.

As to the facts beyond her sleep schedule, I don't know her weight since we haven't been to the doctor yet, but her height when we did her growth chart this morning (we do it on birthdays and half birthdays) was 30 2/3 inches. She's about to outgrow her size 3 diapers, wears size 4 shoes, and is true-to-size in clothes, shifting now from 12-18 mos. to 18 and 18-24 mos. clothes. Her hair is straight and wispy, so I usually do it in one or two ponytails.

Stuff Claire likes: bananas, coloring, walking around in other people's shoes, showing off her teeth and her tummy ("ummy"), cell phones and remotes, playgrounds, Llama Llama books, and—oh yeah—NURSING. 

I've been wrestling for a few months over when to cut her off on the daytime/public nursing. I don't mind bedtime and during the night (I mind getting up in the night, but not because of the nursing!) but so often she wants to nurse not out of hunger but just fun or comfort. We call me the "human pacifier" because she uses me for quick doses of comfort like Kate did her beloved paci. She nurses to have fun with me too, I think, because she's started biting me gently with a big grin, and laughing. I say "no bite" and take her off, which makes her mad. She just loves to nurse, and her most used and enthusiastic word these days is "Nur! Nur!" while pulling at my shirt. ("Milk," to Claire, means any drink in a sippy or other container.) 

Claire also loves her big sis, and says "Sister" and "Kate" a lot. She'll yell to Kate across the gym while we're watching from the viewing area at gymnastics. Likewise, Kate will hug and kiss Claire and say things like "I'm so proud of you!" so the encouragement goes both ways. Kate also calls her "Sweetie" and "my little teddy bear." And while it's largely a stalling tactic for bedtime, Kate will come into Claire's room while I'm nursing her to sleep to smother her with kisses and say, "sleep tight, my little sweetie! sweet dreams!" As an only child, it just melts my heart every time they interact so sweetly.

Stuff Claire doesn't like: when I won't nurse her the second she wants it, when I take away something she wants to play with (remotes, phones, markers, and my lipstick are common ones), whenever I can't hold her and she wants to be picked up . . . and that's about it! She doesn't seem to like green veggies these days, but is still generally a pretty good eater. She's even relatively tolerant of Kate's hugs that are like wrestling moves, tickling that is like clawing, and cuddles that are like choke holds. 

She uses her "No!" quite emphatically these days, and is showing teeny glimmers of the "terrible twos" to come. She'll refuse a certain food offered to her, or the suggestion of an activity, and sometimes has fits of inconsolability, when even offers of things she loves are met with "Noooo!" and a fierce shaking of the head. It's tough to have strong opinions when no one knows what you want!

It's funny how, when Kate was 18 months (and every other age) she seemed so big, but Claire still seems like my baby and I'm shocked when she can do things like climb a playground ladder that Kate did at that age or younger. It's the curse of the younger child, who always seems little no matter what they do. I think back on Kate at two or 2 1/2 and how it seemed like she could speak so clearly and looked so old, and then I watch a video of her at that age and she's so little! Claire's growing by leaps and bounds, but will always be my little baby . . . until we have a third child or a foster child younger than she, and then she'll seem big! It's all relative.