The Poortinga's: 18 months

Little Miss Maree is not so little anymore!! She's 30 pounds & 36"-- the average height of a 2 1/2 year old!!!.... so of course this makes Marc think that someday she'll be an olympian haha. And with all these measurements, it wasn't until recently that I realized Maree's head size is even in the 99%... and while this is not unbelievably crazy, it sure explains why I have such a hard time getting her dressed--- her poor head hardly fits through anything & she often cries/struggles when it's time to put something on - it never occurred to me that her noggin was just abnormally big!!

As all one and a half year olds are, Maree is VERY busy and she definitely has a mind of her own. This is fun and challenging all at the same time. The hardest part for me is when she decides to make a spur the minute leap/tantrum while I'm holding her because she is so strong and my 8 month belly in the way makes things very awkward and difficult to hang on to her! She also has started throwing mini tantrums when she gets upset... her favorite thing to do for this is to suddenly "go limp" as you're trying to pick her up, this is really fun when we're in public... or when I'm trying to force her into her carseat!

Some of Maree's favorite things these days:
1. She loves her pink blankie
2. We are down to 1-2 bottles a day (night time for sure, sometimes morning)
3. She loves to play outside - the park, the backyard, the pool, anywhere
4. She really likes the movie Tangled... I think she has a crush on Flynn Rider b/c she always runs to the tv to try to touch him
5. Her favorite foods by far are Mac & Cheese, grilled cheese, gogurt, and popcorn, and sadly, cheetos. She's a terrible fruit and vegetable eater - she often just tries to squash these foods in her hands
6. Every time a plane flies over, she immediately points to the sky to let us know she hears it - she's recently discovered the moon too thanks to our friend Jeff Weedin
7. When she starts running (which is her way to get to most places).. she literally looks like she's trying to "take off"... she puts her arms behind her and starts sprinting & it's like her arms serve as a cape
8. She likes to dance - but this usually just means shaking her head or twisting her body
9. She is a major daddy's girl... when he comes home from work, she becomes a different child & tries so hard to impress him that she often does something crazy to see his reaction

Words she can say:
1. Daddy (da-deee)
2. What a cow says (mmmm) What a horse says (NAY!!!) What a puppy says ( ooofff ooofff)
3. She says "bye" to everything.. but it is funny when she says it to people because what she really says is "DIE!!"
4. She can repeat words to an extent.. mostly she matches our voice inflection rather than saying the actual word
5. She has FINALLY started saying mama some... and of course I want to smile at her and encourage her, but my face is so messed up when I smile... that it makes me tear up instead, which I'm sure leaves her wondering if she said something wrong... this Bells Palsy paralysis I have is awful :(

Obviously she has more words, and she talks/babbles CONSTANTLY, but most of it still sounds like Chinese. Her conversations with herself are hilarious...