18 months?!?! doc visit

yesterday marked nissa's 18 month "birthday" and it seems a bit unreal, but totally perfect at the same time. she's totally become this fun little toddler that meets/exceeds expectations as an 18-month-old. this is when things start getting interesting and i'm really looking forward to it. she seems to be using a new word every day (not just repeating, which she does more too now). like yesterday, she said "left foot" and knows (or convincingly seems to know) her left food to kick it, and also her right by request. adam's months of practice are finally showing fruit and he's pretty excited about it. all of this new communication is so exciting and fun.

something else fun that she does is love books. i mean l o v e books. we've picked up a few good ones recently that are short, simple and really keep her interest well. dear zoo, bard's rhyme time, doggies are particular favorites right now. we read snuggle puppy every night before bed and i love it. she points out the ball and cookies on the different pages and anticipates the kisses. when she comes across the book in her room during the day, she'll sing "ooooo puppy" and it's too adorable.

last night we went to the doctor for her 18 month appointment and to get a few shots. she weighed in at 21.4 lbs, and has crept up to 31.25", keeping her in the 10th percentile for growth. she seems to be following this curve, so that's good. and as adam and i said amongst ourselves- with the nation facing an obesity epidemic, is it so bad that she's on par with, or bigger than only 10% of other children in the country? sure, this also puts her a bit short too, but i was short as a little one as well and i grew up to be a respectable 5'7". her little noggin grew too, up to 18.5". in all, she seems to be in good health: sleeping and eating well, passing the autism screening, running, climbing, having a healthy wide-eyed reaction to the doctor palpating her torso (hilarious, by the way). another amusing thing she did was while the doctor was asking me some questions, nissa had climbed up on the step to the exam table (in her diaper and snoopy socks, by the way) and was listening, tapping her foot. not in impatience, but more like something to do.