Eighteen Months Already?

Jada attended her first official day of nursery on Sunday. Hallelujah. I could NOT wait for this day to come. But then I looked at her and thought "I can't believe that we have such a large child." Really, shes not a baby, and she certainly wouldn't consider herself a toddler. She believes that she is a big kid. I mean, she wants to use the toilet. She tells me. Because she never ever stops talking! What happened? When we brought Jada home from the hospital we felt like we were babysitting and her REAL parents were going to show up any time. Then, we got used to the little squirt and couldn't put her down! It was so fun having a "baby" who was easy to drag along on all of our crazy adventures. But something changed...she grew! I guess I forgot that that was going to happen so quickly. Now that shes hit (and passed) the 18 month mark, I'm marveling at how much development happens in such a short span of time.
Here's my ridiculously long shoutout to my "big" girl - for developing a unique, independent personality and for mastering tons of amazing skills...

First of all, Jada literally RUNS everywhere. She pretty much skipped the crawling and the walking phases and went straight to running full speed at only 9 and a half months! The stinker.
She eats everything. Books, crayons, paper (all kinds), grass, rocks, sand, mulch, money, hair bows, the cotton stuffing from her teddy bear and her car seat and from my dining room chair cushions. Seriously. When does the feeding frenzy end?
She has 12 teeth, 8 in the front and 4 molars.
She can identify and make every animal sound imaginable.
She knows all of her body parts including weird ones like eyebrow, elbow and heel.
She can count to three.
Stack at least 8 blocks, maybe more but by then she can't resist knocking them all over.
Sing "A,B,C,D" as well as do all of the hand motions for her favorite songs - Itsy Bitsy Spider, Popcorn Popping on the Apricot Tree, Patty Cake, Wheels on the Bus, 5 Little Monkeys, Once there was a Snowman, and shes working on Book of Mormon Stories!
She can say more words than I could possibly try to keep track of and she can repeat most words that I say to her. She says 3 and 4 word sentences.
She throws tantrums.
She cries if Chris looks at her wrong.
She loves to play outside. Going for walks, riding in her wagon or on her bike, swimming in the pool or playing in the sprinkler. She's just happy outdoors.
She waves, blows kisses, makes a thumbs up sign and gives high fives to complete strangers.
She brushes her own hair and teeth (not always very successfully) and washes her own body in the bath and her hands and face in the sink.
She can throw, kick and sometimes catch a ball.
She can identify and name correctly everyone of her aunts, uncles, grandparents and some second cousins by seeing their pictures.
She loves to swing.
She loves the beach.
She is ridiculously independent but surprisingly obedient.
She loves lightning and thunder storms. And she loves the rain.
She loves her boyfriend Carson who has taught her to love tractors, fire trucks and race cars.
She sits on my counter almost daily and puts my makeup on her face and my jewelery on her neck while I get ready, but somehow it all ends up on the floor in the end.
She unloads the bottom half of the dishwasher - handing the dishes to me and naming them each one by one. She helps me load and unload the dryer and she picks up everything off the ground for me (including her toys) because I struggle to bend over these days with a huge basketball in my stomach.
She picks out her own clothes and attempts (mostly unsuccessfully) to dress herself but she very successfully can undress herself and taking her diaper off is a cinch!
She tells me when she has gone or needs to go to the bathroom.
She usually doesn't like to cuddle.
She takes 2 one hour naps a day and spends at least 12 hours in her crib every night. And she almost always is willing and happy to go to bed, often requesting it.
She has a pink Beanie Baby kitty that she cannot live without.
She loves to look at herself in the mirror, or at pictures of herself.
She loves books. All books.
She loves Baby Einstein and Sesame Street. She loves Dora and Elmo.
She loves going to work with her dad and seeing dogs and cats and birds and fish and lizards at the vet clinics.
She loves most anything frozen, Popsicles, ice cream, frozen peas, fruit, bagels, just plain ice.
Anything remotely warm she calls HOT! And then proceeds to blow on it usually while spitting a little at the same time.
If you're still reading this you either are really bored or you really love Jada a lot. This is probably more for my own benefit than yours since I am not a journal writer. oops.
She hears every airplane, truck, helicopter, motorcycles, dog and bird that pass our house whether we are inside or out.
She can walk up and down the stairs holding onto the wall or someones finger.
She jumps in the pool from the edge. Goes under water for a few moments. Comes up smiling and often spitting up water. Then wants to do it again.
She blows bubbles in the bath or pool or into a bowl of water she likes to play with in the shower.
She gives kisses to apologize.
She can say and identify a picture of Jesus.
She loves to dance.
She prefers rock n roll music to primary songs or kids music.
She loves to be the center of attention. But she gets overwhelmed and sometimes withdraws when there are lots of other kids running around being kids.
She likes to initiate physical contact. She hates when animals or other kids approach her, try to touch her or pick her up (besides her boyfriend Carson who she very much enjoys to hug and kiss).
She likes to throw things in the trash can or the hamper regardless of their true destination.
She likes to eat the bubbles in her bath and lick the sunblock off her arms.
She says ahhh every time I put baby powder in her diaper.
She finds every piece of lint, dust, dirt, ant or bug on the floor and usually puts it in her mouth and then shows me her tongue.

I really could go on but then I really couldn't ever stop either. Jada is so fun and wonderful and I'm amazed at how smart and talented she is and at how sweet and sensitive she is too. So, what do I have to say about the next 18 months of Jada Craziness? Bring it on. I can't wait.