a year and a half

Our girl is a year and half (and now, by print time, one day old) I can't help but think about the unique, amazing little person she is. This is a really, really fun age and I don't want to forget who the 18 month old Mary Kate is. I don't have the best memory in the world (despite what I tell my husband, particularly about old arguments :) so I know I will love having this blog one day.

She is at the same time rough and tumble and girly girl. Nothing excites her more than playing in the dirt, but one of her new words is pretty, pronounced "cretty." She loves my jewelry and always wants to hold it. For Mass this morning, I put a bracelet on her that my Aunt Kelly gave her on her Baptism day. She was so happy, holding up her arm "cretty cretty cretty!" She was also happy that her dress had a "mooooo" on it. Due to her ever increasing love of animals and our twice weekly chick-fil-a habit, girl has added cow to her list of favorite animals (duck still being in first place). She yells "mooo" at the top of her lungs anytime she sees one!

As I was drying my hair the other morning, I looked over to see this. To be fair, she had also removed every item from her father's chest of drawers but I decided not to show that photo. Rough and tumble, definitely. But also learning how to appreciate being a girl, yep! Rest assured, we won't be doing makeup for a very long time (unless we go on Dance Moms, my newest guilty pleasure!) but it was still super cute!

And like every budding lady except her mother, she is learning her way around a kitchen. My sweet Aunt Mary handed down our cousin's precious kitchen. This is not an ordinary, fisher price kitchen. It is a beautiful, wooden kitchen with some crazy food, sliced vegetables velcroed together and kids' knives and a box full of DILLY BARS. Yes, Dilly Bars. Count mommy in for play time anytime. She loves to pretend feed you and waits for your "yum yum yum."

She is as in love with Mack as ever and their friendship makes me happy I caved and got the dog.  I had a hunch that their little bond would get stronger as she got older and I was right. When MK wakes up in the morning, even just a yawn, Mack is up and letting us know. If she cries during her nap, he plops himself right in front of her door. That almost makes up for the face plant that dog gave me during a run last week!

Over Christmas, Ross had some extra time off so we got in a family zoo trip. Like most of us, I adore our time as a little family. My husband is wonderful, y'all. He is such a good, good man.  Watching our daughter, this person only he knows how much I love, bring him joy is one of my great joys. Anytime we walk into our bedroom, she yells "dada, dada!" And anytime a car comes in the driveway, it's the same. Watching the two people you love the most love each other is the warmest feeling ever. At 18 months, this girl is as in love with her dada as ever (if becoming more independent and selective about when she will tolerate his kisses!)

Part of the fun of this age is watching some transition from parallel play to real play. Today we got out of the car and each time, she said "jo jo? Jo jo?" Sweet girl thought we were going to see her little friend Joy. It has been amazing for Natalie and I to watch these girls, once so little and simply laying next to each other, now interacting as friends. First picture is from around age 9 months. Second is 9 months later.

As with most children her age, her vocabulary is exploding. Words now include mama, dada, mimi (either for 'me! me! or me-maw- unclear which), dog, moo, ball, more, amen (after grace), nononono! (most often when she goes near my diet coke can- she looks at me, grabs the coke and says no no.), bow ber for brown bear (favorite book by far- like her cyber friend Hawkins!), cacker, da-du, hi and bye (except like hiiiii and biiiiieeee, with the cutest little twang), nana (banana is first thing she asks for in the morning), Lana (after our favorite lady at CFA, I'm sure because it sounds so much like nana but it makes Elana so happy to hear her yell her name across the restaurant!), see see (as in, I'm standing in a chair and look at me- hence why both her little chairs are currently in the garage), bow (pronounced like toe, again, very twangy), yuck!, car, go, ni ni for night night, bowba (very specific name for baby, though sometimes we get a correctly pronounced babeee). I know there are others. Like all moms, the pronunciation and inflections crack me up. That little voice is the sweetest sound in the world (until 5 pm when it morphs into fingernails on a chalkboard!)

Be it nature, nurture or both, Ross and I live with a fiercely independent, head-strong, opinionated, loving, affectionate (when she decides to be!), funny, flirtatious (not even funny how this girl flirts - eyes fluttering, side glances, head thrown back. It is crazy), simply lovely little human. It feels like 18 years and 18 minutes all at once. Pure gratitude.