Baby G: 18 months - A whole new world

Big changes over here this month!

I started attending morning classes with my mom 3x/week...an art class, music class, and a 2 hour coop preschool. I'm having a lot of fun and haven't fussed or cried once, not even when I fell backwards in my chair, or when I went to my music class completely sleep-deprived. And here's a cool little fact…my preschool teacher's family is from a tiny town near Follina, where my dad is from, and she knows my mom's family from the Italian club here at home! It's a small world.

I also had my 18 month appointment recently. The nurse said she rechecked my date of birth about three times on the computer, because she thought I was two years old. For those interested (nonno G!), here are my latest stats:

Height = 36 inches = 91.44 cm
Weight = 25.8 pounds = 11.57 kg

I'm growing fast (vertically anyways!) Weight wise, I'm above average but leaner than before - I'm burning off calories as fast as I consume them, considering I spend most of my time moving, running, dancing, climbing, or jumping!

Other than that, I'm still a chiacchierone (chatterbox), learning lots of new words, and am stringing them together… "yum, buono brodo!" (yum, good broth!)…And am learning manners, such as saying "I'm sorry" and "Thank you, mamma" and "Excuse me." Only thing, I don't always use them correctly…like when I say excuse me when someone else burps or sneezes, or saying sorry after throwing a ball. (This grew out of my mom asking me to say I'm sorry after I threw a book at my aunt's face.) But sometimes, I get it right, like when I suddenly throw beans or pasta or my spoon onto the floor during dinner time. I look at my mom apologetically, and say, "Sorry!" (But then I secretly smile, because I really did it on purpose! She doesn't find this very funny.) Another word I've started saying correctly - and with major attitude - is "Dai!!!" This is Italian for "aww, COME ON!" like when they try and stop me from throwing CD's, or drawing on the hardwood floor, or doing any number of things I want to be doing, but shouldn't be doing. I fuss, try and squirm away, and complain, "DAIIIII!" They can't believe how authentically Italian I sound. (And like a teenager.)

Ah, back to the subject of eating…Perhaps because of my art class, I've started playing with my food big time…like putting spoonfuls of applesauce up my arm, turning the bowl of yogurt upside down on my head and shouting "CAPPELLO!" (hat!), or putting it over my face and saying "Peek-a-boo!" or squeezing food in my hands and smearing it all over my tray, like paint. Or when I pour yogurt all over my cup of water, and exclaim, "Oh no! What happened?!" This is SO FUN. (In my eyes, anyways.) My parents see things much differently…geez, I wish they'd lighten up…I mean, what's wrong with taking 2 baths a day, or wiping the floor over and over, or doing endless laundry?!