Charleigh Turned 18 Months

Our red-headed ninja turned 18 months old at the end of February. It's so strange to look at her and think: when she was born, Clementine was 18 months old. As my earliest blog posts reflect, I struggled in parenting Clementine at Charleigh's current age. It makes me feel sad to think that--in my exhaustion--I may have failed to enjoy Clementine enough, when she was 18 months old.

Charleigh, at 18 months, delights me completely and utterly. Her love language is (and has always been) physical touch, and she requires extensive cuddling. She's my leg climber and lap hogger. It's a shame she hasn't a reverse beep, because she cracks me up in facing away and backing up until she's close enough to plop into my lap. When Jim kisses me, she scowls and yells: "Mine!"

She has an incredible vocabulary. "Elephant," she says. "Giraffe."

Today, Jim bought the girls ice cream cones, and--after Charleigh's dripped on me--I licked my hand. "Ugh!" I exclaimed. "I'm not supposed to have ice cream! Y'all are the devil!"

"Devil Mommy," Charleigh said, from behind me, flashing her Cheshire Cat grin. Of course, Jim found that hilarious.

Charleigh leans over the sink and spits out toothpaste like an old pro. She dances in a ring, with her arms extended. She eats everything with passion. She's easy peasy. I'm just crazy about her.

With Grandma B.

With My Mom

Talking to Mamaw (Jim's Mom)

With Cade

Lovin' on the Snowman

With My Dad

With Clementine