My baby girl is 18 months old! In the LDS world, this is a marvelous milestone for this is when our babies can start going to Nursery, the church class that is during the last 2 hours of church each week.
I am in love with this little girl. I cannot express how much joy and satisfaction she brings me. I am so grateful for her and her presence in our home.
All my children are different, but I will say that there is a striking difference with Iralee that I attribute to her being a girl. Where my boys were very loud with their noises and running around, Iralee is more soft. She is vocal, my most vocal baby and toddler, but it's not with screaming, but rather gibberish.
When Iralee needs or wants something, she says, "Mom", very much like a lamb bleating. She is not necessarily calling for me, she is requesting something from a bigger person around her. She will open the pantry door and call out, "Mom.....mom......mom" until we give her the food that she is requesting.
Iralee likes to help out with cleaning. Not that helpful though. She will grab the broom out of the closet, and though it is twice her height, she will go around the kitchen "sweeping". When I am cooking, she will pull random stuff from the pantry and bring them to me. The worst is when someone opens the refrigerator door. That is obnoxious.
She also tries to rearrange things in my house, especially in my bathroom and kitchen. While I am getting ready, she will hang out in my bathroom. Though I try to give her toys or books to keep occupied, she will spend her time pulling things from my cupboards. She hands me the bottles and items, one by one, in which I will put on the counter. My bathroom usually has the counter full of these treasures for if you can imagine, I am lucky to get time to do my hair each day, let alone time to clean up all that she brings out.
I was insistent that as a baby she slept in her crib. After nursing her in the middle of the night, I was pretty consistent at getting her back into her bed afterwards. For the first few months, this made her the easiest baby to put to bed. At about 6 months old, that all changed. She suddenly became the worst baby to put to bed. Her bedtime routine was long, I would read to her, nurse her, she would even be very sleepy, but once I put her on the mattress, she would start crying. Being my sixth child, I have learned that sometimes babies just have to cry it out. Unfortunately, she always cries it out. She is one determined girl.
Before going to bed, I will read many books to Iralee and Evee. Then after the last and final one, I will sing the song, "I am a Child of God" to let them know it's bedtime, and to hopefully calm them down. I did this with my boys, and even Grant has fond memories of my singing this song. Not Iralee. Once I start singing, she starts crying for she knows what is coming. She actually hates that song. During a party at the church, we sang that song. As it started, Iralee turned to look at me, fear in her eyes as she tried to determine if I was going to be putting her to bed.
Since she has a hatred for cribs, and because she was mostly sleeping in a pack-n-play, we decided recently to move her into a toddler bed. We have two cribs, but one is in Todd and my room. Iralee use to sleep mostly in that, but as she has gotten older, we have wanted her out of our room. We need to keep the crib in our room however for at least once a week the night nurse calls off and we have to have Evee in our room.
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| 3 of her greatest loves: shoes, outside, and swings |
Iralee loves her new bed, and even says "be'" in the cutest little voice. She still cries when I put her to bed, and I have to stay outside her bedroom for the first 5 minutes after putting her down for she tries to escape, but unlike any of my other kids so soon after transitioning, Iralee will make it into her bed. She loves being able to come down in the morning without anyone's help, and I love her little body running up to me, with smiles and crazy hair, for a morning hug and snuggle.
Iralee loves playing with toys, but doesn't get too attached to any one toy for very long. She loves dolls, and will hug them. One of her favorite things to do, besides grabbing things out of cupboards, drawers, or baskets, is to 'read' books. She loves books. She will take them around with her. The ones she is really familiar with, she will make the sounds she remembers hearing, otherwise she is making up the stuff as she goes.
Iralee's taste in food is a little different. She loves food and loves to eat. She loves fruits, especially ones that are juicy. She loves tomatoes and will eat all that I will allow her. Her bottom will get sore if I let her have too much. She likes meat, and one of her favorite foods is avocados. This is hilarious for avocados aren't the cheapest, whereas her sister Evelyn has an obsession with a much cheaper fruit, bananas.
Iralee is a little bit of a Smother Mother. She bosses us all around. She will give Evee hugs, which Evee hates, and say "Ohhhhh" as she does it. I actually am quite sad with Evee's reaction towards Iralee for Iralee loves her, but Evee hits in return. I know that someday they will have a loving relationship, I just hope that Iralee doesn't get disenchanted with Evee.
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| Iralee likes to push Evee in her walker |
Iralee loves her brothers, and they adore her. She will give them hugs and kisses. She loves her daddy, but will jump out of his arms to be with Roger. They have a special little relationship. She is very incredibly loving. With all that she loves, I am happy to say that she is a mommy's girl. I love watching her, being with her, holding her....knowing that one day she will be a mother herself, knowing that even though we will have our ups and downs, we will be the best of friends. I am excited to see the person she will become for I am excited about the person I see she is. She is kind, compassionate, smart, and driven.
I love my little girl.
