The Hatz Family: Isla ~ 19 Months!

I think I am going to just ramble about my girl for now on instead of the breakdown of information. A lot of those things aren't changing as much from month to month anymore: she sleeps well and continues to be petite, for example :). So here we go! Isla at 19 months!

Isla Cakes!

My Isla girl...you are such a joy but I have a feeling that you will also be the cause of many gray hairs on my head. You have a mind of your own and very strong opinions about the ways thing should be :).

In Charge!

You continue to amaze me with your toughness and your understanding of everything! You know exactly what we are talking about at all times and I am getting more and more surprised that you aren't talking yet! I can't figure out if talking is something you just don't want to do or are struggling with. I have noticed this past month that if we ask you something you answer with a exaggerated head nod or shake. Like you know that you don't have the words but want to make absolutely sure we understand you. This lack of communication has also been a point of frustration for all of us this past month. You absolutely know what you want but we don't always because sometimes your 'wants' are pretty specific.

For example: we were having dinner at my parents house and you were pointing and shrieking about something you wanted on the table. I offered you EVERYTHING on that table! The rolls, the fruit, the meat, etc. I should clarify...by offered, I mean that I put the items in front of you. You did NOT want me to do that. It took forever to figure out but you wanted to rolls but you wanted to pick one YOURSELF!

You get into everything! This is such a huge change for your dad and I. And a big difference between Carter and you. Carter never got into anything...he just wasn't interested. We hardly had child locks on anything because it just wasn't needed. And if we told him 'no,' he would cry about it but then he wouldn't do it again (for the most part). You are not that way and have to discover everything for yourself. You are finally tall enough to reach the door handles and can now open/shut doors by yourself. You did that A LOT this past month. Generally it isn't a huge deal because you are surprisingly careful and haven't gotten your fingers pinched...yet. It has been a huge issue with the pantry because you drag food out and carry it around. You also like to open/shut the basement door from the inside! You know the side with the stairs. No my child...that is much too dangerous.

New Trick!

You are started stomping this month. You randomly started doing it like you just figured out that you could adjust the power of setting your foot down. So now I sing a song ~ left foot stomp! right foot stomp! (Cha Cha Slide anyone?) when you do it and you think it is so much fun. It is incredibly cute!

You bit Gus this past month! Luckily, you only did that once and hopefully it won't happen again! Poor Gus went around saying, 'Isla (I-ya) bite you' the whole afternoon. Why are my kids the biters!? Edited to add: Totally happened again! Always on his hand...and no one has seen the attack just the aftermath. Apparently we need to find Carter's old book, "Teeth are NOT for biting"

You still love to be helpful! You have started helping us put on and take off your coat and you put your coat away at Grandma Jeri and Papa Dave's house. You can't reach the banister so I left you up to help. You also picked Carter's coat up off the floor and put it away for him! If only Carter was as interested in helping/picking up as you are :).

You continue to be dramatic and will throw yourself on the ground in protest. If you ever see Isla with her head on the ground and booty in the air you know she is angry about something. It is always so funny to watch because you are so careful not to hurt yourself in the midst of the tantrum. The other day you made sure to throw yourself on your little couch instead of the floor. You also want to steal attention if anyone else has it. Carter hit his head on my mom's banister the other day and hurt himself. Grandma was comforting him so you went over 'banged' your head on it too and then went crying to my mom.

Hello! Attitude! Maybe that is where the stomping is coming from but you certainly let us know when you are not pleased. You wanted to get up and brush your teeth the other morning and were begging me to pick you up. So I told you to say 'Up' and in response you chucked your Beluga whale at me. Oh lord! I say 'it's a good thing you're cute' a lot!

You are enjoying reading more and more. You will request a book and actually sit through the entire thing and then want to read some more! The is a huge improvement from your previous attention span. You continue to love to color and will spend a good amount of time sitting and coloring in a coloring book. You almost always hold your crayon correctly and even use a variety of colors.

Passing time at her 18 month appointment....

You are a little spit fire and sometimes just get this look and I know that you are about to do something naughty. My sister calls it the 'Laura' look. You also like to tease...I don't know what it is about the girls of this family but they certainly know how to push buttons. You know that Mr. Pig is Carter's favorite lovey. So your new favorite activity is to grab Mr. Pig when Carter isn't looking, show Carter you have him and then run away. Carter whales about this and you giggle. I have to remind Carter a lot that you wouldn't do that if he didn't cry so he is working on that. You also took Gus' milk cup the other day and when I told you to give it back to him you went right over and held it out for him. Only to snatch it back when he reached for it. Such a stinker!

Stole this from Gus...

You are still a paci girl and are very attached to it. You have only used it for naps and bedtime for months but when you were sick I let you have it more often since it seemed to be the only thing to calm you down. That was a hard habit to break because when you got healthy you didn't want to leave your paci in the crib. You have started to attach yourself to the baby beluga lovey that Auntie Jo got you from the Atlanta aquarium. You don't need it to fall asleep or anything but seem to prefer it over your other stuffed animals. You always hold it up by your ear like a boombox. You still twirl your hair when tired so that seems to be your comfort item, which is good since it is always there!