18 months--getting better at the small stuff

Gaz continues to be much more healthy than I am, but a very long day at the doctor's office (involving appointments for myself and Auntie Angeli) should hopefully result in me feeling better sooner. All the better to chase our year-and-a-half-old supergirl around the dining room table!

Yes, today, far too early for me to wake up and annoy Gaz, was the magic 18 month birth anniversary. Hoorah! This new phase of toddlerdom brings us a Gaz who is much more coordinated (she can climb easily onto the dining room chairs now for meals, and just today figured out how to climb onto the bed without any boxes to assist), much more verbal, and much more likely to have a tantrum at any given moment.

The verbal explosion can't even be exactly quantified any more--there are too many words for this addled mind to tack anymore. I do have some highlights, though:

• Today Gaz counted to three while stacking three blocks. Three often sounds like "fweee!" or "feeee!" but you can tell what she means most of the time, especially since she's so good at saying "two."
• Gaz has discovered pockets in her clothing (most particularly the big pocket on her pink and red dress/nightgown. She's quite delighted with putting things in her pocket and then sticking her belly out to highlight whatever lump she's hidden away in her dress. Of course, nothing compares to hearing her call this strange clothing feature a "pocky."
• We've had some two-word sentences lately, the first of which being "butt hurt!" after she threw herself, butt first, onto the hardwood floor. And I thought I would regret teaching her "butt." (I know, I will live to regret that and many other words.)
• Her understanding of what people say to her is beyond all my expectations. Every time I think I've talked right over her head, she answers appropriately or follows my instructions. There are just as many times, though, when I know she understands what I've said and is choosing to ignore me. But mostly she's helpful, even when it comes to bringing me a diaper--she is back to fighting diaper changes.
• Every day, sometimes many times in one day, she amazes me with her terrifyingly quick wit. Of course, I can't think of a good example right now. I knew I should have started this earlier today when my brain was more awake.

The tantrums aren't fun, really, but I've gotten as good as possible at reading her body language. Sometimes she needs to be left completely alone for a bit, sometimes she wants me nearby to comfort her when she's ready, and sometimes she just really needs to nurse but is too frustrated to try to communicate that. And sometimes the problem is that I won't let her lift up my shirt in public. We slog through the cranky times as best we can and I try not to take it personally. We'll see how I'm doing with that in six months!

In other news, Wiggleworms is going great. Gaz loves the boys (they're more active, older, and independent than the girls in this group, it seems) and has developed an attachment to Bella's mom. I'm not sure how she feels about Bella, but she's always trying to hold Bella's mom's hand and sit on her lap. Twice in a row now she's also dominated Miss Lisa's lap for the good-bye song, and this last time she tried to keep the other kids from touching Miss Lisa's guitar. And where is her favorite place during class? Right in the middle of the circle, dancing, clapping, and swaying her precious little heart out where all can adore her.

You should see the coloring she's doing now. It's much more focused than what she was doing just two months ago. One of these days I'll scan some pictures. Until then, the pile will just keep growing on the dining room table until it collapses or until Gaz finds it and starts trearing up her art.