A Little Mischief: Eighteen Months!

Dear Quinn,
Happy half-birthday, baby girl! You are at such a fun age, and are such a pleasant and enthusiastic little person. We are becoming more appreciative of the little things in life just by observing you. It's hard not to smile when you become ridiculously excited every time we pass a doggie on the street, or laugh when the wind blows in your face, or decide to dance along to the song from the ice cream truck.

I've been keeping an eye on the milestones for 18 month-olds and you have surpassed every one. The two-year old milestones more accurately describe your recent behavior - naming your colors and body parts, saying the names of your friends and interacting with them, repeating our words and mimicking our actions, defiantly answering, "no!" to almost every question directed to you.

It's amazing to watch your personality develop and notice your little quirks. You are becoming very particular about certain things. Every night during dinner you make a big mess on the floor, and then point to it and say, "Oh no!" over and over until we clean it up. The other day you actually handed me the dustpan.

You have also decided that I am not allowed to put my feet up on the coffee table. I know I'm not setting the best example by putting my feet on the furniture, but I am in my 30s, and it's my house and my coffee table, so I will do what I please. But for some reason this irritates you, and you make a big show of getting up and waddling over to push my feet back onto the floor. Thank you for your efforts to preserve our low-quality IKEA furniture... now if you could only remember not to jump up and down on the couch like a madwoman, or use it as a napkin or tissue.

Here you are being Quinn and enjoying the beautiful spring weather: