Violets 18 month update 

18 months seems like quite a big milestone – we don’t have a baby anymore but a proper little person with an even bigger personality! She is just soaking everything up like a sponge, learning and changing every day. In her 18th month she became a big sister and showed us all how kind and caring she can be at her tender young age. Violet is getting ready to take on the world at 18 months, going on 18 years! She’s certainly a little girl that knows what she wants from life, what she likes and what she doesn’t  – she isn’t shy about telling you about it either (or throwing himself on the floor and screaming about it!) It’s been a while since I did one of these updates, what with the craziness that is pregnancy, birth and the newborn life but it’s time to tell you all about everything that is Violet’s 18 month update. Here is what we have been up to…..

UP, UP AND AWAY!

So, Violet’s been walking quite a few months now and is now confidently running about and climbing on absolutely everything! She goes up and down stairs and will usually be found getting up to mischief. Violet doesn’t stop running about from the moment she wakes up to the moment she goes to sleep – she is one energetic little girl, who absolutely loves the outdoors and if we’re at home for too long will put her own shoes on, run to the front door and shout “out!” Her favourite things to do are swimming lessons, going to soft play, digging in the garden and covering herself with mud and going to the park – where she will go on the slide so many times you think we will never ever be able to leave!! Violet is also showing a real flair for music. She sings every moment of the day, it’s the first thing we hear from her cot and the last thing at night too. She also loves to dance and can do all the actions to songs like “Wind the Bobbin Up” and “Row Row Row Your Boat”. She throws her hands up in the air and dances round the room to her favourite song which is “It’s raining tacos” (Listen to this at your peril as it will be stuck in your head all day!!)

FINALLY, SHES EATING!

In all of Violets updates I’ve talked about how fussy she is with her eating. We’ve torn our hair out trying to get her to eat it and seems the more effort I put into making food – the less she wants to eat and the more of it will end up in the on the floor or in the dog!! We now have to lock the dog away from her when she’s eating as she finds it hilarious to throw food at him to make him jump into the air and catch it.

Finally at 18 months, everything has just clicked with Violet’s eating and she has suddenly started to enjoy food. Everything has changed and she will point to her tummy to ask for food, open the cupboards and get things out and has even started to exclaim “More!” after eating and I’ll find myself scrabbling around trying to find extra portions and extra snacks as I’m not used to it!  Maybe she’s in the middle of a huge growth spurt or maybe she just enjoys eating now – but either way I’m absolutely loving riding this wave of her actually eating and being a proper little toddler with the appetite to match! Along with her eating she seems to be so much happier in herself and full of energy – she is also sleeping so much better so I think good eating has been a really big achievement that we’ve finally managed to crack.

SLEEP… BEAUTIFUL SLEEP

So, that brings us on nicely to the subject of sleep! In the last update I was saying how awful Violets sleep was. We had issues with her sleeping in our bed and at 15 months old we were celebrating her first night where she slept through the night entirely. Well, finally this has clicked as well – most nights we do the bedtime routine at 7pm, say goodnight and close her bedroom door. We won’t see her again until 7-8am the next morning. Once she’s down, she LOVES her sleep and is grotty if she’s woken up early (who isn’t!) This couldn’t have come at a better time as with the lack of sleep having a newborn in the house I’m not sure I could have coped with getting up for two babies. If she can’t sleep she’s happy to play in her cot and has a few toys she can get to. She will happily sit and play with them until we go to find her – she’s such a calm little girl and happy in her own company which is a real delight.

ON BEING A BIG SISTER

Being a big sister was a bit of a bumpy journey for Violet but we expected it to be as it’s such a big change. She’s right in the throes of the tantrum phase so we wondered how Pearls arrival was going to be. Upon meeting pearl in the hospital she gave her hand hard pinch and didn’t show much interest, so we thought it’s going to be quite a difficult road. A couple of weeks in we were experiencing tantrums every time we gave Pearl any attention.  However, she has now seemed to turn a corner and realised that she could get involved and become a big sister by helping out with some of the tasks – she loves to help by passing wipes, passing nappies and putting the blanket over her sister. Getting involved seems to give her such satisfaction and a sense of purpose so we try to involve her as much as possible. I took Pearl into Violet’s nursery the other day and she couldn’t wait to demonstrate her new skills to everyone, showing her friends her little sister, rocking the car seat and tucking the blanket round her. She looked so proud and it was clear she wanted to show her off to everyone – it was very sweet.

We still have the odd tantrum when Pearl is getting the attention but I think for an 18 month old that’s pretty normal. I just can’t wait till the time when Pearl old enough for them to properly play and interact together as I think they are going to be so close and the best of friends!

WHAT WE’VE BEEN UP TO….

With Pearl’s arrival, we haven’t had all the family days out we would normally have. Violet has been very good with the fact we’ve had quite a few boring days at home while we adjust to newborn life. She’s still going to nursery twice a week which she absolutely loves – so that gives her an outlet for the week and they do lots of messy activities, artwork, painting and sensory activities that we just couldn’t set up at home whilst Pearl is so small. When Violet is not at nursery, I have tried to fit in a few soft play dates and visits to Adventure Avenue (a little play village) to let her burn off some steam so we don’t feel too cooped up in the house.

TALKING, TALKING, TALKING…….

Violet’s speech is starting to come along and she babbles continuously all day, mimicking lots of word sounds and copying everything. Although I do find her quieter than other toddlers, I feel like she is quietly digesting everything that has been said and shows lots of understanding by pointing at the things and understanding commands. I wonder if she is shy to speak or lacking confidence in this area, as I know she understands a lot but doesn’t say as much as she understands.  She does say a few words now, like hello, hiya, bye bye, more, done, that, this, ducks, puppy, mummy, banana and lots more! She is becoming so much more of a little person that you can have a two-way communication with which is so lovely.

So that was Violet’s 18 month update, she’s a proper little person now, giving gorgeous cuddles, caring for her little sister and causing mischief. Before we know it she’ll be a two-year old and then the fun will really start………….

Photos by the amazing Nicola Jackson Photography

 

 

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