Went There, Did This

 It seems like a zillion years ago that we were in Hawaii.  Really, it was earlier this month.  I finally have looked through all the photos and promise to post more soon.  Safe to say, we went there (above).

And did this (above).

Orelia at 18 Months

 Our gal is officially a year and a half old, and as rambunctious as ever.

 She's 31.5 inches tall and 23 pounds 6 ounces.  She seemed to grow half an inch the week before her latest appointment and shot up past most of her friends (other than the tall ones).  She's still about 50th percentile, though, so neither big nor small.

Orelia has turned into quite a climber, and can climb every chair or couch in our house.  Everything is done at a run, because everything is urgent.  Danger, danger!

 Her talking is going really well, and she's up to around 100 words or so.  Her special vocabulary is understood by only me and John, but it's great to be able to understand what she's communicating a lot of the time.

 After being on and off with books for awhile, she's officially bordering on obsessed with reading.  Being read to is great, but flipping through books on her own (preferably while on a lap) is the be all and end all.

 We keep our days very busy, with almost every morning and afternoon filled with an activity (music class, Gymboree, preschool, play dates, and park trips).  This keeps us both sane, since she has a lot more fun with variety in her day.

 Harper remains a constant receiver of hugs and snuggles.  She tolerates this as best she can.

Our girl certainly doesn't lack in personality, and we can't help but laugh when it shines through.

Washable Crayons

We've been dabbling a lot in the world of crayons lately.

Specifically, washable crayons and washable crayons only.

She absolutely loves playing with "n-ns" ("crayons"), but gets so excited that she tends to break every rule we have about said crayons.

Rules such as not eating crayons and only drawing on paper.  Terribly unfair rules.

Now when she asks for "n-ns" and I say "Do you want your crayons?" she smiles really big and says "mu" and points to her mouth.  Cue my mother eye roll.

The crayons are causing a bit of a battle lately (which certainly seems to upset me more than her), though I am happy she is showing such an interest in art.

She has an equal interest in art and breaking rules to aggravate Mama, but so be it.

Crafty

We got invited to a Valentine-themed crafty play date awhile back, and Orelia loved all the activities.  

 There was some heart-shaped stamping,

 Lots of smiles,

And cupcake decorating.

Following cupcake decorating, there was of course plenty of cupcake eating.

I don't think I need to tell you what Orelia's favorite part of the day was.

Our Valentine

 Orelia is very into hugs and kisses these days, so Valentine's Day was sweet this year.

 Only the most loved stuffed animals and humans get bestowed such gifts, and the recipients are all very thankful.

 Everyone else gets this look... "AS IF."

 We are so grateful for the silly grins from our funny valentine.

Never Before Has a Girl Wanted More

Orelia!
Orelia!
Never before has a girl wanted more!

We find ourselves often singing these lyrics to the tune of the song from Oliver.  Literally, I cannot imagine a child wanting more of "more" than Orelia.  Everything with her these days is MORE MORE MORE.  I don't mean that she's some needy toddler, she just literally physically wants more of everything she likes.  For instance, every bow in the room needs to be placed in her hair at once.  Every spoon she can manage needs to be gripped at once.  She would love to use up the entire bottle of lotion in one sitting.  It's quite hilarious and nonsensical to us, since we adults don't really see the joy of having extra spoons or bows, but she is her own creature.  We especially have to laugh when she demands "more" of the dogs walking down the street or the birds flying by.  I especially like when she asks for more moon.  She loves the moon these days, and seems quite disappointed our planet only has one.  At least there are always more spoons she can grab.