Big Pumpkin!

Our baby pumpkin is 18 months!!! It's amazing how quickly time flies! Being number 4 in the family has a way of making you rather independent and chill. I'm always a little stunned to see her toddle off to play on her own then occasionally coming near me to jabber for a bit as if to explain her latest fun and then return to the task a moment later.

She's oh so snuggly, I love how she comes to just get a hug and a kiss sometimes and then wanders off to do her own thing. Her head tilts to lean in is particularly endearing and anyone who holds her can't resist snuggling in a little closer.

This girl is a chatterbox! She'll talk your ear off and if you listen carefully she's often saying full sentences. She came up to me once after having accidentally spilled water on herself with her little brows furrows and a tug at her shirt saying, "Sa-wet, sa-wet" It took me a minute but then I realized she was trying to say, "It's all wet." When I said it out loud she grinned and pointed saying, 'Yah, dat!" which just had me laughing again. There are times in the car on a longer drive she will start voicing her complaints and usually I'll tell her, "We'll be there soon!" and I hear a very audible sigh and "Sokay" in reply While she is still shy and quiet around others, she is understanding the power of communication and I have a feeling we won't get much quiet later on.

I can already see how our examples have such a powerful effect on her. The other day I was using some latex gloves to wash the dishes and clean the tables. Somewhere along the way she found one of Isaac's mittens and had stuck her tiny hand in it and grabbed a sock the kids had left laying around and proceeded to wipe down each of the kitchen chairs. Just today at the library I was anxious to get going and urged her to follow. She shook her head and proceeded to push in each of the chairs we had sat it, something I normally do but was in too much of a hurry to think about. I thanked her for her thoughtfulness and she smiled and said with a tilt of her head,"Eh-come!"

In some ways she is the 'big sister' when it comes to Eli. If he's doing something he's not suppose to she's sure to point it out and 'correct' him. Any task that he is doing she often wishes to help much to his dismay. In other ways she is the adoring little sister, mimicking his jokes and games getting a giggle from everyone.

This time as the 'baby' is passing all too quickly. Part of me is so sad to realize this but the other part of me is filled with the wonder of who she'll be. Life is so much richer with her and I have a feeling she'll be an amazing young lady someday!