18 months

Zooey is 18 months old today. I am so amazed at how fast time has gone, and I cannot believe little Zooey's been a part of our lives for a year and a half. She makes our family so complete. I have to really concentrate to remember life before her, and I cannot imagine life without her. She hasn't yet had her 18 month check-up, so I don't know how much she weighs and how tall she is, but I'm going to estimate she weighs about 22 pounds and is close to 29 inches tall (if not a little taller). We've been really enjoying our wonderful weather with lots of play dates and trips to the park & zoo. She continues to be more and more curious about her surroundings. Last week I took her to the botanical gardens, and it was so much fun to see her explore on her own for awhile and get excited over some of the farm animals. Today I took her for a run, and she was pointing at things constantly and laughing and talking away. We tried coloring this month (as you can see). She had fun, but she also tried to eat the markers. Practice makes perfect? :) Zooey was moved up to the walker's class at church; she's becoming such a big girl, and it's all so bittersweet sometimes. She is officially down to one afternoon nap a day, unless she is just exhausted, in which case we'll do 2 or put her to bed early. I have the sneaking suspicion that she's getting her 2-year molars. Of course, molars take forever, but I can see some white under the gums and brushing her teeth has become a daily scream-fest. Zooey laughs at everything; I don't usually know what she's laughing about (traffic? red lights? trees? the dog?), but it's precious. She is such a sweet girl and a blessing. She is learning to be obedient and patient and how to pick up her toys. I pray for her everyday, that God will grow her to be a godly woman who follows Him with her all. Zooey is also very loving, and she will come up to me or Ryan to give us hugs and snuggles frequently while we're playing. Just today, she melted my heart by coming up to me out of the blue and giving me a hug and snuggle. Such a sweetie!

Zooey loves:

-bubble baths (yay! finally!)

-picking out books for bedtime

-ice cream!! (That pic of her screaming above? Yeah, that's when she had ice cream for dessert and I told her it was all gone.)

-books, books, books! She also loves story time at the library.

-aquarium/zoo. On our last trip to the aquarium, she was really into it, running back and forth between the tank and me, laughing up a storm. It was adorable

Zooey dislikes:

-There aren't any huge dislikes right now; however, we've hit that "picky eater phase" that most toddlers seem to go through. I definitely dislike this. :)