Dear Kate,
Happy half-birthday! You are 18 months old today - such a big girl! You grow more capable and more communicative each day, and as always, you are so much fun! Here's what you've been up to over the past month:

* You say a ton of words now. I was keeping a list of words you mastered in past posts, but you're adding so many words to your vocabulary now that it's kind of pointless to keep up with that. You repeat (or try to repeat) anything we ask you to say. You still don't string any words together.

* When you want something, you scream. Loudly. We ask, "What do you say, Kate?" You stop screaming to softly and sweetly say, "peace (please)?" Then we have to figure out what it is you want. Sometimes it's easy, sometimes it's not.

* Apparently no one told you about the "cars and trucks are for boys" gender stereotype. You love trucks! We have a truck board book that you want us to read before bed about a gazillion times, and every time you hear a truck drive past our house, you point to the door and fervently ask, "'iss?" (asking to go out to see the truck).

* You really love to color at your table upstairs. It's one thing you'll actually sit still for.

* As I've posted before, you now know most of your letters. There are about 5 or so that you still get mixed up on or won't attempt at all. (W is just too hard to say!) You know many of the letters' sounds, too. Yesterday when you were taking your bath (with your foam letters floating all around you), I asked what letter started the word "soap." You pulled the S out of the water and smacked it to the side of the tub. Amazing! You love the show on PBS called "Super Why" because there are letters on the screen pretty much the whole show. It's a good one to put on when Caroline needs her bottle.

* When Caroline has to eat is the hardest time of your day. You couldn't care less most of the time about sitting in my lap or being snuggly, but the second I hold Caroline for her bottle, you make a beeline for me! You're trying to reclaim your turf, I guess. You get pretty fussy and tend to throw tantrums the most during Caroline's waking hours.

* You say "baby" a lot! Anytime you hear Caroline make a peep, you say "baby." It's helpful because sometimes you hear her before I do! You play with your baby dolls a whole lot more now. It's so cute to see you hug your doll. Yesterday you patted her back like you were burping her, and today you even pretended to feed her with a bottle for a second. You're still not interested much in Caroline, though. You have no desire to love on her the way you do your doll. Someday we'll get there! :)

* Good news: Your hair is growing. Bad news: You have a mullet. Business in the front, party in the back. And what a party it is! You have the sweetest curls. I have to re-wet it in the mornings to get the curls back, so I chase you around the house with a spray bottle, squirting you. You LOVE this!

* You're sort of a finicky eater. You love something one day and turn your nose up at it the next. You'll eat a ton one week, and the next week you'll scream at every meal. I think it probably has to do with teething. You love your fruits and veggies, and you scarf down bread, too. You do really well using a fork now. And if we go out to a restaurant or through a drive through, you always get French fries. You love French fries. I'm not sure, but I think you were pointing to Chick-fil-A as we were about to pull in there yesterday. I think you might know that that's where we go for fries (and Mommy's lemonade).

I look forward to each day knowing I'll spend it with you!

We love you so much, Kate Burnett!
Mama and Daddy

Stats ("official" this month)
Weight: 25 pounds, 10 ounces (75th%)
Height: 33 inches (90th%)
Head: 18.4 inches (75th%)
Clothes: 18-24 months, some 2T
Diaper Size: 4
Sleep: 7pm-7:30am
Nap: 12-2pm
Teeth: 12 (8 front, 4 molars)