18 Months!

BEWARE LONG POST AHEAD!!!!

It has been a half a year since I have done an update on Wren. She is growing up so much and her personality is blossoming as well. She keeps us on our toes all the time and doesn't seem to stop unless she is sleeping! Our beautiful little girl is 18 months old and we couldn't be more thankful for the last 18 months we have got to spend with her as our daughter :)

Beautiful Blue Eyes!

Peek-A-Boo!

saying her "prayers" (Right)

DEVELOPMENT
Wren has her 18 month appointment in march so I don't have all her percentiles but due to a recent trip to the doctor for an ear infection (sound familiar?) I learned she weighs 26 lbs.

Wren eats pretty much all food but does struggle still with chocking on chips or other hard/sharp foods sometimes. She loves food though and we never seem to have a problem getting her to eat! She has 12 teeth and is working on her eye teeth, top and bottom, right now. This probably plays a big part of why she eats so well and can eat about anything. As I said in her 12 month update Wren struggled with getting a raw butt and diarrhea from drinking cows milk and eating certain dairy products. After cutting all dairy and then beginning to add things back in we realized Wren is lactose intolerant. She can't have any cows milk, yogurt, cottage cheese etc. She can have small amounts of cheese but even that has to be limited. At one point Wren was accidentally given about 3-4 small bites of yogurt and within a few hours she had diarrhea and her butt began to get raw/bloody. Its so crazy how it affects her. She drinks almond milk instead and we often find ourselves cooking with it so Wren can eat what we are making.

Wren has been overall very healthy. She recently got an ear infection but that has been the only one for this winter and compared to last winter when she got 1-2 every month getting only one this winter has been wonderful! Wren also has an issue with getting her elbow popped out of socket. It has happened three times now overall and the most recent time being yesterday. I decided to look up a video of how to pop it back in myself rather than making another trip to the doctor for such a simple thing. I got it figured out and popped back into place. I hated having to do it because it hurts Wren and she bawls the entire time until its back in place and starts to feel normal again. I am glad to be able to do it though so if it ever happens again we can avoid the long crying car ride to the doctor and the bill that comes along with it! The doctor did tell us the first and second time that since it has happened once it is likely to happen again because it weakens the ligaments or something like that.

Wren still sleeps in her crib and her paci is used for sleeping and car rides only. At some point we will have to ween her off it but for now thats when she gets it. She also has a bottle of almond milk at bedtime and nap time. She always wants her bottle and paci to sleep so I am dreading trying to get rid of either :( Wren loves her sleep though and continues to sleep through he night and even sleep in until 9am or later sometimes. She typically goes to sleep between 8 and 9pm. Between 7-8am she will often get up and come snuggle with us awhile in our bed and then fall back to sleep in our bed.

She is not potty trained and that seems impossible as well. Every now and then we will put her on the toilet on her little potty seat we bought, before her bath and try to get her to go. Typically it ends in her not going and then peeing or pooping the tub instead.

Wren continues to learn more words. She says mommy and daddy and Ty, our neighbor who she is obsessed with, very well. She often asks, where mommy, where daddy, or her favorite, where Ty?! as she puts her hands out and shrugs her shoulders in a questioning manner. She will repeatedly ask this until you answer her and then she says "oh" :) Yucky and gucky area few others she knows well and loves to say as she is getting her diaper changed. She also says a lot of other things by repeating what you say. She doesn't really do sentences and struggles to speak clearly for certain words but she is learning.

PERSONALITY
Wren is our little wild child! She loves danger and living on the edge and she is still LOUD! She often has some sort of bruise or scrape from running/climbing on something and getting hurt. No table/chair is too high for her to attempt to climb! She is very determined and has even resorted to full out temper tantrum, throwing herself on the ground and screaming, when she doesn't get what she wants. For not talking very well she sure gets her point across! We have begun giving her time outs in her crib when the tantrums start and often she will calm down and be back to her happy crazy self. She is so sweet and doesn't know a stranger. She loves to say HI and BYE to everyone she sees and she she continues to say it until she gets a response from the person. She is definitely an extrovert personality! She loves to get chased and tickled and loves to laugh. She gets lots of attention due to our job and traveling around a lot to see family or having family over so that may have helped develop her love of attention and having someone play with her. Wren recently was at the dinner table and pulled up her shirt and began smearing ketchup all over her belly. As she did this she just stared at everyone at the table like "what? I want to smear my belly with ketchup!" She is always making a mess of something or destroying anything she can get her hands on. Toys are no fun compared to getting everything out of the bathroom drawers and closets, especially Q-tips, or emptying kitchen cupboards, files, digging through the snack closet or garbage, trying to plug things into outlets, drag all my shoes or clothes out of closets and drawers, pull adult books from the shelves and try to write on them or bend/rip the pages, etc. I am constantly redirecting her to toys or telling her no. It gets very tiring but I just continue to convince myself that it is just her age and she will soon begin to take more interest in her toys rather than everything she shouldn't mess with! Her sweet kisses and hugs make all her troubles of the day a little more bearable :) She has mastered giving kisses and when she gets started will often give 4-5 before she feels she has given enough! She also loves to pray! We pray before meals and before bed with her and she sweetly fold her hands and looks down and will sometimes say amen when finished! At bedtime she runs into her room and kneels down by her bed and fold her hands so sweetly! Whenever someone says we are going to pray she quickly folds her hands and gets calm even if it is only for maybe 20-30 seconds :) While I was trying to get her to calm down for her 18 month pictures I said "lets pray!" and she quickly folds her hands and sits sweetly for a few seconds! Recently on vacation she was swimming in a shallow end of the pool and my chair was in the water. She went over to the side of my chair and knelt down and folded her hands and bowed her head for a few second and then got back up and went about her swimming, it was so sweet. :) So thankful we can teach her to take her thoughts to God and spend a little time with him each day!

Her curious determined personality :) She knew exactly what to do with that key and she was determined to make it work!

(There are times Wren acts so much like me and her personality is so much like mine that its hard to believe she is adopted. Makes me wonder how much is nature and how much if nurture!)

THINGS WREN LOVES 
-Our neighbor, 3 year old Ty.
-Giving kisses
-Climbing things/getting into anything that isn't a toy!

Balancing act on her 4-wheeler (LEFT) "So i'm not supposed to be in the fire place?" (RIGHT)

-Attention
-Her adoption story book, it has actual pictures as well as story book pictures and tells the story of her birth and birth family. It is Wren favorite book and she will want it read over and over! Problem is its hard for me to even read it to her without crying at least at once! She loves to look at actual pictures such as our family photo albums as well!

-Baby dolls

-Swimming! She is our little fish, water does not scare her at all even going under! Whether its the bathtub or a pool she absolutely loves the water! This makes me excited as I loved to swim as well when I was younger and loved swim team. Maybe she will follow in my footsteps!

-Making a mess, with food, toys, garbage, drinks you name she will make a mess with it :)

Check out her feet!

-Saying Hi, Bye and Nigh Night! As well as Where, Ty, daddy, mommy, and the wonderful "MINE!"
-Mexican food(really all food in general)! Beans and rice being on the top of the list.
-Sleep
-Her paci and bottle
-Having books read to her

Besides having books read to her she loves reading them herself. I will often find her in random spots reading a book:)

-Playing on the ipad and iphone, she doesn't do well with watching things because she wants to poke around the screen.
-Her daddy, she is definitely a daddies girl, maybe it has something to do with the fact that he spoils her :)
-Copying mommy. She loves to mimic whether its cleaning, laundry, or paperwork Wren wants to be right there doing the same thing. She has her own kitchen set she got for Christmas but it still isn't the same as being in the big kitchen with real food/pots and pans. She loves to help with laundry and folding clothes unfortunately she likes to "fold" the ones that are already folded. Now if I can just get her to copy me picking up her toys!

Helping clean the oven at Cypress house

She scooted her little table over to the sink so she could scrub

 some dishes and clean up the counter like mommy!

-Candy. She has recently began developing her sweet tooth!

Wren snuck up on the table while mommy wasn't watching to sneak a few caramels!

-Playing outside, especially getting rides with Ty on his electric gator! Already being picked up for dates :/

These two :)

-The beach/sand. After being scared in Alabama in August, she grew a love for it by the time we went to Florida in February!
-Showing off new clothes, shoes, or hair styles etc. I guess I must teach her to be excited about clothes/shoes etc always oohing and ahhing when she gets a new outfit or shoes. :)

Doing her hair pretty :) If only I could get her to keep headbands in still!

-Fruits and veggies! Especially cuties or tangerines. She could eat 3-5 of those every day if we let her!
-Eating popcorn with her daddy. (Once again, food!)
-DANCING! She cant resist when the music turns on! One of her favorite songs is Baby Shark. Look it up on youtube :) some of you might remember it from your childhood. It starts out Baby Shark do do doot doo doo. Wren sings bee bee bee when she wants it played.

THINGS WREN HATES
-Being told "no"
-Getting up early! (I love this one!)
-Playing by herself (this one is difficult!)
-Meat. She likes her basic hotdogs and chicken nuggets but often times meat will be the last thing she eats or she will avoid it all together and will eat her fruits, veggies, or bread instead. (We often joke that she is going to be a vegetarian!)
-Shopping, there are too many things that look fun but she cant touch and that makes her pretty upset! Shopping for anything becomes a lot harder when she is along!


(WHAT WE HAVE BEEN UP TO THE LAST 6 MONTHS!)

SEPTEMBER:
-Wrens cousins came to visit for the weekend (my brother and sister in-law) They had lots of fun playing at the splash pad, on hammock, playing baby dolls, and going to a bounce house!

-Mommy, daddy and Wren went to the zoo one afternoon!

-A visit to Illinois! Wren got to ride in the combine with grandpa for Harvest!

-Jesse's sister Amanda got Married in Illinois! 

OCTOBER:
-Some friends from Illinois came to visit around Halloween and we went to a pumpkin patch and took the kids trick or treating around town!

We had a bumble bee, a UPS man, and a kangaroo!

Fall FUN!

-Wren got a 4-wheeler at a garage sale and became our little trickster! 

NOVEMBER:
-We hosted Thanksgiving for my family and Jesse's family! Wren got to spend time with all her aunts and uncles, grandparents, and cousins!

-Waking up to see the Christmas tree at work! She couldn't resist all the shiny ornaments :)

DECEMBER:
-Jesse's brother got married in Illinois! Wren also got to meet her new cousin baby Avery! Whats better than a fake baby doll? A real live one!

-Christmas with mommies family (The Steidingers)

Ellie, Addy, Wren, Emerson

-COUSINS-

The crazy boy cousins trying to get the girls to smile :)

-Christmas with Daddy's family (The Zimmermans)

-Christmas with Cypress House (Pictures included residents so I did not post any from the actual Christmas party.)

All dressed up for Christmas church services!

-Christmas with mommy and daddy! (And that is a lot of Christmases!)

Her very own kitchen set!

JANUARY:
We went to Wisconsin Dells with my family! Wren had a blast in the water. She loved the slides and even braved them all by herself! Our little fishy :) On the way to the Dells we stopped one night in Chicago!

Braving the slides all by herself!

FEBRUARY:
We took a trip to Cape Coral Florida with some friends! I was fun but a bit colder than we had hoped :( The kids still enjoyed the pool even if they were shivering :) We visited places we went to when Wren was a newborn before we left Florida such as Rita's for ice cream, Fort Myers beach, and Citrus Sun Harvest with the big orange :) So thankful for the last 1.5 years with this sweetie! Wren also flew on an airplane for the first time as well! She did wonderful. She was awake for takeoff and landing and that was it! The long vacation must have worn her out :)

She was dancing to baby shark :)

We went to an aquarium!

We have made lots of great memories the last 6 months! There have been some crazy hectic days between being a mom and a alternate houseparent to seven teenagers and I wonder if I am going to make it and then in between there are days of relaxation and fun that help keep me going! Praising God for all he has given our family and looking forward to the next 6 months! Thanks for reading :)