Happy Half-Birthday -- We have an 18 month old!

Eighteen months – a year and a half. Daphne is well on her way to being a two-year-old, and there is no way we could possibly have one of those.

Somehow 18 months have passed since our little lady entered our lives.  We cannot quite account for where they have all gone but looking through the thousands of photos we have taken, it is amazing to see how much she has grown and changed and the amazing things we have done together.

 

At 18 months she is no longer the teeny-tiny, fragile newborn baby, but a cheeky toddler with enough energy for us both! She is always high energy and has so many words (although we still don't understand them all).

 

We had a wonderful 4th of July week. We were able to visit family in both Rochester / Webster, NY and Bowdoin / Belgrade, ME.

 

Daphne & Piglet ready for take-off!

 

During our stay in NY, Daphne went for a swim in Uncle Andrew and Aunt Cori’s pool, played with her cousins Lia and Sofia, ate some of Grandma and Grandpa’s sauce & meatballs, and had her first visit to the zoo! Seneca Park Zoo in Rochester, NY, which is where both of us had our first visit to the zoo when we were kids! It was a dreary weather day complete with rain, so we did not stay very long.  

 

Daphne & Daddy enjoying the pool;
she really was having fun - I just happen to catch a funny face!

Daphne ready to slide down

 

We celebrated 18 months being cooped up in a car all day, with a road trip from Grandma & Grandpa LaManna in Webster, NY heading to see Nana & Great Nana in Bowdoin, ME. What normally is about a 9-10 hour car ride (without a toddler) ended up being about 13-14 hours. It sounds rougher than it actually was. Daphne did okay in the car seat that we ended up renting along with the SUV. What kid likes to be cooped up in a rear-facing seat for long periods of time? In fact what adult wants to be cooped up in a car in general that long? But, we planned stops throughout the drive to eat, stretch the legs, fill up with gas, etc. and knew that it would end up being a super long day no matter what happened; but it wasn’t as bad as either of us thought it would be and that means something, right?

 

The 4th of July Family Reunion Picnic in Maine was hot, hot, hot and humid. Very uncharacteristic for Maine. Daphne was able to meet family members that she had never seen before and everyone was equally excited. We enjoyed lobster, clams, steak and all the delicious food that Uncle Mike & Aunt Amy prepared for our visit with them - and Daphne cooled off in the kiddie pool, got to play a bit with Abby and Duke (their dogs) and spend some time with cousins Josh, Mikayla and Emma; she sure did enjoy the wah-wah!

Daphne meeting her first lobster!

Loving the kiddie pool and cooling off!

Cooling off in the wah-wah!

It’s been a fun year and a half. It’s been a wild ride that we hope never runs out.

 

Can we please freeze time right here and keep her this way? At least for a little while? Every day is an adventure, and she’s turning into quite the little explorer. She has turned into such a little person. She has an opinion on everything, and lets you know it. If we try to direct her away from something she shouldn’t be getting into, she can throw quite the fit!

 

Things Daphne likes: carrying around anything, climbing on things, climbing off things, brushing her hair and teeth, walking (everywhere), playing in water, cookies, saying ‘hello’ whenever she hear a phone ring, watching other kids, Adam’s car keys, sunglasses, animals, shoes, saying ‘hi’ or ‘bye’ to everyone she sees, and, of course…Piglet!

Yep....she's a keepah alright!