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{Taryn's 18 month Stats}

This post is a month overdue but here it is anyway....

Taryn weighs in at 22 .15 pounds. She lost about 1.5 pounds in March from a 5-day stomach bug and hasn't regained much since she's started walking. Speaking of walking, she began taking a few steps in March (at 16-mos old) but didn't walk independently until mid-April. Since that time, she has begun to walk fast (but still not running) and can walk down 1 small step without having to sit down. She is trying to jump with both feet off the ground but so far can only get one up.

 
At her 1-year check up it was confirmed that Taryn has a milk allergy (not to be confused with lactose intolerance- they are not the same). She has always had a clear, runny nose even though she wasn't sick. She also had spots of eczema on her body. At about 11 months old, I introduced her to cow's milk by mixing it with her formula. As the amounts of cow's milk increased and the formula  decreased, she began to show signs of an allergy. Her eczema became wide-spread and covered her back, her runny nose became more constant, and her face became splotchy with red patches. At her visit, I mentioned my suspicion to the doctor and he agreed that she was probably allergic to whey. The only way to tell (without going through the official "allergy testing") was to take her off all dairy and see what happened. Within 3-4 days of taking her off dairy, her skin cleared up, her runny nose dried up, and she was a happy baby. She is able to drink almond milk and consume soy products (but I avoid soy because it's not as good for you as most think- see here and here for more information). However, she doesn't care for almond yogurt (not because of taste but rather the texture of the fruit pieces) and I've never tried soy cheese, so other than almond milk, she doesn't consume many dairy products. At first it was somewhat challenging as I got used to preparing meals that she could eat or omit cheese in foods that I would have otherwise included it. Now that I am used to it, it's not as big of a deal as I thought it was going to be.


As far as her speech development goes, she has made huge gains in even the past week! She correctly (as in at the right times/with correct intonation) says (this list is not exhaustive):
  • Mommy
  • Daddy
  • Teagan
  • Nannie (Annie)
  • Grace (Tristin-Grace)
  • cookie
  • cup
  • down
  • love you
  • bye bye
  • eat
  • No!
  • Stop!
  • Uh oh!
  • Rainbow (our cat)
  • Na na (Jenna and Kiana, our dogs)
  • wipe (as in wipe me & get me out of my chair now!)
  • shoe
  • more
  • chicken
  • Yes (although she doesn't say it very often)
  • kiss
  • baby
  • ba ba (bottle)
Words she can say but not always appropriately:
  • bird (can mean "bird" or "airplane")
  • car (can mean "car" or "truck")
  • down (can mean "down" or "up")
She has also started repeating words or phrases she hears. For example, I took the girls to pick blueberries earlier in the week. She kept hearing me tell them to only pick the purple blueberries. We were picking some and giving them to her to eat as she watched us. When she wanted more, she started to ask for "blue blue". It was so cute! The other thing that is really cute that she and TJ do is sing together. He will practice his warm-up that he does during his weekly lessons, and she repeats after him. They go back and forth, singing to each other.


The biggest news is that she is finally sleeping through the night! She only started that about a month ago (after we got back from Ohio for my sister's graduation). She used to wake at least once each night, but sometimes twice. I'm not sure why she started sleeping better, but it was definitely an answer to many prayers!

Taryn is a very happy, animated little girl. She rarely cries and is usually smiling. She enjoys playing babies with her sisters and it makes me smile when I watch her care for her baby dolls. She will put them in a stroller or high chair and know just what to do with them. It amazes me the innate ability to nurture that God gave to girls. I remember thinking the same thing with my boys as they played with their cars, making car sounds that they had never heard before.


I am so thankful for Taryn as she brings joy to all of us!

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