Our Sweetest Sterling Grace at 18 months

Sterling turned 18 months on the fourth of September, hard to believe that in six months girlfriend will be 2 years old!  She is getting quite a little personality on her these days and is into something new almost everyday.  Here is what our sweet Sterling is doing at 18 months:

*She is talking more and more, repeating a lot and is so proud of herself when she says something new.  She is getting really good at telling us what she wants with her words and at least once a day hangs from the refrigerator doors yelling for milk!  I just love the way she says baby "bebe", it just sounds so precious.
*Sterling just loves playing with Brayden and she copies everything he does which is sometimes not the best thing!  She will even take all the pillows off the couch just like Brayden in attempts to make a hiding place and then loves "hiding".  She also loves playing hide and seek and always gives away my hiding spot to Brayden!

*She still loves shoes and will often bring us her shoes and "uh, uh" asking us to put them on for her, if they fall off she will say "uh-oh" The other day in Academy she lost one of her shoes and Brian and I spent forever looking for it!
*Little stinker will run from me if she needs a diaper change and really despises getting changed or dressed
*She will also lay down and go limp making it almost impossible for us to pick her up when she needs to be changed, get out of the bathtub, or go somewhere she does not want to go!
*Lately I have been letting her sit at the "little kids table" for breakfast which means she is not strapped in...It has definitely been a challenge teaching her to stay in her chair and eat and not to get up and wipe her sticky hands all over the house!  She love, loves sitting there though and gets so excited sitting next to Brayden, he is equally excited to be sitting there with her.
*She loves to color and eat  play with play doh.  It is so funny seeing how much she likes coloring because Brayden could not care less about it and never has!

*She loves playing with her "bebe's", she will pat their backs, shush them, pretend feed them, and of course snuggle them.  It is so sweet to watch and just crazy for me to watch that instinct kick in.

Every time the closet door in the babies room is open, Sterling climbs into the car seat saying "bebe, bebe" And yes, here she is sucking on a nasal bulb...gotta choose my battles!!

*Sterling just loves to climb up on the kitchen counter to check out what is going on.  She will take bites out of anything I have up there, spill things, break things, scribble on things, and just the other day she took a big swig of dish soap!  Such a toot!

*In addition to climbing on the kitchen counter, she has recently started climbing up the cabinets in the bathrooms, turning on and playing in the water....enough said!

*This girl!  Lets just say she is a bit of a drama queen and when she gets really wound up and upset she will actually pass out.  Yes, she silent cries to the point of not being able to breathe and passes out.  It is brief but scary nonetheless!  The only good thing about these little stunts is that when she comes to she is usually done crying and much easier to console.  Don't worry her doctor says it is completely normal and she should grow out of it by the time she is four :)
*Girlfriend is tough!  Having Brayden as her big brother has definitely toughened this baby up and she can wrestle and rough house with the best of them!  She definitely has her share of bumps and bruises!
*It is so interesting for me to watch Sterling grow as a second child.  She just seems so brave and fearless sometimes!  She picks up on things so fast from watching Brayden do them and does many things much faster than he ever did.  She has recently started loving the two biggest slides at the park and goes down them repeatedly, I swear Brayden hadn't started doing one of them until about six months ago!

She can really cruise on this thing, you should see her!  And yes she is covered in paint in this picture!

*Sterling has surprised us with how good she is with a fork!  In fact, she actually seems to use a fork better than her three year old brother who would just rather use his hands (yes, a little frustrating for Brian and I!:)
*Sterling has gotten a million times better about sitting for a book.  She will actually bring us books now and then climb up in our lap for us to read to her.  She definitely has her favorites though and if we start reading a book that she does not like she will let us know about it!  It is so much fun reading Five Little Monkeys jumping on the Bed with her because she wags her finger and "says" no more monkeys jumping on the bed, it is so funny!
*Brayden has been taking swimming lessons at our neighborhood pool with friends.  Sterling has had the best time sitting on and playing on the steps next to them during their lesson.  She will often put her face in the water blowing bubbles like them and kick her little feet like they do.  It is seriously like she thinks she is part of the group.  When it comes time for her to take lessons of her own, she is going to be a pro!!!

*She also loves going to Brayden's soccer practice and games...possibly even more than he enjoys it himself!  Chasing her around the soccer fields is definitely a full time job!  Luckily for the games we have had family there to help us follow her around!

Aunt Christi dragging girlfriend off the field!  

We just adore being this sweet girls parents and are loving watching her little personality grow and develop.

Popsicles in the rain=cold!!!

If ever this girl is cranky a wagon ride will do the trick!

Has recently started enjoying playing in her babies cradle

At a friends house, sitting in their baby chair, chewing on a dog bone

Just the sweetest!!!