Good afternoon!  Hope all of your weeks are off to an excellent start!  E is now 18 months and her needs have totally changed so I thought it was high time I got around to doing a post about what she is loving/needing now!  The one thing that I have noticed, is that our “needs” are fewer and it’s becoming more of a what she “wants” and/or enjoys for longer than 6 seconds.

Bathtime

1. We have moved her out of her enclosed tub (that was really just a bucket) and she is in the full bath now.  Dude, bathtubs are slick and toddlers have no concept of taking it easy.  After one tub-free bath session, I had to go get a bath mat.  Just make sure you let it air dry suction side up every once in awhile because it does get mildewy underneath!
2. I found this bath fingerpaint in the dollar section at Target, or at least something similar and E loves it!
3. In addition to these toys that she still loves, we have thrown in cups and bowls that she can fill and dump.

Diapering

1. We’ve moved into the possible potty training phase of life.  I will probably do a full post on this as we get closer, but for now, the only thing we have done besides couponing for pull ups, is set a potty chair in the bathroom.  She doesn’t really like sitting on it without her diaper yet, but we encourage her to just sit on it when we go too, get comfortable with it, etc…

Play

1. She still loves everything I mentioned in the 6-12 months post including babies, blankets, buckets, etc…
2. One magic item I have found are pom poms, cups, and spoons.  When I need just like five minutes to breathe or drink my now cold coffee, I pull this activity out.  It will keep her busy for I kid you not, like 30 minutes.  She just fills up all the cups with a spoon (I demonstrate) and then dumps from cup to cup and then does it all again.  As she gets a little older, I am hoping she still loves it and it can become a sorting activity with all the colors!  Although my child blessedly is not obsessed with putting everything in her mouth, I do monitor this activity because the poms are on the smaller side…they may sell bigger ones?
3. I gotta give a shout out to my mom for giving E this doll.  She can go in the bath and then when she is dry can function like any other baby/doll!  And she is so stinking cute!!
4.  Purses.  She loves carrying a fake cell phone, keys, and her purse, waving and saying “bye”.  Wonder where she learned that??  Also, you have not seen a fight until you have watched two toddlers fight over a purse.  Gah, so awkward.  Always bring your own purse and baby doll to a playdate.  Always.
5. ALL THE STICKERS.  You must always have stickers in your diaper bag when you go out.  MUST.
6. She is finally getting into reading.  Before now, she really wouldn’t sit still for more than a touch and feel book.  I feel like she is just now getting to the point of understanding the elements of the story/remembering what is on each page.  Right now she loves Planes Go! and Hooray for Hat!
7. I’ll go ahead and throw clothes on here again too because they often serve as entertainment.  She now can put on her own rainboots which is HUGE in the parenting of a toddler world.
8. I might do a whole separate post on this, but big Items that are good for a birthday wishlist: Play Kitchen (we still need to get E one…she is obsessed), Tent (great for storing toys out of sight), Car, and water table (could fill with pom poms during the winter!)

Sleep

1.  E no longer sleeps in a crib and if you feel like your kiddo is ready to transition I did a whole post on E’s transition to her big girl room and also a post on how we did Toddler Sleep Transition.  We love her Dockatot!  I also did a post on Establishing a Nighttime Routine!

Eating

1. I wrote a whole post on Toddler Eating and some of our tips/tricks.  This age is all about control.
2. E pretty much eats only what we eat now…no more just “baby/toddler” foods like puffs.  The one thing we do still give her are pouches.   Great for on the go, but also a great source of nutritious foods that she won’t necessarily get otherwise.  Especially when she was teething and wasn’t super into food, pouches were a lifesaver!
3. We also love these sippy cups.  The spout makes for a great transition cup.  It was the first sippy cup E would take!
4. E has also pretty much outgrown her beloved high chair which does transition into a toddler chair!  She likes her freedom when eating now and so we put her at a table with chairs!
5. We take E to a sitter and we have to provide meals so we use this lunchbox and backpack to pack for her days there.  This fall, she will start helping us pack and unpack as a part of her chores/things that she can do to help–and let me tell ya, she LOVES to help.

To take a look back, here are the essentials from 0-3 months, 3-6 months, and 6-12 months!

We just adore this age.  They are so fun and really are becoming their own little selves.  What do/did your littles love at this age??  What should we prepare ourselves for in the next bracket??

Hope you all have a great day!
Erin