18 Months

On Tuesday I took Curran in for her 18 month well check. As we already knew, she is a big lady. She is 26 lbs., 15 oz. which puts in the 80th percentile for weight. I can't remember her height, but she's in the 90th percentile. Her head remains off the growth curve. Brayden's head is big too, but his came back on the curve at some point. Curran - no such luck yet. She's also a toughie, she got a shot and didn't even flinch. I don't vaccinate her on the recommended schedule, I've made up my own schedule. Autism scares the sh*t out of me. The funny thing is, as big as she is everywhere else, she has teeny tiny feet. She's still in 6-12 month old shoes. Her are some pics of the little lady at 18 months:

I think its fun to compare the two of them. I am sooooo lucky that they are both such good, happy kids. Since Brayden is so fresh in my mind being that he's only 17 months older, here are some observations:

• Eating: Both are very good eaters. Brayden loved baby food, Curran hated it. They both enjoy table food and eat 3 good meals a day. Brayden hates milk and always has. Curran would drink it 24-7 if I let her. They both drink more water than anything. They both call it "ice juice".

• Sleeping: They are very similar. Both slept through the night at about 2 months, and both dropped their morning nap at about 18 months. I know I posted earlier that Curran dropped her morning nap, but she faked me out. Just recently has she started consistently only sleeping in the afternoons. Brayden is the better sleeper though, by a slim margin. Both LOVE to sleep. I attribute this in large part to the book "On Becoming Babywise". An absolute God-send. Thank you Jill.

• Sickness: Curran is as healthy as a horse, Brayden had many ear problems. They both get their usual colds, and have had the stomach flu a couple of times.

• Motor skills: Brayden walked at 9.5 months, Curran at 11. Brayden crawled for about 3 months, Curran crawled for a week. I'd say they are both pretty active and into climbing, etc.

• Verbal skills: Curran in WAY ahead of where Brayden was at this age. I can say she can now speak in full sentences. Brayden didn't do that until he was well over two. I think part of it is that she's a girl and part is due to Brayden's hearing loss from his chronic ear infections. As soon as we got the tubes in, he started talking up a storm.

• Teething: Brayden got his first tooth at 4.5 months, Curran at 7. Brayden was a worse teether in terms of needing medicine and getting up at night. Curran has a pretty high pain tolerance. She's getting her bottom eye teeth in and has yet to get up at night.

• Behavior: I think you know the answer to this one. Curran is MUCH more difficult. She's aggressive and stubborn. Brayden had his moments, but nothing like Curran's everyday temper tantrums. She tests Steve, Amy and I everyday. But she's so damn cute. And articulate. Today I was downstairs and I heard her saying - "Mommy, where are you?" Brayden might be an angel. He's much better behaved than Curran is.