All about Lillian Marie

Lillian is tough! She will be 18 months on May 10th and seems to be advancing far faster than Lexi did. She is one smart cookie and chaos often comes to mind when I think of her. Let me explain... Lillian has been mobile for so long now, she is so sturdy on her feet in a lot of different terrains, she is also a really good climber. She has an attitude of "I can do this" - and she often does. She loves to be outdoors and is often grabbing our hand to lead us into the hallway where the shoes and jackets are stored. She wants to go outside - in quite a wide variety of weather conditions (...Tim's genes). She is a fighter. She is learning to stand up for herself when she is steam-rolled by Lexi and she knows how to whine or cry to get her way. She is definitely smart. We have been constantly amazed by her ability to communicate with us (without words) and her understanding of what we say. She can do so much - throw away her trash, pick up her shoes and put them were they go, get her juice bottle, etc. Her language is slowly coming on. Like Lexi, it might be a bit slower than the average 18 month old due to the influx of two languages, but she will sort it out and start speaking at her own pace. She can definitely say Mamma, Pappa, Hallo (hello), Ha det (goodbye) and Mer (more). But, she understands sooooo much in both Norwegian and English. We are in awe. When healthy, she is a good girl with an extremely healthy appetite (she unfortunately has my sweet tooth) and plays well on her own. When sick, she definitely demands more attention. She sleeps fairly well at night, takes a 2 hour nap mid-day, enjoys barnehage (very routine-oriented) and LOVES water (bathtime is a must on a daily basis).

She is Little Sister, but she has to have EVERYTHING that Lexi has. We must have two of everything - whether it be a toy or juice box or food. There is no denying her anything. She started eating ice cream at 7 months, had hot dogs and chocolate cake at the age of one and has continued to slide downhill ever since. I think she has even had several sips of Tim's cokes and has had bits of chocolate on a few occasions. She has a very strong willpower....

But, I mentioned that chaos came to mind when thinking of Lillian. It is more a yen/yang effect - chaos and order rule with Lillian. She is definitely a destroyer - loves to knock down towers, empty the contents of everything and scatter stuff everywhere. She especially loves to throw food and her plate when she is done eating. Very frustrating... But...she can also pick up and put things back in their place. She doesn't always do it with her toys, but she does it with all else. She will put Tim's shoes on the shelf in the hallway (because that is where they belong), she will help me sort the laundry and load the washing machine, she will put away Lexi's bracelets after she plays with them. So, it is an odd sort of combination that she has. We'll see how it continues to develop.

She now weighs around 10kgs (22#) and hasn't grown too much in height. She is around 78cm (31"). She is tracking about the same as Lexi did. She loves music and dancing and hopping. I must get the video camera out soon!