eighteen months has never looked so good!

i can't believe its april. i can't believe today, my baby is 18 months old. it feels like, just a deep breath ago she was a wrinkly newborn, curled up in my lap; her daddy's handsome profile & my eyes. it has gone by way too fast, like, waaaaaaaay too fast. arrow is all her own now. a beautiful blend of us both; strong willed, smart, joyful, charismatic & one seriously tough cookie. we call her a little bruiser. no splinter or skinned knee can slow her down.

her hair is just long enough to tuck behind her ears or pull into a sprout ponytail & thank goodness for it, because she's been 'over' bows and clips since, well, forever. her legs are 24 months long & her eyes get bluer every time she wakes, i swear it. she fills my life with 'uh-ohs & whoas' and says 'mama' in her sleep. her vocabulary is rapidly growing. no seriously, grant + i are in trouble seeing as she tries to imitate every word we say (maybe we should try a swear jar...) she can identify, eyes, ears, hands, feet, tummy, bellybutton, booty etc. & make alllllll kinds of adorable animal noises on command. her mooooooooo is quite possibly the cutest thing you've ever seen. ever.

 we're working on our please + thank yous, being kind with our hands & sharing. I'm pretty sure she believes that strawberries are the most important food group, maybe even the only food group, well that and ice cream sandwiches. if it were up to me, she'd sleep with us every night, its terribly uncomfortable because she is a ninja in her dreams, but it is also so sweet & those days are so numbered.

she insists on going down the slide on her belly, my little wild one, and loves dance parties in the kitchen. bubble guppies & swinging are her jam, along with drinking out of big girl water bottles. what can i say, she is a girl of many interests! she can usually be found with a sidekick in hand, boo boo, the famous pomeranian* to be precise, thank you LA airport store!
*kitty or pig will suffice when he is in the washing machine.

she is my light, and a shiny bright spot in each persons life that she meets, whether it be the grandma in the grocery store, or her own birdie & grammy back at home. she has changed grant & i for the better & i hope she continues to grow and cultivate us into the perfect parents, do those exist? 

my sweet arrow, we made it! thank you for making the last 18 months of my life, the brightest + most wonderful, i have yet to encounter. every moment with you is new. thank you for forgiving me when i fail you, loving me when i need it most & challenging me to be a better mama every day. though one day you may be blessed with a little brother or sister, there will never be another you. a first. a perfect little crash test & i wouldn't have it any other way. happiest of year & a half birthdays to you, arrow! love, your mama