Tonight, I just so happened to have stumbled upon a post I wrote 9 months ago, called stats, 
in which I detailed her most recent milestones, in exchange for my inability to articulate how I felt about her turning 9 months old.
Well, guess what?
another 9 months have passed.
This week, we celebrated her 18 month birthday.
And no, I haven’t yet found the words.
Of course she is the breath in my lungs,
the sunshine on my skin,
my everything and my best thing…
but how can I put all that I feel about her,
all that she is to this world,
into plain words?
I cannot, simply.
So, once again, I will rely on stats to help me to tell my tale.
As the Pediatrician said today at her check-up, my girl is long and lean (a.k.a. supermodel in training. After she wins the Pulitzer, of course!)
She is starting to transition from walking to full-out running.
She talks in 2 and 3 word sentences,
AND SHE SINGS.
Listening to her sing “Sunshiiiine only Sunshiiiiiiine” is just light personified.
But seriously, the girl never stops talking.
(Tonight, I overheard her, as she fed treats to her puppies, and she said, “Ziggy? Food!”
(oh don’t even get me started on how she switches out the “d” for a “k”…I promise, we keep it PG around here, but the kid has got a mind of her own..)
And she continued, “Mhhmm. Yeah. Mmmmm. Num num num. Food (/k). Yeah! Thank you, Ziggy. You’re welcome!”
I melted into a puddle, when she said “You’re welcome”. And then I gnawed on her thigh, for good measure. She’s delicious.
Anyhoo,
So yeah, she walks and talks (see how proficient I am at detailing her stats?!)
She loves music and dancing,
drumming and strumming,
and she hums to her babydolls to “put them to bed”.
And I can’t just breeze over the whole “babydoll” thing. She lives for her dollies. Her stuffed animals. Her “Mammals”, as she says (quite accurately, might I add?)
She reads her books, and while she’s still only at a fourth grade reading level (ha! I kid! She’s totally pushing sixth grade!) she communicates so beautifully with her words that I always know exactly what she’s talking about.
(Even when she calls “food” “fook”. Unless she’s just pissed at me. Maybe she really is just saying “fook”. That’s always a possibility.”
When we ask her what daddy drinks she says, “Foffee” and when we ask what mama drinks she says, “Tea” and she’s just so cute that I may switch from tea to her.
Her favorite foods are peas, lentils, mango, vanilla ice cream, dark chocolate covered raisins, french fries and frozen bananas, which she calls “ice nanas”.
She loves running around outside with her dogs,
throwing kisses to animals and trees,
feeding the fish in my parents’ pond,
swinging, sliding and making mischief.
After just shy of 18 months of breastfeeding, she is now weaned.
She now (finally) sleeps in her crib,
but we find time (HOURS) to snuggle every day.
She makes people smile everywhere she goes.
Seriously.
And not just because I’m her mama.
She’s such a nice little girl and I am so proud to call her mine.
So, there you have it.
9 months after her first 9 months, her stats.
She may be much bigger now than she was 9 months ago,
and she may wear shoes
and brush her own teeth
and swear
but she’s still my little baby,
my one and only,
my play-mate,
my soul-mate,
my girl.
In Judaism, the number 18 represents “Chai”, which is symbolic of life, and often used for good luck.
Well, my girl was born on the 18th day of April.
She is 18 months.
And she is my luck
and my life.
So, little girl,
L’chaim.
I love you so.