18 months has been a time of progression for Z. I haven't noticed radical jumps so much as extensions of existing skills. She has worked her way to 33.5" tall and 24 lbs (she's now 90th percentile for height and has finally hit 50th percentile for weight) and physically she's pretty much normal.
She does have a lot of words. Even her doctor commented on how verbal she was. I never really was counting them, but even if I had been, by now I would be hard pressed to keep up. She repeats everything we say (or at least many of the last words in our sentences) and her diction is quite remarkable. For instance, she can say "Tchaikovsky" and you know exactly what composer she is talking about. She has a collection of both Polish and English words and she strings them together interchangeably. She puts three and four words together on her own. (BTW, I cannot claim the above beautiful picture of her -- it was taken by my dad).
Her sense of style is becoming more pronounced. Those red shoes were part of a Christmas outfit, but she will ask for them at any opportunity. They were required baby-wear for our trip to the Museum of Science and Industry on Thursday (my dad was in town and we all headed to the MSI which is free this month -- all the remaining pictures are from this trip). She has distinct opinions about clothes and will make it very clear whether she wants to wear something -- or not.
She's developed a strong love for her Grandpa. It is a sweet and special thing, because for the longest time she was afraid of him. Now she will ask for him and about him. In fact, that is another thing she can do: she will ask about specific people in her life: Mama, Tata, Babcia, Grandma and Grandpa, Uncle Stanley, Ufer (my parents dog), Marco (our cat). Z and Grandpa have had a great week together. They share a love of birds and rocking chairs and going fishing for kitties. 
Her manual dexterity continues to improve as well. She is now a grand champion button pusher (betraying the strong cadre of engineering genes that are hiding in her genetic code) and she can fit her Duplos together without much help. Stacking things is becoming a favorite pass-time and she loves "going shopping" (which consists of finding one of my bags and either taking things out of them or putting things in). 
We have started to refer to her as "Danger Baby" because she gets bolder and bolder every day. She will climb on adult-sized rocking chairs, stand on ledges, walk up and down stairs with both hands full, and pull almost anything down off a counter that she can reach -- and that reach is getting longer and longer. She climbs up on beds, couches and chairs.
She's a baby with a developing sense of humor. She's started giving "high fives". Which makes laughing happen all around. She has belly laughs when we make funny faces and she will do things that she thinks are very funny and then turn around and look at us with a silly grin. In fact, she is a baby with a whole pantheon of developing emotions, including the tantrum. Coats do not go on without significant protest, and she gets quite unhappy about being redirected from any of her goals.
She is also developing her interests. She's an incredible afficianado of "ABCs" and can recognize most letters and some numbers. She's developed a taste for classical music and will ask John specifically to hear Chopin or Tchaikovsky one one of the baby-friendly websites John has found. She will bang on her xylophone and toy piano. She loves Dr. Seuss books and can have them read over and over to her (particular favorites at the moment are "Hop on Pop", "Hands, Hands, Fingers, Thumb", "Mr. Brown Can Moo, Can You", "ABCs" and "the Eye Book"). It is clear that we are watching the emergence of a real little person with likes, dislikes and a whole array of emotions. I selected the pictures for this post because they show some of the many expressions that are now part of who she is. She is outgoing and sweet, but in a heartbeat can become shy and coy (she charms the waitstaff in almost every restaurant we go to with her regularly). She does things intentionally to be a stinker and get my attention. She has even started to realize that she can get different things from different people if she behaves in certain ways.
For her first time momma, it's both an amazing and challenging ride. And as she learns about the world, I have begun to see again some of the many wonderful things that I just took for granted.
For her first time momma, it's both an amazing and challenging ride. And as she learns about the world, I have begun to see again some of the many wonderful things that I just took for granted.
Your daughter is so beautiful! Lovely pictures!
Such a bright and beautiful 'danger girl'! :) Reading today's post makes me smile. I'm a grandmom of 2 grandgirls, Gwen is two and a half years old and Lilly is one and a half weeks old. I'm new to blogging and enjoyed visiting your blog. Came upon it randomly. Have a wonderful day!
In the picture of Z with your dad, I was struck with their similar smiles.
First children are often intellectually precocious because they get so much adult interaction. It's great at this age, but becomes something of a liability in school when they are forced to learn what they already know.
Your description very much reminded me of my first born son at that age, so I guess that's what brought it to mind.
What continuously surprises us about Z is what she focuses on. We have introduced lots of learning toys and games, but only some of them really take off with her. The ABCs, for instance, she just went nuts for. And the classical music had the same response. But other things... like popular music, numbers, or blocks -- she's entertained by but doesn't get excited about requesting them.
I suspect that Z will suffer from what you describe (I did a little bit -- John had to learn English in third grade when he came to the US so he never felt like he was relearning stuff) but I hope that John and I will be good enough at finding other activities to keep her busy and that she'll be able to understand, at least a little bit, that everyone learns at their own pace and school has to teach to everyone.
Great photos and observations! Z sounds like a joy to be around, and it sounds as though you are enjoying it tremendously!
There is much joy and much tiredness! We have a great time with her, but have a hard time keeping up sometimes!
I've enjoyed following Z's development on your blog. She was born the week that I found out I was pregnant with Peter, who's now 10 months old. I've loved to see her progress, know that Pete will be achieving the milestones that she's reached. (He just started walking this week!) Would you mind sharing some more of the baby-centric websites that you've found? Peter loves kneebouncers.com - thanks for that.
Z is so adorable - she reminds me of my youngest grand (11/12 was her 2nd BD). It is truly amazing the way babies go from this helpless little wailing blob to such well functioning social creatures in less than 2 years. I can guarantee that her grandpa is just thrilled at Z's fondness for him. Baby M is "Grandma's girl" - she has twin bed in her room & refers to the one she doesn't sleep in as Grandma's bed (where I sleep when I visit on my own) & lately she has taken to calling the front passenger seat in their minivan Grandma's seat. For the past 8 or 9 months she has greeted me when I first arrive by running across the floor, jumping into my arms, throwing her arms around my neck & giving a big squeeze. I can't think of a single thing (including winning a big jackpot in the lottery) that could make me as happy (maybe her Daddy getting a job back here in the Chicago area which seems so unlikely in this economy)
What wonderful pictures! Z's adorable, and getting more so every day! Thanks so much for sharing your life with us - it's a joy to watch her grow!
Matching smiles on Z and Grandpa are too precious!! That picture is a keeper.
She's adorable and obviously very smart! It's not expected to put two or more words together until after age 2 :) I wouldn't call her danger baby from what you're describing though--those are pretty normal toddler things....my third was climbing on the kitchen table and trying to make toast at 14 months, LOL. For several months we had to turn the chairs on their side and tuck them under the table so she wouldn't climb on the table. Aww...the memories, LOL.