Caroline at 18 months

This past Saturday Caroline had her half birthday, and is now 1 1/2. I seriously cannot believe it! I remember when Matthew was this age I was 4 months pregnant with Caroline. Definitely cannot imagine that right now! Caroline has been so much fun lately. I absolutely love spending time with her, laughing at her, and watching her grow. Here are some tidbits that paint a picture of her at 18 months.

I know I've mentioned this before, but Caroline absolutely LOVES dogs. In fact, I would say it's more of an obsession. If there is a dog anywhere in sight, she is pointing at it, running toward it, squealing, and saying "woof woof". Most of the time she spots a dog or a picture of a dog before anyone else has, and there have been several times Matthew and I will tell her "There's no dog Caroline" only to discover there actually was one on the Petco sign, peeking out a car window, on the cover of a book, or in some other random and discreet location.

Another of Caroline's favorite things is running away. This is not one of my favorite things. In the house it's not so bad, and she's usually running away because I've just told her it's time for a diaper change or she's stolen one of Matthew's toys. However, when we're out in public, not so good. And trust me, she thinks it is absolutely hilarious.

One day soon I hope to be able to put bows and pigtails in Caroline's hair, but at this point that isn't possible. She is rocking the Billy Ray Cyrus, spiky mullet look. But she is still absolutely adorable of course :o)

Even though she doesn't say a ton of words yet, she definitely has no problem communicating. Her favorite word is "yeah" and she actually uses it appropriately! When you ask her a question she either says yeah, or gives no response which means no. It's funny to listen to her voice inflection too. When she wants something and is upset her yeah is quite relieved that you finally figured it out. When you ask her if she wants to read a book she gives an excited yeah. And of course there's just the neutral yeah for everything else.

When she plays she likes to do one of two things. She either wants to look at book after book after book sitting in her chair or on my lap, or put things in and out of containers. I recently reorganized all the toys and books, and everything is now in bins or baskets. She doesn't care what's in the bin, she just wants to empty and refill it over and over!

Caroline is still very brave, and is definitely a rough and tumble girl. Last week we were at a new playground, and I had to sprint across the playground equipment to get to her before she went down a huge slide all by herself. She still went down it and loved it, I just held her hand so she wouldn't get hurt. When she falls and bumps her head, she usually just walks over and points to her head with a sad little face, says "yeah" when I ask her if she bonked her head, and goes back to playing happily.

One of the things that makes me laugh the most is watching her dance. She does this little bouncy pony step, and then spins around. Recently she has gotten more enthusiastic in her dancing, and she bounces so hard and so fast that I think she's going to fall over at any second! In the car she rocks back and forth, bopping her head with the music. Her favorite song to dance to is the theme song to Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, but she has recently started to enjoy Switchfoot as well.

Transformed

Matthew has absolutely loved wearing his Super Reader costume. When he wears it he actually believes he's transformed into a flying superhero. In fact, he doesn't refer to it as putting on his Super Reader costume, but as "being a Super Reader". As he runs he likes to look back and watch his cape flying behind him, and he yells "Here comes Super Reader!" He also does Super Reader poses that involve raising his fist in the air or crossing his arms in front of his chest to look tough. Normally when we get out of the car he wants my help lifting him down, but when he has on his Super Reader costume he says "No Mommy, I'm a Super Reader" and jumps out of the car by himself. He literally runs faster, jumps higher, and feels more powerful when he's wearing his costume.

This reminds me of Ephesians 6.
"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God."

Have I ever felt so transformed by wearing the armor of God that it affects my thoughts and actions? Every day I should be putting on the armor of God, and feel transformed by its power. I should feel stronger, jump higher, run faster toward the goal, and feel empowered by the strength and spirit of God. Like Matthew in his Super Reader costume, I should be living transformed. After all, to my kids I am Super Mom.