Troubles & Triumphs of a Growing Family: Brookie hits 18 months with a scream!

Oh my dear dear Brooklyn...where has my sweet, happy-go-lucky, fun loving baby girl gone?! She is only around about half the time now...and the other half of the time we have a strong-willed, independent, don't-tell-me-NO, fit throwing, terrible two's toddler. LOL She has a personality like you wouldn't believe. She knows exactly what she wants and when she wants it. I have found that this is my far my biggest challenge yet with her. She is going through a stage where she does not want to eat...she either wants fruit or cracker type snacks, which I refuse to feed her all the time, or milk. Most of the time its milk. She will throw an absolute tantrum over milk. I think she is filling up on milk and then isn't hungry to eat. So we have been trying to limit her milk intake which causes meltdown after meltdown. I struggle with how to handle her meltdowns. Like I said..she is extremely stubborn and strong-willed so the whole "ignore the bad behavior" tactic is really really difficult. She will scream...and I mean scream..for what seems like forever. We have had hour long screaming fits before I am finally able to distract her. And I'm not going to lie...I have given in a few times for Bristol's sake. I don't want her to have to listen to non stop screaming. Although she handles it well and continues to smile through Brooklyn's fits. Brooklyn also does not like to be told NO at all. She has the best sad face ever and it breaks my heart into pieces every time she does it. We are starting time-out with her in hopes she will grasp the concept soon and understand that no means no. Derek and I have both been pretty good at not giving into her. I refuse to allow her to become a selfish, spoiled brat...I think being a teacher and seeing a lot of kids helps motivate this lol..

Brookie still loves to be center of attention and will put on quite a show when family is around. She loves to run wild and refuses to be cooped up for long. She has a blast at the ball field and finds kids to follow around...which ends up being the kids following her around. She lights up a room with her giant cheesy smile. She is talking sooo much more in the last month too. She will say most people's names in the family...sometimes is coherent, other times, not so much. But its so cute to listen to her.

So at 18 months Brooklyn:
* loves her sister but is getting jealous if we are paying more attention to Bristol than to her
* does not like to let her sister sleep
* always brings Bristol toys and burp clothes :)
* says lots of words..some new ones are sissy, nana (banana), book, Mimi (Mickey), hi, thank you, purple, blue, yellow, (doesn't know the the color really, but says the word), shoes, side (outside)..and probably others I can't think of..
* is signing "more" and "please" all by herself without any cues
* loves her milk and raisins
* knows a few animal sounds - Woof woof for a dog, she snorts for a pig, meow for a kitty, cluck cluck for a chick, and mooo for a cow
* climbed out of her crib during a tantrum and then said "Uh-oh"
* loves the water, swimming, and being outside
* has been sleeping in until 8:30 or later...right now it is 9:20 and she's still asleep!
* tortures the dog with her walker and laughs the whole time
* is very clingy to me (which I love..most of the time)
* cries when Derek or I leave..especially if we both go :(
* likes to hold onto my leg
* is signed up for swim lessons :)
* weighs 28.8 pounds...is 33 inches tall
* wears 2T or 3T