17 months old

Time flies when you're as busy as Mary Lawton! This girl is busy, busy, busy, and I can't believe she's 17 months old already.

What she's up to: Saying please and thank you. We still have to prompt her most of the time, unless she really wants something. Then she usually remembers to say please. For awhile she was confusing the sign for thank you with blowing a kiss, and she would blow a kiss when we told her to say thank you. What better way to say thank you than to blow a kiss? Now she can say the words "thank you" (but needs a reminder).

Climbing into chairs and sitting by herself

Picking up a bag, putting it on her arm, and saying, "bye-bye!" We ask her where she's going, but she won't tell us.

Drinking from an open cup and feeding herself with a fork

She's been enjoying watching the Tour de France with her daddy, and she loves to spot bikes on our drive to and from school each day.

New words over the past 3 months:
banana (balala)
Daddy instead of Dada
Mommy instead of Mama
keys
tree
open
bike
Elmo (must have learned this at daycare, since we're not into Sesame Street at home)
train
truck (shuck)
beep-beep (said when she needs to get by and something is blocking her way. Must have learned this at daycare)
knock-knock (said while knocking on something. Daycare.)
my/mine
help (hep)
no
neigh (What does the horse say?)
bok bok (What does the chicken say?)
bok bok (What does the duck say?)
Mike (our neighbor)

And she's putting things together:
All done, Mommy! (ah dah, Mommy!)
Daddy bike
Daddy hat
open this (ahpee dah)
I want mine. [sigh]
no

She secretly grew 2 more teeth between 14 months and 16 months. I'm not really sure when, because I didn't notice them until one was fully in and the other was about half in. They're molars on her left side--one top and one bottom. Her 7th tooth came in between 16 and 17 months--a molar on her lower right side. So, she has the 4 very front teeth and 3 molars.

She's getting quite sassy and stubborn. (See "I want mine" above.) It can be frustrating, but I think I prefer that she is questioning things and using some reasoning skills. She's realizing that no, she doesn't have to do it because we told her to, and what would happen if she didn't do it?

But, for every trying moment, she gives us a thousand loving ones. She gives lots of hugs and kisses. I especially love when she comes up behind me when I'm sitting on the floor and hugs me. She crawls into laps to read books. She gives leg hugs as she's walking by. We have a sweet girl and are over-the-moon in love.

June 16, 2010 - 16 months old

July 16, 2010 - 17 months old