SEVENteen months?!

I can't even believe it's been over 2 years since early pregnancy.

Now I have a CRAZY toddler. I'm not even sure where she comes up with things sometimes. And she definitely runs the house!

Feeding: Starting to get fussier about what she's eating. She has to eat when I eat and 99% of the time has to eat WHAT I'm eating. So, Mom's been eating more fruits, veggies, and whole grains. Don't get me wrong, I still managed to polish off a pan of brownies this week, but Q helped .... but not much! She's still nursing. I really wanted it to be her choice to stop. We were soooo close a month ago when she refused for a day...but it's back full throttle again. Well, 3-5 times a day. I'm trying to space it further from nap and bed time so she stops associating nursing with sleep. Overall, she still enjoys water, ice, juice, chocolate milk, and me. She really only eats cereal with milk now, and only the marshmallows from Lucky Charms (I knew my day was coming Mindy and Nikki!).

Diapers: Upgraded to size 5! Size 4 treated us well for probably 6 months or so...I think 8 months now. She has her "I'm pooping" stance and face...and then will continue with playing for no longer than 10 minutes and she thinks a "drink" (nursing) will help her diaper. We're learning the words poop and pee. And learning how to wipe! She actually does really well and is soooo proud when she's "keen" (clean). I've taken Nikki's suggestion of changing on the bathroom floor to associate dirty diapers with potty time. The potty chair will be "unveiled" this week...as it's yet to be bought. I honestly think she may take to it quickly. She's dry on mornings she sleeps and misses her 2 or 4am wake up time. She's dry when she gets up from naps...and most of the day. And it seems to be when she sits in her booster chair for meals that she poops/pees. SO, I think she's associating sitting and plastic with it all. All-in-all, who knows what she's thinking. And I think I'm crazy for even wanting to try so early. But hell, no punishment for failure this young, right?

Vocabulary: Are you kidding me?! I don't even know what I'm going to tell the doctor at her 18 month appointment. She tries to repeat EVERY word I say. And most are pretty successful. Words she's picked up on this week, poop, clean, pork, stroller, outside, killer, couch, chair, sit, one, cup, grandma, grandpa, uncle....and I'm pretty sure "mike"...and probably some others. Words she uses regularly, woof, meow, drink, juice, milk, more, eyes, nose, ears, cracker, climb, hi, bye, dada, mama, back, eggo, poke, fork, spoon, tylenol, benedryl (mostly 'elelelelelele') (and the dosages are sooo ridiculously low that it's just enough to keep her eyes from being puffed out crazy), blankie, sucker, pants, toes, fingers, ....and like I said...she pretty much repeats any one syllable word back to you...and works are at multi-syllable words.

Motor Skills: Kicks a ball well, tosses okay, not catching yet. Can climb stairs, couches, chairs...anything that has a boost, is low enough, and has a flat surface. She's trying hard to climb the metal ladders at the park, but it's too slippery and not enough space for her foot to lay flat. She is queen of slides. Loves to push the empty swings (thanks Grandma Joe!) and stays in the swing no longer than 5 minutes. She found a baseball bat at the park today and liked swinging it...more like a golf club though! Frisbee is useless yet. Walks, runs, crawls...and falls effortlessly! We're working on jumping and skipping...we'll see. She loves to put stuff "back"...but also likes to make a mess! She pokes food...then takes if off the tines and eats it with her fingers; pics up another piece, pokes it, takes it off, eats with fingers. Spoon foods are more difficult and she gets to feed herself those on bath night as it usually ends up in hair and fingernails. She's mostly using her right hand. She dunks her basketball that is attached to her inside slide.

Interpersonal: Plays peekaboo with a blanket or by covering her own ears....she tries to cover her eyes but isn't quite there yet. She gets along better with older kids (3 and 4 and 5) than anyone younger than 2 1/2. She shares pretty well, but wants her turn first. She performs most tasks well when asked, clean up, put stuff back, wipe your tray, take off your shoes and socks, wash your belly, put your cup away, get my shoes...etc.

Overall, especially this last week, she's been WONDERFUL at helping clean, sweep, bringing dishes to the kitchen, helping empty and stack the dishwasher, etc. She's still eating her books and I'm lucky to get one story and lap time. She's started coloring with her chalk, but still likes to lick a piece every now and then. She still bites the tips off crayons...so we'll see when that phase stops. She loves splishing and splashing in water, puddles, sinks, tubs...cat bowls (Dannie knows about that), toilets (if she sneaks the door open without me noticing quick enough!)....

She's a crazy toddler and I hope she's as crazy a kid as I ever get! I'm thankful for nap time...I suppose the kids that may come in the future may not give me that nap time! ... speaking of which...it's going on 3 hours...Guess the park wiped her out today!!

No big plans for Mother's Day, but hope everyone has a great day!!