17 months

I promise I am not going to keep doing monthly updates until Amelia is 57 months old, but she is still changing and developing so much from month to month and I want to keep a record of it, so here goes. At 17 months, Amelia:

• said her first sentence a few weeks ago! Y'all know she's been talking up a storm for months, but usually it's just jibber jabber or one real word at a time. During spring break when Cliff was in Kansas, we were watching the tournament online. I pointed to Cliff on the screen and thought she would say Daddy, and instead she said "Ball!" Then I said, "Yeah, it's a ball!" And then she repeated, "It's a ball!" Ball was one of her first words and it's still one of her favorites, and I think it's such a fun first sentence, and a fun memory to have of her saying it.
• is still saying new words each week and is recognizing what they mean. Some of her newest have been nana (banana), cookie, pa-pa (for paci, not Papa), and cat. She recognizes if we are riding by Katie's house in the wagon and says Katie, even if she's not home and we don't stop.
• is showing signs of being ready to potty train. I know-yikes! How did we get here so soon? I am in no rush at all to start this process, but she has been saying "poo poo" either during the act or immediately after she dirties her diaper. She has even tried to take it off after doing it. I bought a potty chair and we've been working with it a little, but I don't think she really gets it yet. I think we'll work more with it this summer when she is home every day.
• has hit yet another growth spurt in the past few weeks. Last month she was outgrowing 12 months but was not yet fitting into 18 months, but now she is already outgrowing some 18 months outfits. She is becoming a big girl so fast!
• still is not a fan of being told "No," but she really likes saying it to others. It's actually pretty cute most of the time the way she says it, but we have really been getting tougher with our discipline and not allowing her to tell us (or any grown up) "No" when we ask her to do something or to stop doing something. She used to freak out anytime we disciplined her, and she still does to some extent, but she is doing much better at knowing when we mean business and not throwing a tantrum every time we take something away or tell her No. I will celebrate each of these small victories!
• has learned a little bit about counting and the ABCs from her BFF, Dora. She tries to sing along to the alphabet song, and if you say "One" and hold up a finger, she'll usually follow it with saying "Two." It's so much fun to see her pick up on these things so quickly.
• has started warming up to Cliff's Dad (Papaw Bob) more in the last month. She hasn't been that sweet to him in the past. He works a lot and spends a lot of time out of town on the weekends, so Amelia hasn't spent as much time with him as she has with my parents. She is finally getting used to seeing him more and is being more loving with him, much to his delight.
• has also been warming up to my brothers and Papaw Fred. She clearly prefers women and girls over big ole boys (and we're ok with that!) but we're glad to see her being sweeter to all the people who love her.

Mimi has changed so much this month! Cliff was gone for a week, and just during that time she said and did so many new things. Her own little personality is coming out more and more, and we're discovering that she is a fast learner of new things, but she is also just as fast at losing her temper and throwing a fit when she is not pleased with something. The next few months (and years, let's be honest) are going to be difficult as we establish more boundaries with our discipline and she learns that she is not the ruler of the universe!

And now, here are a couple of photos of her and Papaw Bob from the other day. She was opening her bucket of Easter goodies from him and Joyce, who actually made that precious blanket. Thanks, Joyce! We love it! Homemade gifts are my favorite.

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