17 Months Old

Dear Kat,

It's been awhile since I've written a monthly letter to you.  You are at such an incredible age, I want to take a moment to remember all the fun, goofy, "wow" things you are doing.  It seems as if overnight, you have turned into a little girl.  Even though you're still so young, you also seem so old.  Everyone who meets you comments on how tall you are...some don't even believe that you are under two :)  While looking/acting older than your age is a great feature now, I'm sure you will regret it if people are still saying that when you're forty!

Your nap/bedtime preferences have changed and you have turned into a real cuddlebug (and Mama doesn't mind one bit!).  My favourite parts of any day are when I'm rocking you to sleep.  I will happily drop what I'm doing to snuggle up with you and sing you lullabies.  I can tell you're getting sleepy when you start to chatter through you're soother.  You make a last ditch effort to make me smile and then you tuck your chin against your chest, grab the corner of the blanket and pull it up to your face and drift off. Le sigh.

At 17 months of age, you:

 - LOVE yogurt and bananas

- can say Hi!, baby, poo-poo, shoe, Shandi, Jo-Jo, cool, Mom, bang, uh-oh, up, cookie and ball

- can sign more, all done, milk, eat, banana and cracker

- freely give hugs and kisses

- love throwing balls

- hold Shandi's leash when we go for walks

- love your sunglasses

- hate having your hair put in pigtails

- are starting to pick what you want to wear

- will point at what you want and say, "Bee!"

- LOVE to dance (and you look like you're in a club)

- love to sing (especially the Pat-a-Cake song)

- hate being without Mama...if I want to leave, you need to be distracted

- have the nicknames Monkey and Munchkin

- can grab things off the counter (if they're close to the edge)

- love your baths

- steal my eyedrops off my night table every chance you get

- have broken your crib mattress from repeated bouncing

- love to feed Shandi from your highchair

My sweet little Monkey...you bring so much laughter and love into this household.  During your waking hours, I honestly don't think more than ten minutes goes by where I don't burst into laughter over something funny you've done.  It is an absolute honour to be able to share each day with you.  I am constantly amazed at all the new little things you figure out and the speed with which you learn.  You only need to be shown how to do something once and you've got the hang of it.  I should point out that is only in regards to things you WANT to do.  I have shown you many times that you are not to open the dishwasher and crawl onto the door and yet, for some reason, you seem to forget :)

I am so excited for this summer...we didn't spend a great deal of time outside with you last year.  Given that you were not mobile, I wasn't too keen on having you sit outside in the hot sun (and, let's face it, Mama's not a fan of heat herself).  This year, there are so many things to explore and discover in our yard and neighbourhood.  Just yesterday, you discovered our neighbour's strawberry plants and you helped yourself to a handful!

Here's a glimpse into what a day with you is currently like...

password is kat


Love,

Mama