17 Months Old - a stats post

Last Wednesday, we went for a drive in the backyard...

GranJan and I got this car super cheap at a yard sale! 
Great condition and she totally loves it!

And then went to the library to return some books and DVDs...

And to ride a horse:

She loves this horse and always runs over to it and yells, "Neigh"
but this was her first time ever actually getting on it!

On Thursday, us girls got ready for Daddy's softball game (Lucy wore her peace sign shirt just for Cleo but Cleo wasn't there...and didn't even tell us in advance that she wasn't coming!!):

Lucy had fun at the game but decided to give lots of friends a good show on how she feels about sharing (aka, she melted down when Lucia took a turn in her car...Lucy wasn't using it at the time - she was nowhere near it! - but when she spotted Lucia in there, she suddenly needed a turn in there...)

But she was happy when we got home and gave Duke a big hug:

That game was a long one and it was a close one!  We had to leave before it was over so we didn't see Daddy's game-winning hit, but we were very proud of him!

On Saturday, Lucy and her baby were on a mission to find Daddy some new school shoes...4 stores later, and Dave was finally armed with a new pair of shoes!

All dressed up for Aunt Jessi's birthday dinner!

She helped blow out the candles...and eat the cake!!

 I didn't get a picture of the cake, but Lucy and I made it - I let her decorate it with sprinkles!

 

On Tuesday night, Lucy and I went to the new kids consignment shop in Alexandria while Dave went to his fantasy football draft at school.  We were looking for Halloween costumes and struck out but Lucy was offered a lollipop...I agreed that she could have one but then the employee handed her an extreme ringpop!  Lucy totally loved it!  She definitely thought it was the coolest bubby ever!  By the time we got to the car, she her face was covered in ringpop drool and her tongue was blueish-green...she cracked up when I told her to look in the mirror and she couldn't stop sticking her tongue out at her reflection!  (That night she was very restless and slept terribly so L may be off the ringpops for awhile...)

After the consignment shop and some serious candy cleanup, we stopped at the city building to play...she loved every moment of it!

The slide makes her hair very static-y!

Racing back to the steps...to go down the slide...AGAIN!

She saw another kid ringing this bell and couldn't wait to give it a try herself!

There were a couple of other kids at the park and Lucy was very good about waiting her turn and not freaking out if faster kids climbed around her on the park...this is an improvement!

Last night we talked Daddy into going back with us!



She LOVES ringing that bell!



 "Sliding" down the rock wall that is designed for climbing...



Big smiles because she knows she's doing it wrong...



Back at home, she was still full of energy...my little monkey, jumping on the couch!

 

 

She's 17 months old!

Weight - 25lbs, 12.5oz

Height - 31 inches

I got this in my email; let's see how she compares:

YOUR BABY IS 74 WEEKS OLD

At the end of this month your toddler will turn 1 and a half. It's a milestone! Other milestones this month: If they haven't already, most children will learn to take off their socks - and some will take off their diapers. They can hold a cup and drink out of it, brush their teeth, and "read" a board book. And - milestone of milestones - at 18 months, some babies are ready to think about using the potty. Signs of readiness include a toddler's recognition that he is about to pee or poop - you'll know it when you see it.

Lucy does enjoy removing her own sock but often needs a head start...she can't get a good grip on them when she's been wearing shoes all day and the socks is sweaty and sticking to her foot...but if I roll it a bit, she can get it off that way...though she's also been known to grip it at her toes and yank it off herself.

We haven't really tried to let her drink out of a cup without a lid on her own but I wouldn't put it past her...

She can and does brush her own teeth.  Each night, Mommy brushes her teeth (top teeth, bottom teeth, then the tongue which makes her laugh every time!) and then Lucy gets a turn.  Any time she sees Dave or I brushing our teeth, she wants to brush, too, so she gets some extra practice in then.

She'll pick up books to look at but prefers to bring them to one of us to read with her.  She tends to request the same book over and over and over again.  She especially likes books where she can find things (we have a couple that have a doggy hidden on each page and she loves finding him) and interact (we have a couple of books with lots of flaps to open up and look behind) and where she's learning (like her colors book where she points out different colored items).  Every night when she gets in the tub, she requests (by sign and by saying "booh...booh!") her bathtub books.

Thanks to Alex and Leah, she knows the sign for "potty" and knows what it is and what it means.  She seems interested in it when she barges in behind us and every night before bath, I ask her if she has to go potty and she smiles and points to the toilet.  So each night, I remove her diaper and sit her on the toilet...so far, nothing has ever happened (during her 15 seconds of sitting there before she's "all done") but we're putting the idea in that little head.  I think it may be time to buy a little seat for her...but which kind?  A free-standing chair of her own or one that sits on the toilet to make it small enough for her little booty?

We have a busy weekend coming up...and Lucy has an announcement:

She's getting a new baby cousin, probably sometime tomorrow!  Paisley Reese is being urged out tomorrow morning (aka, Aunt Jessi is being induced tomorrow)...Lucy can't wait to meet her and say her favorite word, "baby," over and over!

A playdate with a not-so-friendly hostess...

From the time Lucy woke up on Sunday, I talked to her about the play date...her friends were coming over at 10:00!  She acted excited as we tried to practice saying their names...EJ, Lauren, Tiffy, Claire-bear, Karli, Christa...

But was she excited when they got there?

Um...not so much...

She got nervous as they walked in and kept backing up, ultimately clinging to me and starting to cry.  I kept thinking she'd warm up and get used to them being there and start playing...but instead, she ran to hide in the kitchen or stuck to sitting in my lap, primarily.  When she did start to play with something, she got freaked out if one of the other kids tried to touch the toy she had, too.

Little Lucy is not used to sharing, especially her toys in her house so maybe she was a little overwhelmed...I decided what she needed was a trip outdoors.

She got excited when I asked her if she wanted to show her friends the park so out we went:

Swinging with Claire-bear

Lauren likes to hang, too!

Double trouble!



Lulu and Lala!

Lauren likes to find sticks, too!



The twins share a swing!



After awhile, I asked Lucy if she wanted to show her friends her swing set and she gladly led us back across the street.  We had fun playing back there until CB and I headed up to the swing set...Lucy followed and though Claire beat us to the swing, Lucy tried to edge her out and display her new favorite sign: "my turn."  She had a brief meltdown when I explained that it was actually Claire's turn and that Lucy could be next but could go down the slide for now.  Instead, she chose to sit and pout during Claire's turn but was able to dry those tears super-fast once it was her turn...

Little splashers!

After lots of running, swinging, hanging, splashing and playing, the kiddos were hungry!



Lunch line!

 

Lunch with friends!

We had time to play just a little more after lunch before it was everyone's nap time and Lucy was a little more relaxed.  Dave came home and said, "Funny how with 5 kids here the living room is just as destroyed as it is when there is only one kid here!"

Lucy did agree to pose for a couple of pictures with the Kennedy girls:



LOVE CB's facial expression!

 

Not sure what they're looking at...

Lucy was exhausted by the time her friends left so we went straight upstairs for a nap.  The babysitter has had no problem putting an awake Lucy in bed and letting her go to sleep on her own...she said it's been remarkably smooth...so Dave tried it on Saturday and I tried it on Sunday and it worked out very well!

She even woke up in a good mood and laid there and posed for some pics before I got her up!

But soon it was time to go to GranJan's to celebrate her birthday!

Unfortunately, I only got a couple of pics:

She wanted to swim...for about 30 seconds...

Chowing down!

Lucy has known how to say "Donna" for some time and Cleo is dying for her to learn to say her name, too!  Cleo and Lucy are best friends and spent much of the day together at GranJan's birthday party...Cleo loves carrying her around and Lucy loves pointing the way!

If I ask Lucy to say something, she will either attempt it or she will let out a cute little laugh (if she doesn't think she can say it):

"Lucy, say 'Donna'" - "Nonna!"

"Lucy, say 'Cleo'" - "heehee"

By the end of the night she was attempting "GranJan" but still laughing at "Jason," "Jeff," "Cleo," and "Ashley."

She can say or sort of say: Donna, Bob, Grandpa ("pawpaw!") and Brady...but we'll keep working!

(We looked at photo albums last night and other names she seems to be able to say, or attempt to say include: Grandma, Amy, Troy, Katie, Sam, Ema, Alli.  Names that begin in C or J seem to be a real problem...sorry Uncle Craig, Cleo, Uncle Jason, Uncle Jeff and Aunt Jessi...we'll keep working...or maybe you could change your name?)

She's silly: