17 Months Old

Sweet Addison,

A few days ago you turned 17 months old (I never seem to get these out on the actual day anymore do I?...).  You are happy, silly, and sweet as can be.  As I type this, you are sitting next to me cuddling with your sister watching a movie.  It brings so much peace to my heart to see how much you two love being with each other.  

You two have been playing together more than ever this month.  You want to do everything your big sister does.  You play with your toys the same way she does, if she has milk or a snack, you have to have the same milk or snack, you want to read the same books at the same time, and you've taught yourself how to climb up onto the bathroom stool to try to wash your hands like she does. 

Hailey always tries her best to watch out for you and protect you. 

You love to talk all day long, although most of it is gibberish.  You have around 10-15 words, and I'm sorry to say that I haven't been as good at recording your words as closely as I did with your sister.  When Hailey was 17 months she had something crazy like 64 words and I had them all written down in order that she learned them.  But trust me when I say you are no less smart than she was as a toddler.  Your learning styles are just completely different.  You learn by seeing and mimicking.  She learned by me intentionally teaching her things and doing "first time mom" things like flashcards on a daily basis :)  Off the top of my head though, some new words this month are "nana" (banana), "more" (sounds a lot more like "more" than it did last month),  and "too-doo" (turtle).  You are also getting really good at correctly responding "yeah" or "no" when I ask you questions. 

You are stubborn.  You do not like to be told no.  You do not like to be reprimanded.  You whine and cry when you don't get what you want.  You are partial to mommy over daddy, but there are still certain moments where you LOVE to play with and love on your daddy.  You give him the sweetest kisses and hugs and love to giggle when he reads you books and tells you funny stories.

You went out in the snow for the first time this month.  You loved it!  You cried and cried to go back out when we brought you inside.  We had lots of fun sledding down grandma & grandpa's big hill!

Then, as spring in St. Louis goes, it was warm and sunny the next week so we went to the park, walks outside, and to the zoo!

Daddy was out of town for work for a few weeks this month, so we spent a good amount of time at grandma and grandpa's house.  You love playing over there, especially when grandma and grandpa read you stories :)

And how can I forget your new buddy Charlotte?  Every Monday when we take Hailey to dance class, you and Charlotte chase each other around the dance studio stealing each other's baby dolls & snacks.  Super sweet :)

I can't believe you just began your 18th month of life.  You seem so young to me, and maybe it's because I baby you too much, but I can't help it.  You are my baby!  I'm even still nursing you twice a day.  You still like it and I still like it, so why quit right?  Although I am starting to wean down to once a day :(  

Until next month, sweet girl!

Love you always,

Mommy

xoxo