It seriously so hard to believe you are nearing 18 months! I was so good with your baby book the first year as there was a page for each month; however, at the 12 month mark the standard updates by the book are less frequent, and I find that I’m not documenting as much as I should. So at 17 months, here is a snapshot of you!
– Eating Patterns – You love food and eating and most food. You remind me of Emerson’s eating habits. You shovel food in so fast that usually I have to go get you a second round before I even sit down to eat my meal. You pretty much love all fruits. Vegetables aren’t your favorites; however, on occasion you will eat peas or corn. In fact, tonight you ate corn on the cob for the first time and you got a kick out of that. You don’t like tofu or meat, but you are a big fan of pasta, chicken nuggets, fish (frozen), hot dogs, veggie dogs, cereal bars, waffles, and eggs. You also like snacks and now know where the snack drawer is and often will go to it on our own. You just switched to a booster seat this past weekend. Daddy switched you a little earlier than your sisters, but I think Daddy was ready to have one less thing to wash each meal (the tray). You are thrilled to truly be part of the table and you seem to be eating a little slower now that you are eating from a plate and with the rest of the family at the table. You don’t drink milk anymore. I took you off of it late October to for several weeks to see if that was the source of your upset stomachs. When I tried to reintroduce milk and in cups (not bottles), you wanted nothing to do with milk anymore. I’ve tried a few times here and there but you continually want nothing to do with it.
– Sleeping Patterns – You are an incredible sleeper at night. You go to bed at 8:30 and you generally fall asleep within a matter of minutes…your bedtime routine consists of getting your pajamas on, brushing your teeth, and a story. You rarely cry at bedtime. You sleep for a solid 12 hours most nights. You suck your left thumb still…perhaps that is part of the reason you are such an awesome sleeper at night. Most days you take two naps. Your one nap days are usually a result of your schedule being interrupted by your sister’s schedule. Your naps are generally on the shorter side…if you take more than an hour nap, that is usually on the longer side for you. I can’t complain though as your night time sleeping is so sound!
– Physical Development – You began walking at 11 months and it wasn’t long before you were running. You are always on the go – running to and from your sisters and the grown up that is trying to get you. You began going down stairs backwards months ago and just recently started to walk down stairs holding the railing. You are pretty proud of your latest accomplishment.
– Teeth – You were late in getting teeth – it was 11 months before you had teeth and you basically went from no teeth to seven teeth in weeks. I think three of your four molars are in now, but you barely let me take a peek without biting my fingers! You started brushing your teeth shortly after you were one and loved brushing your teeth until recently – I think you really enjoyed the taste of the toothpaste. Just recently you have been putting up the biggest fight when it comes to brushing your teeth. You want nothing to do with it and fight it like crazy. Avery and Emerson went through a similar phase around the same age (give or take a few months) so I am hopeful this is just a phase.
– Language – Your receptive language is phenomenal. Your verbal language in terms of real words is still pretty much non-existent. You are extremely vocal and recently have been saying a lot of mama and dada and byebye but not a whole lot more just yet. You know exactly what you want and do a lot of pointing and grunting to get it is what you want. Recently you just started shaking your head a lot for “yes” and “no”. It is so darn cute.
– Bond – You have a special bond with Karolin and Grandma. You love for them to hold you. As soon as you get picked up by someone who you adore, your left thumb goes in your mouth and you snuggle. As much as you love to snuggle with some of your favorite people, you also have a select group of people who you want nothing to do with. We joined a gym a few months ago with an awesome kids area and as soon as we walk into the kids area, your lip starts to turn upside down and you let out one of those cries that takes a few seconds to come out. For the first month you either cried the entire time you were there or if you weren’t crying, you still weren’t happy and you sat in the same spot sucking your thumb until it was time to leave. More recently you have had a few times where you lay on the floor for a half hour straight refusing to move and a few other times you have actually played after crying for only a few minutes!
– Personality – Your personality is awesome. You laugh A LOT! You are a tease and you find so much of what you do and others do funny. You hold your own with your sisters. They adore you and like to play with you and hug you. You often mistake their wanting to hug and kiss you as them coming after you so you can be a bully at times. You sometimes pull your sister’s hair or pinch and they never try to hurt you back. You’ve gotten a few time outs and you do not like time out. You know you are in time out because you did something wrong and you find it extremely upsetting. You really do have an awesome personality and just thinking about you brings the biggest smile to my face and warms my heart. Harper Paige, you are the one that completes our family! We love you so much baby girl!