I can't get over how pleasent Addelyn is to be around these days. She's just such a joy all of the time, and I can never get enough of her! I'm so in love with her personality, and I wake up every morning just SO excited to see her and talk with her and spend time with her. I thank God every day for the pleasent, funny, smart, well-behaved little girl He gave me. I can't believe how lucky I am that I get to spend all day, every day with her!
I love watching Addelyn grow, and she's been doing a lot of that in the last couple of months - both physically and developmentally! Here's what we've been up to:
New Words!
At 17 months, Addelyn is now saying well over 200 words by my estimation. She has even started saying 3 and 4-word combinations to get complex ideas across. Although she hasn't used too many full sentences yet, I have no doubt that that will be coming within the next month or two. It's amazing how much she can develope in such a short amount of time! Here's just a small list of some of the more surprising words/phrases that Addelyn is saying:"Opposite" - and she can name a LOT of opposits...big/little/tiny, hot/cold, light/dark, on/off, open/closed, up/down, sad/happy etc...
"Accident" - She came up with this one a few days ago, and she even used it correctly
"choo choo. Hiding. See." (she says 'see' while shaking her head no) - meaning, I can hear the choo-choo, but I can't see it, so it must be hiding.
"fix it" - when she wants me to fix something :-)
"Self" or "Hold" - this is Addelyn's way of saying 'back off, mom, I want to do this!'
"Dishes" - and she can name a lot of dishes - plate, bowl, fork, knife, spoon...
"Laundry" - Addelyn LOVES to help me do laundry
"Helper" - she says it whenever she 'helps' me do something
"Hungry, eat lunch"
"Oh no! baby crying!" - she's so cute when she says this - because she always has such a concerned look on her face :-) Addelyn takes VERY good care of her dollys!
"Play outside!" - Addelyn's favorite thing to do!
She can also name a LOT of animals and say what sound they make, count to 10 (sometimes...she gets stuck between 4 and 6), name some colors (yellow, blue, green, purple, pink), name some shapes (star, diamond, circle, oval), and she can identify most all colors, shapes, and letters.
I just adore that she can talk now. Now, instead of making her laugh by the things that I do, I can make her laugh with the things that I say. We have inside jokes and tell each other stories. She follows instructions VERY well, and can explain to me what's wrong when she's frustrated.
New Toys!
Addelyn has had an exciting couple of months! She's gotten SO many new toys, and is enjoying her old ones in new ways. Grandma and Grandpa Conway came over to our house a few weeks ago and got her a new jungle gym for the back yard and a cozy cruiser. She absolutely LOVES them. Whenever we're outside she has to play in the car, and whenever we're in the back yard she gets endless entertainment from the slide and ladder. She's even started going down the slide on her bottom (something she hasn't willingly done since she had an accident on her slide in France...) |
| Addelyn "peeking" from the top of her new jungle gym |
Here's Addelyn in her new car - she had daddy pushing her around the yard until he dropped!
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| Of course the swing is always a favorite. |
Here is Addelyn giving her dolly a bath. She likes to pretend play with her dolly - it's what she does most of the day! Dolly gets fed with a bottle, burped, plays with baby toys, sits in the bumbo seat, gets fed with a spoon, swings in the baby swing, gets put to bed, gets her clothes and diaper changed (mommy helps with that part), and of course everywhere we go, a dolly has to come with us! Dolly comes on walks with us, swings with us in the front yard, and even goes to daddy's soccer games! Addelyn is going to be a GREAT big sister!
New Friends!
We have been watching my friend's baby, Carter, during the day these past couple of months. All in all, Addelyn does wonderfully with him! She has no problems sharing her toys with him, and loves to feed him and hold him. Most of the time she's still pretty self-centered (as all 1-year-olds are) and doesn't pay too much attention to him, but she'll help me play with him when asked, and likes to tell me where he should be or what toy he wants to play with.
We've also joined a group of stay-at-home moms and their kids in the area called Mom's Club. We go to events at least 2 or 3 times per week. Addelyn and I both enjoy getting out of the house - for her, it's a new place to explore with new toys (she doesn't pay much attention to the other kids yet) and for me it's actual adult conversations! It's a win-win!
New Skills!
Addelyn has learned a few new skills! (sometimes less than desirable ones...). Though she's still closer to 1 year old than 2, she's trying out a few traits from that wonderful period called the terrible two's! Her fits aren't bad at all - they're usually very short-lived and she's easily distracted from them. She doesn't lash out at me or get physical, the worst I've seen her do is fall to the floor and cry angrily for a moment until I find a way to distract her. Here's a funny example of one of her "fits"
I actually thought it was quite cute and funny...maybe it's because I'm mommy.
Another, more desireable skill is her artistic ability! She's gone from randomly scribbling to picking something to color on then coloring it. The first time she did it I was SO surprised. Of course, she's still not coloring inside the lines, but she is definitely selectively coloring parts of a picture. She can also scribble, draw polka-dots, and draw circles when asked to.
Stats:
Age: 17 months
Weight: 25.5 lbs
Length: ____ inches
Drinks: about 2-3 6-ounce sippys of milk per day (all of which is regular whole-milk) with meals and a couple of drinks of milk before bed every night
Eats: whatever I can get her to eat for breakfast - lately it's been sandwiches and cheese :-); leftovers for lunch (spagetti, sandwiches etc...); and a fruit pouch, and whatever we're having for dinner. I try really hard to get a fruit, a veggie, a grain, and a protein in her every day, but it's hard lately since she's refusing so many things.
Sleeps: 9:30pm-8am on nights where we have Carter the next day, and on weekends she sleeps in until 9 at least. Most nights she wakes up at least once - sometimes 2 or 3 times from nightmares. It's so sad to hear her just start crying out all of a sudden at 3 am because I just know she's scared. Usually all it takes is a binkie, a drink of water, and a cuddle and a song from mama and she's ready to go back to sleep, though.
Naps: 2-3 hours per day on days we have Carter and 1-2 hours on weekends- her nap is 4 or 5 hours after she wakes up for the day
Awake for:4-7 hours at a time during the day.
Clothes size: 24 month
Motor skills: going down stairs well, running, 'jumping', and climbing EVERYTHING (she can get onto the top bunk of our bunk bed by herself.
other skills:pretend plays very well - loves to 'cook' in her kitchen and take care of her dollys. She has started counting (to 10) and can recognize some shapes (circle, star, diamond, and sometimes oval) and some colors (purple, yellow, and sometimes blue)
words: I'd estimate she says 200 words or more. She learns them very quickly and I can understand her when she talks about 95% of the time. She uses nouns, verbs, and adjectives and has started putting together 2 and 3 word concepts, but does not speak in full sentences yet other than sentences I use a lot like 'got it' Soon, though...very soon she'll be speaking in full sentences - I wouldn't be surprised if it happens by halloween!
words: I'd estimate she says 200 words or more. She learns them very quickly and I can understand her when she talks about 95% of the time. She uses nouns, verbs, and adjectives and has started putting together 2 and 3 word concepts, but does not speak in full sentences yet other than sentences I use a lot like 'got it' Soon, though...very soon she'll be speaking in full sentences - I wouldn't be surprised if it happens by halloween!
signs: over 100 - now that she's started talking we've learned less new signs. And she makes up signs for words she doesn't know.
