17 Months...A Few Days Late

Adrienne, you are a little 17 month old doll! Actually, you are more of a little girl now--and you really look big to me wearing your very first pair of pigtails in your hair. I can hardly stand the intensity of this cuteness, and can't stop snapping pics of it.

Just so you know, you will be wearing pigtails every day. Forever. I love them. Here is what I want to remember about you at this darling age....

You are one serious talker. Wow. The words are coming fast, and now they are starting to come in pairs. We are hearing a lot of two-word phrases these days, and have now heard three 3 word phrases. Recent new words (that I can remember) include
-sheep
-sleeping ("seeping")
-George (in reference to Curious George...your most favorite stuffed toy. It is Jillian's, and it is almost as big as you. Santa Claus just might be bringing  you a more appropriate sized George, but you didn't hear that from me!)
-pretty ("piddy" always said while touching your hair)
-Minnie (yep, as in Minnie Mouse. Another love of yours)
-Christmas Tree ("istmus tee")
-cookie (darn it, you know what these are now)
-dress ("dess")
-pants
-shirt ("surt")
-nose (but you really mean Kleenex, as in, I want a Kleenex so I can blow my nose)
-Elmo
-teeth
-drink (sink)
-spoon ("soup")
-outside
-jacket ("jackey")
-eat ("neat")
-nice
-alright
-yeah!
-wait (said in imitation of me as I remove her high chair tray and tell her to wait as she leans forward to try to escape before I wipe her off)
-potty (more on that in a bit)
-sissy (for sister)
-ope (open)
-up

You are really good at requesting what you want. It's like you are always saying "I want______", except "I want" comes out as a sort of jumbled two-syllable word "I-unt". So, I hear "I-unt cheese" or "I-unt Daddy" or "I-unt Jee-yee-uh", or most often "I-unt George" (it's imperative that we know where George is at all times). As for those 3 word phrases, we heard this one last week--"I-unt milk, Daddy". Yes, you asked your Daddy for milk. Yesterday, while in the shopping cart you told me "Puppy say bye-bye". We had been talking about Grandpa's puppy (you were a huge fan) and that they went bye bye. You said it several times. Today, you looked out the window and said, "I see birdie". I didn't see any, but I know you know there are birds in the sky outside.
And then there is the matter of the pizza book. Wow, you are crazy about this little book about a little girl making pizza with her grandpa (Grandpa and Me by Karen Katz). I hear "I-unt pizza" A LOT. I took a little video of you with this book last week.

Sometimes I even hear "Pizza Mmmm Yummm" through the monitor as you keep talking about it long after we've read it.
You are also getting really good at singing "Jesus Loves Me". I love hearing your sweet little voice sing "Jee Bi-buh So". Melts my heart into a ball of goo.

You are also getting really good at using your fork and spoon. I am back to cutting food into pieces (instead of letting you tear them off) because you really like stabbing food with your fork and seem to eat better when you are focused on that. The practice is paying off because last week we got ice cream, and you ate your entire kid scoop with a spoon and left no mess! You knew better than to waste any of that yummy stuff.

I wish I could say that you are a good vegetable eater, but alas, you are not. Thankfully you are happy to consume most fruits, so I am trying not to get stressed out about yet another vegetable-refusing child. Sigh.
You are a big milk drinker, and often toss your cup of water back at me in protest. You can drink out of a straw now and think you are pretty hot stuff.

You are really interested in the potty suddenly, and it is probably time for me to get the little potty chair out to give you some exposure. You follow me into the bathroom and say "I-unt potty", and often walk into the bathroom, grab your diaper, and say "poop" or "potty". Last night, Daddy decided he wasn't going to wait for Mommy to get out and clean the potty chair, and he just held you on the big toilet for a bit after you requested "potty". You didn't go, but clearly had just gone in your diaper (maybe you were trying to just announce that you went?). Regardless, you were so excited to sit there like a big girl.

I'm not sure you could be any cuter if you tried. Every morning, I look forward to going into your room after you've been up chatting with your lovey for a few minutes. You always smile, giggle, and greet me with a "Momma! Hi!" before promptly shoving your lovey in my face and demanding me to "Mmmmm" (kiss) it. I am going to try and remember this sweetness when you are thirteen and tell me to go away as I attempt to wake you for school. I love you to pieces.