17 Months!

In this season of festive merriment (sounds like fun, eh?), we celebrated an additional “holiday” in the Noble household – or at least I did.  Annie turned 17 months old and I made my mental list of all of the things her 17^th month brought us.  She continues to amaze me with how quickly she is learning new things, and I continue to be so appreciative of her school for the efforts they are making (with such positive results) to teach her, encourage her, and facilitate her development.  Frequently, she starts saying a new word or doing a new thing and I find out a day or so later that she learned it at school.  The fact that she is already learning in a school environment is exciting to me – and gives me something new to admire almost every day.

At 17 months old, our baby girl is…

Talkative – Oh my, is it a vocabulary explosion in our house these days.  Annie’s new favorite word is “no,” which she says in a way that actually sounds like she has given some thought to whatever you are requesting from her.  Sort of like an “I see your point, but no thanks” kind of way.  She has also very recently added “mine” to her vocabulary.  And “ball,” “doggie,” “bubble,” and “all done” continue to be favorites.  She repeats after us upon request sometimes now and says her own name.  I feel like she says a new word almost every day, and that is pretty amazing to me.

Quite the Hand Holder – These last few weeks, Annie has started taking us by the hand and leading us around.  She does this in all places except, of course, when it would actually come in handy to be touching her (like at a crowded and dark Christmas tree lighting or running down the sidewalk).  She likes to show us things – toys she is playing with at school when we pick her up at the end of the day, toys in her room at home, something the dog or cats are doing that she finds amusing or alarming.  Don’t get too comfortable sitting down at our house because, the next thing you know, Annie will be leading you to some other area of greater interest to her.

A Game Player – This month Annie has demonstrated an appreciation for little kid games, chants, and songs.  She loves Ring Around the Rosie (or “Ashy, Ashy” as she calls it…the “All fall down!” part is endlessly entertaining to her), Old MacDonald (we hear “yo-e, yo-e, yo-e,” which I believe to be her version of “E-I-E-I-O” several times a day), and the Itsy Bitsy Spider.  If you haven’t ever seen a just shy of 18-month old do the hand motions to Itsy Bitsy Spider you are missing out on one of the cutest actions known to man.  Let me know and I will attempt to coerce my daughter into performing the next time we see you.

Not a Baby Anymore – I know I have said countless times before on here that I can’t believe how fast Annie went from being a baby to a toddler, but I’m saying it again.  In her 17^th month Annie became even more independent and has been demonstrating even more the intricacies of her personality.  She is sensitive and sweet.  She is determined and a little impatient.  She is a charmer, but a little bit shy.  She is a happy girl and loves making us laugh.  She gets frustrated when things don’t go her way.  She loves to dance and clap her hands and interjects at least one “yay!” into every song she hears.  And, of course, she is just as I dreamed she would be.  

We look forward to another Christmas with Annie – one where she understands that something exciting is going on, even if she doesn’t yet understand exactly what it is.