17 Months - New Words Every Single Day

Grace at 17 months is a handful, but an absolutely sweet, cuddly, curious, and smart handful.  She learns new words every single day.  And not just nouns, but verbs and two-word phrases as well!

Here's the latest with Grace:

Sleep:
Grace goes to sleep between 7:45 - 8:00 every night.  She wakes up once in the middle of the night (around 2:30), and then for good between 6:30 - 7:30 every morning.  She takes a solid 2 hour nap every day from about 12 -2.  I think it's a pretty good schedule, and I try to keep her to this schedule as much as possible.  I'm still pretty exhausted each day though, because her 2:30 am wakeup sometimes happens later, like at 4.  But I naturally wake up at 2, and then can't fall asleep and just sit waiting for her wakeup.  So, unfortunately, sleep isn't much better at a year and a half than it was at a year.

Food:
Grace is still breastfeeding about 3 times a day!  She drinks water and milk from a sippy sup, but really just takes tiny sips.
She is loving yogurt, chicken, raspberries and blueberries right now.  And of course loves her usual standbys of crackers, goldfish, and cereal.


Likes:
Grace's number one possession in this world is her bunny.  She is very attached to Bunny, she keeps track of where Bunny is at all times, she shows Bunny new and cool things when she experiences them, she only will nurse if she has Bunny in her arms.

She's had several meltdowns because I won't let Bunny in the bathtub (although Bunny once was thrown in), or because I won't let Bunny sit on the highchair tray while she eats her messy food.

Her favorite game to play is with Bunny, too. She takes baby blankets (or towels, or shirts), and lays them out on the ground, then she takes Bunny and lays him on the blanket.  Then covers Bunny with another blanket or two.  Sometimes she'll say "night night", and sometimes she'll say "shhhhh" to me after putting Bunny to sleep.  It is so sweet and it just melts my heart.

Grace LOVES the park (Allmendinger), down the street from our house, and she loves the swing we have in our backyard.  She can say "Park", "swing", and "stroller", so she is good at asking for what she wants.

Grace loves the swing.  She loves the big slide at the park (on my lap).  She loves books and one of the only ways to get her to sit still is to have her sit in your lap for a book.

She loves pointing out dogs and cats, but often doesn't want to get too close to dogs when she's given the chance.

Grace loves her cousins!  In early April, Colleen and her family came to Ann Arbor, and Grace went swimming with her cousins and to the Hands on Museum.  She can say "Max"(Maa") and "Dyl", and loves to FaceTime with them on the phone.

Dislikes:
Grace doesn't like the Easter Bunny!  We went to an Easter egg hunt and had chances to get free pictures with the Easter Bunny, but Grace very clearly said "No" and "Bye Bye" to the Bunny.

She doesn't like the texture of grass on her hands.

She doesn't like waking up from naps or in the morning.

This is an odd one, but she doesn't seem to like her cousin Aedan very much.  She cries almost every time I try to put her next to him for a picture.  It's the strangest thing, because he is just a smiley, happy, fuss-free baby.  I know they'll be great friends one day, but she's not ready for that day yet.

(She's upset in this picture below because she's being forced to be with Aedan AND because she's in the grass!)


Words:
Grace can repeat almost any sound we say.  Her list of words has grown incredibly long. It is amazing to have her be able to communicate what she does and doesn't want.




On Tuesdays and Thursdays, when I pick Grace up at my parents' house, sometimes my mom and I just sit for an hour or two in Grace's playroom (the living room) watching Grace play, playing with her, and chatting with each other.  Grace never seems to want to leave Grandma's house once I arrive, and I love being there with her myself!

I know how lucky I am to have this.  How fortunate, that to have so much time with my mom and my daughter and I all just being together.  It really is special and Grace seems to know it's special too.

Grace is truly everything I ever dreamed of in a child and more.  I am physically and emotionally exhausted at the end of every single day, but I wouldn't trade a moment with her for the world.  I can't believe what a special and sweet little girl she is turning out to be.