17 months old

Can you believe our Baby Bear is 17 months old? I can't for the life of me figure out where the time went. Each day is full of new experiences and wonderment as I relive life through the eyes of a toddler. When else will I get to spend 30+ minutes playing "put the crayons in the bucket, take them out, and do it all over again?" Everything is so exciting and new with nothing taken for granted. Shouldn't we all live this way?


With that said, our miniature philosopher is developing her own little attitude. I can't figure out where it comes from but David seems to think he has an idea. :-D She had been in the tub for 5 minutes or so when, ah, shall we say, things got a little stinky. It wasn't one of those situations quickly remedied so I had to get her out of the tub. Thankfully, I had already bathed her and she was just in the playing mode of bath time. That didn't stop the kicking and fussing, though! Her, not me.


I get Amelia to her room and onto the changing table, drying her along the way. She flings herself back, pushes my hands away, starts shaking her head hollering, "no, no, no, no." Ok, I found that highly amusing since it was the first time she'd shaken her head "no" and the first time she'd actually said, "no." I cracked up, and of course, that went over like a lead balloon. How dare I laugh at her!



Once I start acting stupid, she forgets why she was ticked off and gets down in the floor to play. I sat down behind her and pull her pajama top over her head, of which she jerks back off and says, "no!" Ok, so it wasn't quite as funny the second time but it didn't really matter if we put her PJs on right now or not. I begin to inwardly chant, "pick your battles. pick your battles. pick your battles."



This is when we started playing "put the crayons in the bucket, take them out, and do it all over again." Fun-filled game, but I warn you, not for the beginner. :-p I started out trying to get Amelia to scribble on a box of wipes but she preferred her game - and we all know she's in charge. She made one or two marks but I guess she's just not into that yet. On a positive note, she only tried putting a crayon in her mouth a couple times. Progress.



I've also recently realized that she knows what,"sit down" and "lay down" mean AND will actually comply most of the time. "Stay" isn't in her vocabulary just yet, though. lol She leads me to the fridge for cheese and her bottle, will take me to her room for a diaper change, and will take me to our bed for naps. Some days she's more adventurous than others but she usually prefers to stay right there with me, rarely crawling to where she can't see me.



I still can't go from the living room to the kitchen without the waterworks flowing although she can see me every step of the way AND she's more than welcome to follow. She hangs onto my legs 99% of the time I'm standing and have the audacity to not hold either her or her hand. lol You know what? It's frustrating sometimes but I will miss feeling her little hands on my calves when she decides she no longer needs me. There's something sweet about the gentle tugging on my pants as she clumsily walks beside me and the proud grin she gives me when I look down. It's the whining I can do without. ;-)


Amelia helped me unload the dishwasher the other night and her favorite toy is my Swiffer. She's constantly bringing me her toys and imaginary lint out of the floor. I just say, "thank you!" and wait for the next treasure she wishes to bestow upon me. She helped me unload the dishwasher today...and then tried to help me unload it again as I was loading it. We may need to do a little more training.


We have steps! She'll take a few steps on her own before her sea legs take over but she's getting there!


Amelia had her first "hair cut" earlier this month. I can tell it was cut but it isn't drastic. She sat so still and quietly. ♥♥


Mom, Amelia and I went to visit my grandmother last weekend whom I've not seen in 10 years. She is such an amazing woman, and I can't begin to describe how much I hate not knowing her like I should've been able to. That's a whole 'nother blog, though. LOL!

Funny story: I told my mom a month or so ago that I was actually going to have to buy Amelia some Fall clothes and that this was really the first time I've HAD to buy her anything to wear. Amelia has been abundantly clothed between the baby showers, Christmas and her birthday. As a matter of fact, she still has a couple dresses she's never worn! We didn't even have to buy wipes until a couple months ago. lol

We have been so blessed by such love and support over the last 18 months. I can never say "thank you" enough nor can I produce the words to describe the feeling I have when I think of the generosity shown on our behalf. Whether it was the gift of time to pray, gifts for Amelia, or a simple email or phone call to let us know you were thinking of us, we've been surrounded by support. Thank you...

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♥♥♥♥♥(((((((((((((((((((((((Big hugs)))))))))))))))))))))))♥♥♥♥♥