17 monthies

Yep, monthies. This has been the month of Laina adding “ies” to quite a few of her words…and Sam and I really get a kick out of it. Sockies, sickies (she said this one a lot the last few weeks!), huggies, kissies, snackies, sneezies….there may be more but those are the ones I remember right now.
This month has probably been one of the most challenge-filled times Laina has had (and subsequently we have had!) We have been transitioning her from two naps to one so that has been a bit tricky. For a while there, two naps seemed to be too much for her, but one wasn’t quite enough. So we had a few weeks there where she seemed to be constantly tired! She has also been working on all of her molars which I know is not comfortable for her. And, as if that wasn’t enough–she also experienced her first time being truly sick. In fact, the three of us were all sick around the same time–so we’ve had better moments!! The only positive thing that came out of Laina being sick was that we got a ton of snuggle time in with her.
BUT- despite all of these growing pains, Laina still managed to enjoy life and continue soaking in all kinds of new experiences.

Let’s see…some new stuff from this month….

– She has started to combine more words like “all done,” “come ellie,” “no more,” “the end,” “mommy’s coat,” “excuse me,” “Petey up,” “up and down.” She’s a little chatter box–and pretty much has been from the beginning. A few of her newest words are cracker, elbow, sticky, dinner (din-din), week, move, back, take, make, elbow.
-She is very into “cleaning” the house these days. She likes to take a little rag and clean all of the furniture. I love it (but would love it more if she were actually cleaning!=)
-This month has been a big month of doing most things much more independently. For instance, she now likes to eat whole bananas, crackers (anything she can get her hands on by herself.) She likes to brush her own teeth after her Daddy brushes them the first time. She’s still trying so hard to put her own shoes on =) but I think we have a ways to go. She’s also much more independent on the playground now, and has been going down the slide by herself. I have to admit, I am still getting used to all of this.
–Laina started signing with us around 10 months, and she really seems to enjoy learning and practicing the signs. Some of her most recent ones are cereal, ice cream, girl, boy, moon, stars, candy, wet, dry, cracker, leaf. Sam promised that she could have her first ice cream cone soon, and she has not forgotten that b/c she is constantly using that sign in front of him. I think we will be going to the Del Ray Dreamery this weekend =)!
–Hugs, hugs and more hugs. Especially in the evening for some reason. She has also started giving hugs around our legs when we are standing up. A lot of times when I’m cooking, she’ll come running into the kitchen and throw her arms around the back of my legs. Love it. Can’t get enough of those! She also likes to be especially affectionate right before bed time. She repeats “hug hug hug” and gives a little squeeze.
–Since we have been spending more time outside lately, she is remembering how much she loves it! She points to the window and says “side” so I know she wants to go outside. I’m pretty sure she’d spend all of her time outside if given the choice! I don’t blame her.
–Another thing Laina has been experimenting with is her facial expressions. It’s so hard to explain but out of nowhere she’ll open her mouth as wide as she can and the go back to puckering her lips…over and over. She really knows she’s being entertaining while mommy and daddy are laughing hysterically. The other, more worrisome look she’s working on is somewhere between a confused dog (eyebrows angled up, confused look) and a girl who thinks she’s running the house! We try so hard not to laugh when she has this look on her face but its so hard! As soon as we get a picture, we’ll post it. Anyway she’s growing up so fast!

Is she really almost a year and half old????

Hanging out with her mommy’s old baby doll

 

Enjoying her new ride!

 

Enjoying hummus and crackers