C is 17 months old now, and her development in just about every area is accelerating at an unbelievable pace. For starters, she talks...and talks...and talks! She says dozens and dozens of words quite clearly, and is putting words together in 2-4 word sentences. She also picks words up very easily. People comment regularly on what a prolific and advanced talker she is.
One of the cutest thing she does is talk and sing to herself all the time. Right now I can hear her across the room, playing with some toys and just chattering away. She will talk to anyone, anytime, but she does have a shy side. She's never completely standoffish with anyone, but she sometimes takes a few minutes to warm up before starting to converse. And she really, really hates it if people she doesn't know well grab her and pick her up. HATES it. She would prefer that they just hang out with her and talk to her rather than scooping her up in their arms.
Her favorite people are her older siblings and her cousins. She is much happier when the older children are here rather than when the house is quiet because they are at their Dad's. She can now say her two older brother's names well, and she calls J, "Sissy," which was one of her first words. She adores her Sissy, and also loves her Sissy's 8th grade friends who dote on her and give her lots of attention when they are here.
One thing C is not so good at yet is getting down out of chairs and off of riding toys. She tends to topple over head-first (she does still have a rather large noggin, which probably makes her center of balance a bit iffy). We are trying to teach her to always go feet-first, but she hasn't quite grasped this concept. So we have to watch her pretty carefully, because if she climbs up onto anything, you can be sure she will shortly be screaming because she's fallen off.
She is definitely a toddler who does better with her routine kept pretty much intact. She naps and goes to bed at fairly regular times, and if we mess with her nap time or bed time routine too radically, we see it in her mood and behavior. She is also clearly having some anxiety about me being away from her, which I am a lot because I have a full-time job. She never seems unhappy when we part in the mornings. In fact, she gets excited when we get her coat and hat on her, and she sees it's time to head off with her Dad for a day together (with her grandmother there as full-tme caregiver) at the family business. But in the evenings and weekends, when I am with her, she gets upset if I walk around the house without carrying her with me. I think she is worried I may be about to leave. So for now, I try to carry her with me as much as possible to try to help her through this extra-clingy phase.
And here is the part where I am about to completely cross the mommyblogger rubicon; I am going to tell you about my child's toilet habits. But I gotta say, I find it pretty remarkable that a 17 month old is using the potty. And she is! At least once a day, she asks to be taken to her little potty. She sits on it, and she goes, meaning one fewer wet or dirty diaper for me that day. I think this may mean that she's a complete genius. In any event, I hope it means she'll be out of diapers sooner.
This truly is a delightful period of childhood. I am enjoying it even more with C because I know how quickly they become five year olds and then 15 year olds. Those are great ages too, but with baby #4, I am more conscious of trying to slow down and enjoy each moment of each day.
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