17 Months Old

June 3rd: 17 Months Old

Crazy month!! No idea what happened to May.... it was a total whirlwind!!

Week 1- no idea what was going on...
Week 2- Grand Annie came to visit
Week 3- Mommy and Daddy's first away trip: Philly, PA
Week 4- Daddy goes to Morocco, Africa

Waiting for Daddy to come home...

Highlights from the Month:
- Loves to play in her "kitchen"... always stirring something up!
- Loves to play outside... if fussy, I open the front door and out we go! Instant attitude adjustment!
- Banks and Blakely saying "uh-oh" over and over and over again to each other.
- Loves to "hug the fire" out of Banks.
- Starting to "fold her hands" during our bedtime prayers... totally melts my heart!
- Running everywhere!!
- Grand Annie came to visit!! Miss you already!!

Picture Highlights from the Month:



Banks LOVES to stand up! He spends 90% of his waking hours standing up, and if he's not standing up, he is trying to stand up. This kiddo is about to be on the move! Watch out! 

Grand Annie at the park with the kiddos



Blakely in her kitchen.... cooking up something "yummy" for Daddy!!

Usually imaginative play doesn't really start until 3-4 years of age.... so I was super impressed to see Blakely playing appropriately with her kitchen. She stirs pots on stove, drinks from the coffee cups, pours ingredients into the bowls!! I know every mother is impressed by their child, but WOW!! Go Blakely, such a smartie!!

Stirring "pudding" she is making for Daddy.

She will literally play with her kitchen for hours!! As part of her gentle nature, she never pulls everything out of the cabinet or even makes a mess. She gently lifts one thing at a time out of the cabinets. If it isn't what she wants, she will pick it up, consider it and then gently put it back where she got it. This is beyond the cutest thing ever!

First outdoor picnic at the table PopPop made her. I have a feeling there will be MANY, MANY more picnics at this table in the future.

This picture cracks me up for 2 reasons. Number 1: She thought this wet rug and chairs was the best fort ever! Number 2: She is retrieving my phone for me. I left it on the table on the other side. She crawled under, found my phone and then brought it back to me. She is funniest little monkey. She is constantly bringing me things she has "found." Like the shoes sitting next to my feet, the phone sitting on the armrest of my chair, etc.

First time with pigtails!! She looked so, so grown up. Her hair is now finally long enough to pull it up, just in time for the warm summer days!!

Playing in the fort

This month we also let Blakely try Corn on the cob for the first time.

She absolutely loved it!!

...and through some trial and error...

....finally, mastered the corn on the cob! In 1/2 hour, she can get every last kernel off 1/2 an ear of corn! Pretty impressive for 17 months old!

These last couple of shots are just of her playing. She is a playing machine these days!! All she does from the moment she gets up until she goes to sleep at night is play, play, play!!!

To Blakely EVERYTHING is a toy, you just have to figure out how to play with it. I love that she is such a fun loving girl!! I love playing kitchen and babies with this girl! We are making memories I will cherish for the rest of my life!! I love you, Blakely-bear!! You are my bestest little girlfriend!! 

16 Months Old

May 3rd: 16 Months Old

I'm sure all pre-toddlers go through this phase, but when it's your own little one it just BLOWS YOUR MIND!! Blakely has hit this accelerated learning pocket! She is like a little sponge out to absorb THE WORLD!! You dance, she dances. You quack, she quacks. You sweep, she sweeps. She is learning so much, so fast and I am impressed everyday by her intellect, her imagination and her tender heart.

Dancing with Mommy. We like to listen to Bruno Mars "Marry Me" on my iPhone and then we dance all around the house. It is so much fun, and we both giggle like crazy girls! I love this Monkey so much!

Highlights from the Month:
- Current Vocab: Mama, Dada, Hi, Bye, Uh-oh, Tes ( which is yes), 'kay (which is okay), no, itty (which is kitty), ack-ack-ack (Quacking), nigh-nigh
- Loves to dance and will copy whatever move you make
- She is very clean and neat: Sweeps the floor, puts things back, fixes things that fall over, always finds mommy's phone and shoes, extremely gentle/will not knock things over, wipes her hands off, etc.
- LOVES WATER!! This month it finally got warm enough to go to the pool at Aunties... oh my gosh... you cannot keep her out of the water (no pics, keeping her from drowning is a full time job!). She will even bring me her life vest in hopes of getting taken to the pool.

Current Favorite Things:
- Babies
- Any toy that has a face
- Any toy soft enough to hug and love
- "gray" baby
- Omelets for breakfast
- "Go Baby"

Picture Highlights from the Month:

If you are at our house and something goes "missing," you should first check the green toy box. Blakely loves to "clean up," and she puts everything in the same place! The green toy box! We have found cell phones, baby, keys, shoes, etc. Such a funny little baby!

Loves to read. Books currently are her favorite toy. She will bring a book for me to read her, listen intently, then as soon as its done, she jumps to the floor with the book and starts reading it again to herself. She doesn't ACTUALLY read, she just happily turns the pages and chatters with lots of inflection. This is one of the most precious things!

Starting to spend some time alone in her room.... mainly reading.



These two are really starting to play together. If Banks could, he would run after Blakely all day long. He even gets super frustrated when he can't keep up with her! He will walk soon.



Banks LOVES Blakely, and Blakely LOVES Banks.

First Pancakes: I try to only feed Blakely healthy foods, but one morning I decided it was time to expose her to the deliciousness of pancakes!!

She LOVED them.... but really, who doesn't love pancakes. They are delicious!

15 Months Old

April 3rd: 15 Months Old

I cannot believe how much this baby grows!! She is starting to lose her baby look, and starting to enter into toddler-hood. My big girl! After an amazing trip at the beginning of the month to Hawaii, it was back to the daily grind of everyday life... but even normal days can be full of magic. Unfortunately, it was also one of the coldest Marches on record! Welcome back to the "real world!"

Loves to ride in her Cozy Coup around the kitchen table. She will push it into the living room, open the door, crawl in and call for Mommy so I can push her around! HA! So funny.

 

 

Highlights from the Month:

- Big trip to Hawaii!!

- Really stable walking... and trying to run around

- Stoops and recovers.

- Brings mommy her books to read

- Loves reading her books to herself.

- Quacking at ducks.... LOVES seeing the ducks in our yard, chases them to the sidewalk!

 

Picture Highlights from the Month:

Mommy and Blakely went on a BIG picnic to Aunties park....its March and the grass is still so DEAD!! This girl just loves her books.

So happy to be outside. If she gets fussy in the house, all I have to do is take her outside and she is having the time of her life!!!

Eating her picnic standing up.

"Are there anymore goldfish, Mommy?"

This month she has really fallen in love with her books! They are her favorite toy. She loves to sit quietly with them and look at the pictures. Sometimes she will talk to herself, and I am sure she is telling an amazing story!

Why do I buy nice toys, when you are just as happy with a kitchen strainer?? Loves to play with any of "Mommy's toys" from the kitchen. Used this strainer as a "mask"!

Love this pumpkin faced girl!