17 Months Old

Today my little Kayla turned 17 months.  She is growing so quickly!  These are some pics that our friend, Patty and her hubs took of Kayla last month around the Igo Library.  She did an amazing job.

New Words: Elmo, Am-aw (Grandma), who (shoe), how (house), I do, and yeah (yes)!
It is amazing what such a seemingly small vocabulary can accomplish.  By saying "Elmo," I know she is demanding (yup, not asking) for a video either on the TV or computer.  She answers questions with "yeah" or "no" and also asks if she can do something or if with can do something for her with "yeah?"  And, she can melt hearts when asked "Who loves Daddy (or any other name)?" and answers "I do!"
I have also been asking her to tell me her choice, like juice or milk (she can say both), but we're still working on that!
She can also understand soooo much more than she can express.  I love being able to tell her, "Go get Mommy....your shoes, a diaper, etc."  I can tell her to get specific books from her room or a certain toy, and she'll do it.  It is so fun to know she understands, so I try to talk to her like she does.
We are working on body parts and she knows her nose, eyes, ears, mouth, tongue, teeth, fingers, hands, hair, head, toes, feet, arms, and belly button.

This girl loves to swing!  I was a little nervous that she would hate it based on her initial reaction to the baby swing, but she has grown to love it.  At the park today, we went from swing to swing, letting her choose which one she wanted and then switching when she was done.  For the first time ever, it was hard to tear her away from the park.  She even sees the picture above and says, "Wheeee!"

Our new thing lately has been to have tea parties.  She has a little tea set with a plate of desserts that she received for her birthday.  We sit down and gather her babies and a few animals and take turns pouring and sipping tea.  It is so cute!  I can't wait to make these more elaborate as she grows older.
She loves our morning walks, seeing birdies, playing with (torturing) her kitties, throwing her ball, sliding, and giving hugs and kisses.  The people in our church nursery told us they have to watch her carefully because she often knocks other kids down while loving on them with hugs.  I think Kayla sees them all as her babies, even though they are mostly the same age!

Doesn't this face just make you want to say, "Sure, you can have whatever you want!"

And, to her Daddy's infinite pleasure, she is really starting to miss him when he is at work.  In the morning when she wakes up, I bring her to our bed to have her milk (and cuddle!).  She will look over to his side and say, "Dada!" and, on days that he is working, I have to explain that he is at work.  She asks about him all day, especially when we first get back from an outing or when I am doing something she doesn't like.  She may just become a Daddy's girl yet.

As you can tell, this little girl amazes me with things that are very typical for her age, but that's what's fun about being a mom.  I can experience all this magic in my own home so that it is unique to my experience of her.  I just love it!