eLLe - 17 months

Dear Luciya,

Here are some comments I've heard recently from other parents at the park, parents at Little Gym, and even your nanny, who recently quit because it was too stressful!

"She is feisty!"

"She is stubborn!"

"You're going to have your hands full!"

"You do have your hands full!"

"She is fearless!"

My response, for the most part, is "I know... good thing she's so sweet!" 

Because you are sweet, my little muffin top. You're darling, and precious, and oh so curious. And believe me, I'd rather have a feisty, fearless, fabulously flamboyant toddler over a lump of doughbaby any day of the week!

(Okay, sometimes it's a little scary how confident and coordinated you are. Yesterday your Dada turned around to find you had climbed up the rungs of the barstool and were standing on top of it! And you nearly gave your Tutu a coronary the day before that, when she turned around to find you at the top of an easy chair, with your hands planted on a railing about 30 feet above the wood floors below. We literally can't take our eyes of you for a second!)

This afternoon you and I walked around in back yard for a while, under a sky that was threatening rain with heavy, gray clouds (Yes, thunderstorms are predicted for this weekend, but we all know that they're clearing the way for a GORGEOUS, PERFECT weekend next week!!!) We sat down in the grass and shared a sun-warm peach off the tree. We passed it back and forth, taking turns getting syrupy-sticky (you won; we had to put you in the bath afterwards) and feeding each other bites. It was such a sweet little moment, just the two of us - me and my full-fledged toddler of a 17-month-old baby girl. 

After that we had a few errands to run (I'm so sorry about all these errands, little one, but as soon as this big party comes to pass, I have a feeling we'll have a little more down time). After our last stop at the discount wedding & party supply store, where you received a bright purple balloon, I realized it was your dinner time so we went next door to the smoothie bar and I delighted in watching you drink your fruits through a straw. This is a new accomplishment of yours - drinking through a straw - and it's pretty cool. We shared a grilled tuna wrap and an endearing moment, since you went straight to the chair at the little table after I'd ordered, and we sat facing each other, me tearing off pieces of spinach tortilla and you with your chin barely above the table rim. You're getting to be such a big girl! And even though part of me was recently missing the baby of a year ago, I had to admit that sharing this day with you was pretty cool.

I realized tonight that I don't have any recent pictures of you (these are from last month_ -- our camera broke over Labor Day weekend and it's still in the shop. It's been a bummer not having it, because of course you've been up to some world-class Cuteness Shenanigans and I've missed the opportunity to get any of it on film. Er, memory card. Whatever. You're still doing the turn-up-palms-and-shrug  thing when we're looking for something and you don't know (or pretend to not know) where it is. You've started initiating hide-and-seek and peekaboo, and the other day the three of us were driving in the car and you starting shrieking "Dada! Dada!" and when we both turned around you had your blanket over your head and were waiting for us to say, "Where's Luciya?"

Dada is one of just a few words in your vocabulary. You have about five others that we hear when you're not shrieking and squawking for what you want, which are (in order of popularity):

- "Uh oh!" (When you drop something - intentionally or not)

- "Na-na!" (Which generally means "snack," though it also stands for "banana" and "night-night," and when it means "snack" you usually smack your lips for emphasis)

- "Buh-ba" ("Bye bye"; you say it all the time - to your bottle before bed and to the barristas at the drive-thru coffee place - always accompanied by a wave; not to be confused with "baba," which is "bottle" or "bubbles") 

- "Bhuuf" ("Poop." Hooray!)

- "Hiya!" (Accompanied with a kicking motion; I taught you that)

- "Hiiiiiiieee" (This is my favorite, and you looove to great people. And dogs. And your reflection in the mirror)

You're great at repeating things, like "bath" and "mama" and "hat" and "dog," but you generally don't use these words unless prompted. The next couple months are supposed to be huge for language acquisition, so we'll see. I do have to admit that while you are able to make yourself pretty clear as to your needs and wants (which are generally one in the same), I'm looking forward to the day when you can actually USE YOUR WORDS. Ah, my ears smile just thinking about it. 

You've gotten pretty good at running, oftentimes bent at the waist with your arms stuck out behind you, ala Superwoman. You're still a good eater, though you're starting to show signs of pickiness, especially when it comes to vegetables. You're still sleeping at least 13 hours at night with a 2-3 hour nap each day, which is so incredible. You've calmed down A LOT at Stroller Strides and are no longer the sobby freakmobile clawing desperately at the stroller straps (thank God that phase is over!). You love to read books and are a dance machine, boogying your little butt whenever so much as a hint of a rhythm comes your way. And your joy is absolutely contagious, and I know your energy has a lot to do with why I haven't lost my mind in the last few weeks.

Another thing parent strangers have been saying to me lately is, "This is such a fun age."

I couldn't agree more.

I love you, Luciya!

Love,

Mama