Thursday, October 8, 2015

17 Months Old

17 months. Shannon and I are still in shock that Raye is as big as she is already. It really is true: the days are long but the years are short. And oh how long the days sometimes are!

Raye is:

*expressing lots of interest in the potty. She's peed in the potty a handful of times in the past week or two, and none of them were initiated by me. She's patted the front of her diaper area and I took her and she peed in the potty. I have been completely shocked each time but we're going with it! Maybe she'll be potty-trained by the end of the year!

*is yakking up a storm. She still babbles a lot but she has quite a few words, too. She started saying "Noel" (o-el) this month, which has been so fun for all the girls. She tries to say "Lane" but it just doesn't come out right. Other new words: shoes, James, apple, night-night, spoon (poo), water, flower, and surely others I'm forgetting.



*is in the "I want to do it myself but am not actually able to do it myself" stage. She wants to feed herself her food with her spoon or fork, but isn't very good at it yet. So she wants help, but then she gets mad. And the cycle continues. She wants to climb stairs by herself but she gets tired after ten or so of them and then needs help, but doesn't want it. But then decides she does.

*wants to play with her sisters so badly. But she doesn't play the way they want her to, so they do all they can for her to not play near them. We have nicknamed her "Raye the Destroyer," because she's best at destroying.

*isn't quite so picky about food this month, for which I am very grateful. She still loves fruit (grapes, especially) but is doing better this month at eating her veggies, eggs, chicken, and casserole-type dishes.

*is teething, I think. She's been quite cranky and clingy lately. She should be getting her eye teeth next, and I seem to recall all our kids having problems when they were coming in, so I think that's what's going on.



*still loves to be outside. She always wants to go bye-bye. She loves sticks and rocks and dirt and leaves. She likes to climb ladders and go down slides, but in general, she loves the outdoors.

*sleeps from 7:30 at night until 6 or 6:30ish in the morning, with a nap from 12-3, or thereabouts.

*still could care less about the television. She has no interest in watching anything the bigger girls watch, but would much rather play.

*gives the best snuggles at bedtime or nap time. She lays her head on your shoulder and just leaves it there while you sing to her. She never cries at bed or nap time and only very, very rarely wakes up in the middle of the night.

***It's been a month of not many pictures...too much craziness going on around here to bother with the camera much!***