Happy 17 month Birthday!

What a joy - our baby girl is 17 months old. She is loving and cuddly, brave and assertive. She weighs about 26 pounds and is 31 inches tall.

For now, Julia is super proud of her Mommy and Daddy. When we are out in public, she points at us and identifies us as her Mommy and Daddy to friends and strangers. She's showing a little bit of shyness when we first walk into new situations, although this behavior is not consistent. At church last week she walked up and down the pew saying "hi" to everyone! (She also threw in a few well timed amens too.)

Play - Julia loves rocks, the sandbox, running up and down the sidewalk and carrying a bag. She enjoys pushing a toy stroller, building with blocks and riding in the wagon the blocks came in. She has started putting a blanket over her baby dolls and telling them "nite nite." She loves hide and seek and playing with tupperware and pots and pans. She still likes music and is starting to "sing" along with the songs.

We started a baby gym class a couple weeks ago. She is having a blast crawling and climbing and bouncing. Julia loves, loves, loves dogs. She has no fear at all. At a friend's house this week she tried to put a blanket on their yellow lab and then pushed the poor dog off a pillow because Julia wanted to lay down and pretend to go to sleep there.

She loves to have things in their place. Sometimes we can't go for nap until we've parked the toy stroller by the toy car in the den. (Note, it doesn't work if Mommy just promises to do that, Julia must see to it herself.) And one morning we were trying to leave the house, door open and bags ready but Julia ran back in to close the tupperware drawer. She likes to help unload the dishwasher, close the door and push the start button. Our little neat freak is super smart (of course). Last week she identified all the colors on her xylophone by hitting each color as Daddy called them out.

Meal time - Julia has come around to spinach and eggs, so there's pretty much nothing she won't eat. She is very good at eating oatmeal, yogurt and applesauce with a spoon all by herself. Many of her new words and phrases are food related - ham, ro-ro (cheerios), milk, me in (as in, put me in the high chair!), eat me (translated "feed me now!"). She drinks a lot more milk now that we've given her a cup with a straw. And she'll wipe her hands and mouth with a napkin or cloth when she's finished.

Sleep - Julia dropped her morning nap this month. Right now she sleeps from 7:30p to 6:30/7a and then naps from 12:30p to 2:30/3:30. She's resisting naps and bedtime more - wanting "one more" book, a sip of water, more kisses.

While Julia is typically laid back and fun, she is starting to get upset when she doesn't get her way. Give up the keys so Mommy can start the car? No way! Hold Daddy's hand as she walks near the street? Think again! Put down the small, airway size rock she found in the yard? Not without a fight! All of which just remind me that she's growing up - exploring and challenging and learning so much - and makes me enjoy the times she crawls into my lap, digs her hand into my shirt and lets me sing to her all the more.