17 months!

Is it just me, or are the months going by faster? It was just yesterday that Madeline was smashing her cake on her first birthday and now she's 17 months old? That's just crazy to me...

Madeline is her own little person and definitely has her own personality. She is a cautious child, probably because she is an only child and has spent minimal time socializing with other people. She attends "school" (A MMO program at a church down the street from us) twice a week and she has finally warmed up enough to the program that she doesn't cry when I drop her off or when I pick her up. The face she used to make when I picked her up crushed me but also made me laugh at the same time. Poor child was just beside herself thinking I had left her or something. But now?  She proclaims, "Scoo-Scoo" when I tell her it's a school day!

Her toddler will is rearing its ugly head - primarily with me. She knows I'm her mama and she tries to get away with things with me that she doesn't with other people (Craig, the nanny, etc.).  Her most recent battle is her high chair. I refuse to let her eat her meals somewhere other than the table and it's not pretty. One night, she didn't get dinner because I couldn't get her in her high chair. When I finally did, she nearly toppled the thing over because she was so distraught, so I took her out and sat her down. She was so upset that she was throwing herself on the floor over and over again. But, she would also randomly calm down and look at me to see if I was still looking and when she saw that I was looking, she'd start her tantrum all over again. Thankfully, she hasn't thrown that big of a fit since our little incident, but when Madeline wants to express her will, she will let all of Georgia know.

Last night, while Skyping my parents, Madeline was running around naked after her bath (the pic below is a couple of weeks old, but I love how she's happily playing with Starsky!). When it came time to put her diaper on, it was a battle between her and Craig. My parents got to see the whole thing. Since this is almost a nightly occurrence, it's not really anything new to us - but it was to them.

I'm reading "The Happiest Toddler on the Block" and I'm hoping to start incorporating the tactics with Madeline, otherwise we're in for a really long toddler-hood! I do think a lot of what Madeline is displaying is normal. She wants to communicate what she wants, but can't. She'll sign "more" and "please" at times, but not at anything directly and I have absolutely no idea what she wants. It frustrates her to no end because she's being polite and trying to tell me something, but we're not on the same page. But when she's happy, she's very happy and it makes me pause and embrace the moment, the extra book or smiles. The happiness is addicting.

A few things that I've noticed in the past month:
- Her passion for broccoli is all but gone. She's been so sick since December that her diet consisted of breast milk, crackers, Cheerios and apples. Now that she's finally well again, she still wants those things all the time. Little by little though, I'm getting her to eat other nutritious things. I've found if I only offer her one thing at a time, she'll be more inclined to eat it. It makes meals longer, but it's worth it to know she's eating better.
- She LOVES books now! And not just for chewing/eating! She has sat in my lap for a full hour going from book to book and pointing out things that she knows. My dearest friend, Se, gave her a Children's Bible for Christmas and Madeline knows where Jesus is in all the pictures and points Him out. It's the cutest thing. She even calls the baby Jesus, "Jee-sus" instead of a baby. I love the fact that she loves books now!
- Her vocabulary is growing by the day. It's crazy and I can't keep all her words straight now. I think our favorite word she says is "tur-tul" (turtle) because of the way she says it. Oh, and we have a book that has a skunk in it and it's "Starsky!" every single time. Very cuuuute.
- She is a great sleeper now! She still wakes up nightly and whimpers, repositions herself in the crib, but she goes back down without a fight and within minutes. I am finally sleeping well and it's amazing.
- She's definitely still a mama's girl, but when it's time for Craig to leave in the morning, she knows and tries to play him. She'll hug his neck when he tries to put her down and she knows that she'll get an extra snuggle out of him.
- She loves dancing, playing peek-a-boo, finding various body parts, going "touchdown!" with her arms, climbing on the furniture, putting away the dishes (especially with daddy!), pushing the button on the vacuum (heck, pushing ANY buttons!), throwing things in the trash, playing with the "ki-eee, ki-eee" (kitty, kitty), blowing bubbles outside and so much more. And she finally embraced the swing and slide at the playground! She really is a happy kid...and happy, strong-willed kid, and we love her to bits!

We love our little girl!