Sweet at 17 months!

Look at our little seventeen month old bundle of sweetness!  Over the past month with all of the walking (she's getting fastern and covering more ground) and climbing, it seems like she has thinned out.  She still has her adorable chubby cheeks and solid legs but has less pudge in her tummy area and just plain looks longer. Bittersweet!

And look how grown up she looks in this pose!

This past month, Janie has continued to become more sophisticated in her play and speech.  On our trip to the zoo, she tied saying the name of all the animals and did great with their sounds, too.  On the other hand, her comprehension still lags a little.  This gets funny when she repeats something she hears around the house like "deposition" or "chardonay".  It comes out so clearly and out of place coming out of a toddler's mouth. 

Also, after weeks of seeming to have it down, she seems to have been confusing "yes" and "no" -When we ask her questions, she has been responding with "no" regardless of what we ask.  Clara went through a similar stage  and so we are trying the trick that worked for her by encouraging "please" instead of "yes."

This month Janie's interest in books has blossomed and we are so thankful.  Clara is such a reader and reading together has become a very important part of what we enjoy doing as a family.  Janie's attention span for it has increased by quite a bit.  She still has her favorite books (Little Bunny, Pookie, Snuggle Puppy) and pulls them off the shelf over and over, sometimes beating us with them if we don't get the clue when she yells, "read book... READ book... READ BOOK!"

Over the past month Janie has done a lot of teething, with 4 new teeth coming in including a molar.  Through this discomfort we have allowed a little more pacifier time and in turn she has become even more attached to her paci.  If we let her, she would have it in at all times and chooses to carry around her special blankey.  Wonder which one of these comfot items will last longer?

With the teething and a little cold this month, unfortunately, Janie still hasn't settled into a regular sleep pattern.  Slowly but surely, she is sleeping through the night more and more.  Last weekend Daddy agreed to take on the night duty because Mommy was feeling run down and those were the two nights Janie decided to sleep through the night.  On Monday night, when it was again Mommy's turn, she was up several times during the night and then up before six the next morning.  It is my suspecion that if we could arrange our whole life around her sleep schedule, she would be more consistant, but sadly, right now that just isn't possible.  We are staying home quite a lot, but Clara has to go to school and sometimes that falls right during when she may want to go down. 

The more we get to know Janie, the more we realize how much of a little spitfire she is.  She has decided she does not like childcare at the gym.  She starts fussing when we enter the room and sure enough, Mommy gets paiged to come and get her with about a half hour.  She has a similar reaction at the doctor's office and even puts up a fuss riding in shopping carts.  At times, her awnry quirks can lead to some crazy situations, so it is a good thing that our little girl balances all her screeches and hollars with hugs, kisses and now even gentle little pets.