Who she is right now: 17 Months

At just a couple days past 17 months, Claire is pretty spectacular. There are long days speckled with these shimmery, beautiful moments. She's an independent one, my girl. Not much cuddling goes on around these parts. She has no problem entertaining herself. Communicating her needs and asking for help is getting better. Tonight, while eating her dinner, she pointed at her high chair where her green beans were and said "more?" to which I replied "more what? noo-noo's (noodles) or green beans?" and she said "green beans" very clearly. I was impressed. She knows what she wants and is learning to communicate that. Notices when she goes to the bathroom in her diaper by either saying "pee-pee" or "poo-poo" or tapping on the front of her diaper. But, when you ask her if she'd like her diaper changed so promptly responds "no" because she can't be bothered to let a diaper change get in the way of her play time. When she's laid down for a nap, she let's out a very excited giggle-laugh combo when she knows her baa-baa is coming. It melts my heart. She is and always has been a curious one. Always wanting to learn more. Books are still her thing. She opens the book, you tell her what to find. If it is an animal, she will make the sound to match. She can also recognize many more items like balloons, clocks, bananas, cars, trucks, babies, chairs, flowers, trees, balls, etc. She loves to draw, especially with sidewalk chalk but a pen with paper will do just fine. If you don't watch her closely, she will finagle the cap off the pen and color on any other surface but the paper. She eats the sharp ends off crayons on occasion. TV isn't on much at our house but she does enjoy a good episode of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse or Sesame Street now and then. She knows the names of most Sesame characters. In the car she enjoys one cupholder full of puffs or crackers and the other cupholder with her water-filled sippy cup. Sometimes she wants a book to look at, sometimes she just wants to stare out the window. There is a lot of confidence stuffed into that little body. Doesn't become uneasy when I have to drop her off at the play area in the gym or with a babysitter. She may stand back and take it all in at first (like in the above photo at Sesame Street Live) but soon enough joins in on the activities. At the park, she soaks up the vibes of the other children. They seem friendly? She's friendly back. They seem grumpy or intimidating. She will adjust for that. And periodically, she will look back for her mama and I see it: that smile, that shimmery beautiful piece of her that is so perfectly Claire.