This is what 17.5 months looks like

Ladies and gentlemen, I have an almost one and a half year old in my house!

Love Bunny.  That's what her shirt says.  Thanks Mimi.

 And is she the cutest thing you've ever seen, or what?!



This little lady is talking up a storm, and unfortunately for me, I seem to be the only one who knows what she's saying.  "Da-Da" = Daddy, Georgia, and Dora.   "WaWa" = Water,  Cookie, and Cookie Monster. (Cookie Monster says "wah wah wah" when he eats cookies, it actually makes perfect sense.) It's gotten a bit dicey when she asks for "wawa" and I tell her "No honey, not until you eat your dinner," and then she frantically demands "WAWA" and it turns out she was actually asking for water and not a cookie.  That one hurt.
Cookie monster has also inexplicably taken up residence in her bathroom.  He is her number one bath and potty time buddy.  So much so that when we walk through the bathroom doors, she completely ignores me as mom and I must become Cookie Monster. Luckily, I do a pretty mean Cookie and she is usually wildly entertained and I am exhausted. (I KNEW THAT THEATER DEGREE WOULD COME IN HANDY.) I literally have no idea how this started, and strangely, she could care less about Cookie when we are not in the bathroom.  It's also worth noting that after 20 minutes, Cookie becomes Russian.  Happens every time. 

It may be evident from the photo above that she has not quite mastered the art of smiling with her eyes open, but we're working on it.  

 Try again?

Nope.

Her most favorite thing is the park.  "Whee" means park.  We head to a "whee" just about every day, weather permitting. She's pretty brave and goes down the slide, even the big ones, all by herself!

Her love for the park and slides transcends time and space, and with the power of her imagination she can find a slide just about anywhere:

Carry or Check? Check!  It's a slide!  Seriously, she played on this thing for a half hour while waiting at the airport, saying "whee!" the whole time.  Other things that double as slides: couch cushions, the side of her car seat, mom's arm, Georgia, a bowl, a spoon, the side of the bathtub (Cookie gets some good reps on that one) the piano bench, the wall, the side of her crib, a strategically placed pillow, the list goes on...

This picture was taken in paradise and that's the only reason she's holding a Dorito.  I was trying to soften the blow a bit and give her yogurt ("wowo") but someone opened Pandora's bag and little missy was into it.  Big time.  My favorite part was when she dipped her Dorito in her wowo.  And came back for seconds.  And thirds.  She did the same thing last night at dinner with sweet potatoes.  Anyone who knows Eric may not be surprised by this.

(We will cover paradise in another post or two.  Or three. Depends on how well Eric photo shops our Doritos away.)

Sleeping has been inconsistent the past few months, mostly, (I think? I HOPE?!) because we've done so much traveling.  I'm writing this down so my future self knows that this little nugget, at a year and a half, still doesn't sleep all the way through the night without a check in or two from mom. (AND DAMN those squeaky floorboards outside of her room.  DAMN THEM.)  Also she sometimes likes to be rocked, which is my favorite thing in the world.  And she likes to put her hand down my shirt. A lot. If you're a girl and she likes you, careful.  She will go down your shirt. Consider yourself warned.

She's learning new things daily-- she can count to three, she practices writing and says "A-B-C" as she scribbles, she knows all sorts of animal sounds, she definitely knows the color blue, and she might know red and orange, or she might just be really lucky. 

I know I am.