{alligator: Jelly Cat // top and bloomers: Peek Kids (old)}
{month seventeen} Gah, seventeen months?! It seems like we have been so close to an year and a half for so long, but not quite there yet. Thank goodness. Aaron and I agree that this age is the BEST because there is so much verbal development and understanding happening. Plus, Daphne is just a sweet baby!
Daphne is pretty in tune with what is going on around her and has started socially laughing. If she hears (or sees someone) laughing, she will join in which can be really hilarious sometimes. And, like a true younger sibling, she always wants to be involved in whatever anyone else is, especially if it is Eloise. She wants to be part of the gang and do everything the big kids are doing too.
She is still nodding and shaking her head quite a bit to communicate but seems to understand so much more. Along with signing, Daphne can really communicate quite well these days!
Along with the communication piece, Daphne also understands simple commands. Like, if you ask her if she’s hungry for breakfast in the morning, she will take out her paci and lovie, stick them in her crib, and head up the stairs. Or, if you ask her to go put her shoes on, she will walk to the entryway, grab her shoes out of her basket, and sit down on the floor waiting for someone to help her. She understands “no, thank you” and will stop what she’s doing almost immediately when she hears it. And the list goes on and on. It really is amazing how much she understands!
Daphne is slightly obsessed with shoes (and all accessories really) and likes to put them on and take them off. And since we take off our shoes and leave them in the entryway, she will occasionally wander into the entryway, grab a pair of shoes (or just one to start), and find the shoe’s owner so she can put it on his or her foot. So you’ve been warned if you come over to visit that Daphne will chase you around to match you with your shoes!
Daphne has been SO much more vocal these days, and with words we can understand. She says CHEESE! if we say it to get her to smile for a photo, UH OH! if she drops something or if something breaks, UP!* when she wants to be held or carried, SISSY for Eloise, DOGGIE (or Good Girl) for dog, and DUCKIE for duck or her lovie (which is a duck). Also, Daphne is not only more vocal but also very LOUD when she wants something. She frequently yells to make sure someone can hear her!
*Until just the last few days, Daphne would say MUP for me (Mama) to pick her up and BUP for Aaron (Papa or Baba as she says now) to pick her up!
Daphne wants to be a big kid so badly and she insists on climbing up on the bathroom stool at bedtime and brush her teeth and hair. Obviously, we help her with brushing her teeth, but we do give her a chance to hold the brush herself and she mimics the best she can. She also really likes brushing her hair which is getting pretty long these days! We aren’t quite thru the mullet phase but close.
I have been fostering independent playing with Daphne in the same way I did with Eloise, and so far, so good! Daphne plays well on her own and also with Eloise. She loves to play with her babies, feeding them and cuddling them. And she also really likes cars and trucks (or trains). She gets down on the ground and pushes them all around.
Daphne still prefers her pacifier over her thumb, but is still a thumb sucker. We would much rather her suck on a pacifier but don’t want her to have it all day, every day which she would if we let her. So generally speaking, she gets a paci at sleeping time or if we are in her room. She sleeps with her duck lovie for every nap and bedtime, but Albert the Alligator (from the picture above) has become a fan favorite recently. She will bring him upstairs with her in the morning so he can be part of the day, and now if we leave the house, Albert comes too. And as you saw in our Bend pictures, Albert joined us while we were out every single day. Aaron and I have a feeling Albert has become a fifth family member.
Music is still Daphne’s FAVORITE thing! We will frequently turn on a Spotify station on the XBox (which will show on the TV) and Daphne gets SO excited to listen to the music. She dances around, swaying side to side, and spinning around. Any time she hears music she gets excited and a big smile on her face, so hopefully there will be lots of music in her future!
{weight} 28 pounds is my guess.
{hair} blackish brown.
{teeth} four bottom teeth, top four teeth, four molars, canines still cutting.
{eyes} dark grey/brown.
{clothes} 12 to 18 months, 2T.
{diapers} size 5 {from the honest company}.
{feeding} 2 to 4 oz sippy cups of milk at breakfast, lunchtime, and at dinner, and water throughout the day.
{likes} Albert the Alligator, an old remote that she holds up to her ear like a phone, watching and chasing the Roomba, picking her nose, eating, bath time with Eloise, watching big kids or babies, chewing on anything, sitting in her highchair, banging on her tray, staring at her quilt (from Amanda), rattles, nursing, riding in the car (usually), her big sister Eloise, Sadie, singing, lights, paci, being bounced, being tickled, talking, her Lovie.
{dislikes} having a hat on in the car seat, seeing some type of food on a plate that she doesn’t have on her tray, having gas, lying down flat, being hungry or tired, having her face or nose wiped off, sunscreen put on her face.
{nicknames} Daph, Daph Daph, Daphers, Bug, Snorty, Baby D, Daphne Doo, Daph-a-doo, Love, Lovebug.
And here is Eloise’s seventeen month update.
Happy seventeen months Daphne!
M