Annalise at seventeen months

If this month had a theme song, it would be "Anything you do I can do better; I can do anything better than you!"  Annie is always trying to show us what a big girl she is.  Look, she even helps wash the car -- with her bare hands!  Today, I had to dig in the girls' bathroom trash for some cute hair things after I had knocked over the big basket filled with them.  She was watching with rapt attention, and I know she can't wait to look through the trash herself.  She will be an expert trash-picker.  She is already an expert at throwing things away.

In the last couple weeks or so, she's become more interested in talking.  She may have said a couple words a couple months ago, but for whatever reason, lost all interest up until this month.  I love her words, and I make a big deal every time she uses one.  Here are some of her new ones that I can think of:
- Shish-ee.  Sissy.  She said it once when I was putting a dress on her that was just like Delaney's.  Other times, she will just say it as she follows her around.
- Eye.  She says it as she's trying to poke me in the eye.
- Gock.  She points to her Mr. Clock and says it.
- Beh-yee.  Belly.  She pulls up her shirt and points to it.
- Joosh.  Juice
- Shoes.
- Socks.
- Baby.  She said it clear as day when I asked her to.
- No.  She said that for the very first time on 10/14.
- She shakes her head emphatically "yes" and will sometimes say "Yeah" if you ask her questions like, "Do you want a snack?"  "Do you want to go bye-bye?"
- Bump.  She likes to say this on every step as she goes down the stairs.
- Bampa.
If I ask her to say a word, she'll say it.  She'll go through a list.  Grandma.  Grandpa.  Dog.  Cat.  Fish.  But she usually doesn't use a word unless I ask her to.

She is so affectionate sometimes, and I don't know what's sweeter than hugs and kisses from a baby.  When that little face leans in for a kiss, eyes closed, and her lower lip protruding in that funny little kid way of puckering up, it's priceless!

She's obsessed with the buckles on her carseat and her booster seat at the table.  She wants to do it herself.  After she eats, I unbuckle her, but then she just buckles the straps again.  Then she grunts until I come over and unbuckle them again.  She'll keep doing that until I finally yank her out of the chair and tell her to go play.

She's an adventurer.  She's been known to take a few stairs the fast way from time to time.  Her antics on the living room couch sometimes almost give me a heart attack.  A couple weeks ago, she rode a pony with wheels off a coffee table in the play room.  We heard the loud thump and sprinted up there to find her lying in a heap.  She got right up, though, and was fine.

Owie.  This is one of her most common injuries -- she slips and falls, usually on the stairs, and then bites somewhere in her mouth with her sharp little teeth.

She wants to do everything like her big sis.  She doesn't want to go down the stairs backward anymore.  She wants to walk down like Delaney, which is scary.  I take her hand and help her do that, and she's so pleased.  When Delaney's standing on the step stool brushing her teeth, Annie gets up there and squeezes in alongside her on that step, and "brushes" her teeth too.  Whatever Delaney has, she wants.  When we got Delaney a backpack for school, Annie was upset that she didn't have one too.  She loves to try on that backpack when Delaney's generous enough to let her.  When she has it on, she laughs and runs around.  One time when Tim had taken Delaney out, and Delaney had forgotten her backpack (she likes to bring it everywhere), Annie walked up and handed me the backpack so I'd put it on her.  I said, "Yeah, you'd better get your backpack fix while she's not here!"

She's all but given up her morning nap this month.  I remember last month saying she was nowhere near ready to give it up, but that's how quickly things change.  She will still nap occasionally in the morning.  If she looks sleepy, I'll lay her down.  She may or may not sleep.  It makes me a little sad to see this big part of her babyhood falling by the wayside.  Why is she in such a big hurry to grow up?

A year ago today:  Annalise at five months