Carly at 17 months

Little sister is 17 months today, (where does the time go?!?) and I'm going to share a little about what she's up to these days. 

She loves our cats and meows whenever she sees them, or if we say their names, Ramona or George.  George tolerates her petting him and laying her head on his belly, but Ramona does not. We're hoping with time she'll get more tolerant.

Logan & Jack's friends really love her!

Carly is adored by everyone.

I love her, Josh loves her, the boys love her... and even their sweet little third grade friends love her. It's the sweetest thing ever. When we walk the boys to school, Carly passes out her goldfish snack to all their friends and they gather around like she's a celebrity, fighting over who she likes best. 

She plays a new game where when I try to get her to say "Mama", she says (and signs) "Dada" instead. It's hilarious how much it tickles her when I say, "No! Say mama!" and she says "Dada" again. Silly girl.  I'd say she loves us both, though.  Doesn't really have a favorite yet.

She has a ton of nicknames:

Carlos Barlos

Carlos

Baby Girl

Girlfriend

Carly May

Carly Barly

Sister

She loves going to the bank because she knows she will get a sucker if we go there.  Now just pulling in the parking lot elicits excited squeals from her. She's so smart! 

She has her own sippy cups, but she has basically commandeered my water bottle and straw.  If she makes a mess, which she often does, spilling the whole thing, she will run and get a hand towel from the kitchen (without being asked) and try to clean it up.

 She does a lot of mimicking behavior, which is so fun to watch.  Here she had found a sponge in the laundry basket in the living room and was pretending to clean the floor with it.  She also wrote with a pen on the board we have on the back door, after seeing brothers write on it everyday.  

She's learned a lot from playing with her brothers, including many body parts.

She knows:

Hair

Nose

Tongue

Eyes

Ears

Feet

Belly 

Teeth

She loves to be outside most of all and loves to play with balls and rocks.  If we're in the front yard, she makes a beeline for the corner bed full of rocks.  If we're in the backyard, she climbs up the slide or the monkey bars ladder.  She's completely fearless and exhausting!

 My mom felt bad that the boys got new bikes (for their birthdays) from her, and Carly didn't get anything, so she sent this pink Little Tykes car. She adores it. Climbs in and out all day long, and loves when her brothers will push her in circles around the dining room table. 

We're working on getting Carly to feed herself more, and it's awesome.  She can feed herself cereal with a tiny bit of milk, and she loves to feed herself pieces of our dinner on her own.  In fact, one of her new signs this month is "Myself", which she uses when she doesn't want my help forking food into her mouth. 

Signing "please"

signing "more"

 Speaking of signs, here's what she knows:

Bath

Logan

Jack

Wyatt

Mama

Dada

Eat

More

Candy

Cookies

Water

Done

Sleep

Brush

Nurse

Grapes

Toast

Shoes

Outside

Crackers

Book

Drink

Up

Wait

Hat

Spoken Words:

Bubba

Thank you

Wyatt

Water

More

Mama

Dada

Logan

Meow

Bark

"Woof"

Uh oh

Ball

Whee

Papa

Wake up

I am still nursing Carly.  This was around the age I weaned Wyatt, but I am still enjoying it, so I have no plans to quit any time soon.  She usually nurses to sleep for both naps (she still naps twice a day, and it's killing me. I am so ready for her to go down to one nap!) and at bedtime.  She also nurses any time she wakes up in the night, and sometimes upon waking in the morning or after naps.  I'm basically at her disposal.

She loves to hold her taggies while we nurse, rubbing the ribbons as she falls asleep.  We usually nurse in her room, in the rocking chair I have in there, but sometimes we nurse in my bed or on the couch. It just depends.  

She sleeps from 7am to 6am, usually only waking once or twice during that time.  I feel like her sleep has gotten much more consistent as of late, and it's really nice to wake up in the morning feeling rested.  Her first nap is usually 9-11:30 and her afternoon nap is 1-3.  This is harder now that it's summer and all three big brothers are home. That's why I'm hoping she transitions to one nap soon.  Josh and I have a plan to slowly make that morning nap time later and later, until she's going down around noon.  I think in a few weeks we'll have it down. 

She is my sweet snuggly girl, always coming over to give me hugs, snuggles or kisses, even as she plays.  She blows Josh kisses goodbye when he goes to work and when he kisses her goodnight at bedtime.  She adores Wyatt (I think he's her favorite) and loves to giggle when he's being silly.   

She loves being read to, and is always over at her little bookshelf, carefully choosing a book.

 She has thrown her first few tantrums, after being told no, and while hilarious, it's also sad cause I'm not ready for her to be at this stage of knowing what she wants just yet. 

She had her first set of pig tails this month (!!!) and I was tickled all over again that I have a daughter.

  As sad as I am that her newborn/baby phase has passed, I am looking forward to seeing who she grows into being.  She's so funny, full of life, and sweet.  It's going to be a joy to raise her.

I love you,

baby girl.

Happy 17 Months!!!

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