17 Months Old

Between their 16th and 17th months (they were 17 months old on July 17th), our girls have become funnier, naughtier, more expressive, more communicative, more mischievous, and more and more their own little persons.

Abby with an attitude on the left, Lydia livening up the party on the right

Every day they make me laugh out loud. (And almost every day they--combined with their brother--make me want to tear my hair out or have a good cry somewhere by myself!)

In commemoration of their 17-month-birthday, here are a few of their accomplishments these days . . .

They spontaneously held hands at supper one night recently

Last week when Jeremy and the kids were wrestling on the floor, Lydia's snot got on Jeremy's shirt. He asked, "Did you snot Daddy, Lydia?" In response, both girls sniffed and blew out their noses, spewing snot and clearly demonstrating their understanding of it!

Grandma and the Three Crazies

All looking at the camera!

Lydia is fun-loving, bold, and imitative; she's a go-getter who knows what she wants and loudly lets everyone else know, too! She loves to play with Josiah and copy whatever he does. She likes to wear his shoes around the house (often on the wrong feet), ride the rocking horse with or without him, steal whatever toy he's playing with, sit in his booster seat, do his puzzles, look at his books, etc. When Daddy takes her to Home Depot on her own, she thinks she's hot stuff sitting in Josiah's car seat!

 Lydia in Josiah's shoes, riding his horse

While Lydia doesn't say as many words as Abby, she has adeptly copied some choice phrases from her brother. Recently her favorite is an emphatic, defiant "Go! Go!" (though she pronounces the "g" with a "d"). She often issues this command when affronted by an instruction from Mama--or by a parental denial of her wishes.

A few illustrative examples:

Mama: "Lydia, it's time for bed!"
Lydia: "Go! Go! Go!"

Mama: "Don't yell and shake your highchair, Lydia."
Lydia: "Go! Go! Go!"

Lydia: [rude screech followed by whining and pointing to snack item]
Mama: "No, Lydia, we're done with snacks for now. It'll be dinnertime soon."
Lydia: [kicks/hits at Mama, then points commanding finger] "Go! Go!"

If a sibling crosses her will, she's quick with her vehement "Go!"--usually with finger pointed. Queen Lydia expects to be obeyed and so far is not too deterred by higher authorities. I often hear her yelling "Go! Go!" in her crib after lights-out at night . . . . and Josiah loves to tattle on her.

Like her brother at this age, Lydia is obsessed with buckles!

Lydia loves company; while Abby is often content to play by herself--or observe others from a distance--Lydia wants to be in the fray at all times. She is also more physical and aggressive than her sister. She figured out how to do a somersault. She throws herself off couches onto Daddy (usually without warning), joins wrestling matches with relish, sustains injuries with hardly a complaint, and constantly clambers up and over furniture and other obstacles.

Of course, Abby wants to be included in the fun, too. She's a toughie and a daredevil--just not quite on the same level with her brother and sister. But after they've tried a stunt a few times, Abby's usually game to try it too.

 Abby climbing up the rocking chair

One morning a couple weeks ago, Abby climbed on her dresser-top after the girls' nap. My mom went in to fetch them and found her up there--with Lydia standing in her own crib and shaking her head "no" at Abby.

 Abby

Tonight both girls repeatedly jumped off Josiah's bed into his arms. "I'll catch you!" he said sweetly as he held his arms wide--but he's not really strong enough to "catch" them! Each time both went tumbling to the ground, and Josiah took the opportunity to make a little wrestling match of it.

The three hooligans jumping off the couch

Just in the last few days Abby started imitating Lydia's defiant "Go!" She even adds to it--with her more advanced vocabulary--and says, "Go away!" (sounds more like "doh-wee"). She packs some sass into her expressions, too, sticking out her lips, squinting her eyes, and generally exuding defiance.

Lydia leaps!

On the other hand, both girls can be sweet as sweet can be! Lydia hugs with her whole self--wraps her arms 'round my neck, cuddles her head close, and even squeezes with her legs. Both give kisses fairly liberally, though lately they want to make a game of it and have me fake cry before they bestow their affection on me. (Their imitation of my fake cry when they ask me to do it is hilarious.)

The girls looove to hide behind cushions

Both girls have an opportunistic streak--they're aspiring computer hackers (as Daddy calls them), who slip into the computer room every chance they get to click away on the mouse and keyboard. Lydia slams the door shut behind her, so we're alerted quickly to her plans. They both like to sneak into the bathroom, too, usually to turn on the faucet and play in the sink. I've caught Abby dabbling in the potty water sometimes, too, though.

Perhaps related to her observant nature, Abby has also become quite particular. For instance, she doesn't like when I strip off her clothes for a messy meal. One day she was upset when she didn't get her original shirt back on after dinner (and thus didn't match). She hates to have oatmeal or rice on her hands, picks  grass blades off her feet one by one, and whines when some piece of debris is stuck to her fingers or toes. A few weeks ago she decided she wanted a small couch pillow on her lap when nursing--and since then requires this accessory, but only with the flowered side up!

Abby loves dolls and especially loves to have her baby swaddled. She always wants it wrapped up before she takes a nap or goes to bed at night, and she often hugs it under her arm when she lies down. While the doll's plastic head makes for a convenient teething toy, Abby has started some pretend play with her doll and stuffed animals. I found her setting them up in highchairs before lunch one day, and she often wants me to nurse them.

 Abby, Daddy, and babies

Teething toy

 

I still nurse the girls about five or six times per day, usually tandem. They like to sit up while nursing, and lately Lydia wants Abby to nurse when Lydia asks to do so. She procures Abby's pillow, grabs her by the hand and pulls her over, points to the empty spot on the couch, etc. to indicate that she wants Sister to nurse, too!

I hear new words and sounds from these girls almost every day. Abby tries to say just about anything I ask her to do. But when I say, "Lydia, can you say _________?" she invariably responds by nodding her head--but saying nothing.

Lydia

Both girls added "uh-oh" and "ow/owie" to their vocabulary this past month. They also make several animal sounds: "moo," "meow," "guck" (quack/duck/bawk), "hoo-hoo" (owl), growls for lions/tigers/bears, and barking for dogs.

 Abby

Sunday night at dinner Abby noticed the cow on the sour cream container; she pointed and mooed. Then she insistently mooed and pointed her finger every time she wanted some (which was pretty much all of dinner--if we let her, she would have made a meal of sour cream).

Abby started to pair words to make phrases this month. She says, "Help, please!" pretty clearly ("olp pwee!"), and she sometimes says "hi" or "bye" paired with a person or object's name: "Bye Dada!"

Abby figured out how to cross her arms

The other day Lydia woke up last from a nap. We heard her cry from the back room, and Abby looked up and said, "Lilla!" She attempts "Josiah" and says Mama, Dada, Pa, and Grandma pretty clearly.

 Abby getting a ride on Josiah's bike

Abby also says "guk" for fork and something similar for "drink" or "cup." She says "haa" for "hot," and asks to hold the owl nightlight by saying "owl" or "whooo."

Abby and Josiah

 

The girls recently tried doing some simple puzzles with my mom, and they quickly mastered them. They can easily match up the pegged pieces to their spots, and they can also do a fish puzzle from Great-grandma without pictures to match (they just match the shapes of the pieces). They love to do puzzles--and with their lengthening attention span, it keeps them entertained for a stretch of time now!

 Lydia with a new toy from Grandma--she figured out the spring mechanism quickly!

Lydia and Abby like to look at books on their own and have Mama or Daddy read to them. Lately they've done better during book time (they last longer before chucking all the books on the floor!), and they sit through the entirety of some books when I read to them. Today we read Harry the Dirty Dog through a few times, and Inside, Outside, Upside-down twice. Each considers one-on-one reading a treat--and I feel bad that I can seldom read to just one girl.

 Abby on the left, Lydia on the right

Every night we sing and pray with the kids. For several weeks now all three want me to sing "Only a Boy Named David"--the girls request it by insistently starting the hand motions! They love joining in on Josiah's roly-poly pudding game with Daddy, too, and imitate his bedtime screeching beautifully.

Whew--I've finally finished this post!

Monsoon!

We've had several dust storms since monsoon season began, but last week was our first real rainstorm--and the first rain the girls got to really play in. Of course, everyone had lots of fun splashing in puddles and running in the rain--and enjoying a slight reprieve from the heat.

All three in the patio puddle

Abby

 

Both girls like to wear Josiah's shoes--so here they shared

Lydia

 

Lydia takes both shoes, Abby tries to get hers back

 

Abby ready to wreak vengeance on her shoe-stealing sister?

Just Sweet Little Abby

I never posted these pictures of Abby from June--so here are a few of our thumb-sucking sweetheart . . .

The Versatile Josiah: Policeman, Pudding, Bully, Brother

Josiah's mind and imagination are always active--he regularly surprises me with his questions and comments and pretend play. I so enjoy the conversations we have. And of course, with all he has to say, he comes out with plenty of hilarious stuff to put on the blog! So here's another installment of Josiah's recent funnies, in which he stars in plenty of different roles (and with a new haircut) . . . 

Law Enforcement

Josiah picked up the play phone yesterday and said, "Hello? Police? Come and get Grandma!"

Josiah is a budding policeman himself--arbitrating spats between his sisters, deciding who gets what toy, trying to ensure the girls don't transgress rules, reporting misdeeds to Mom (especially when Abby climbs on the dresser after bedtime), and generally attempting to keep things fair or in his favor. It's a challenge to deal with three misbehaving children and one corrupt policeman!

Enforcing speed limits for lawn mowers

In addition to trying to enforce all the rules on everyone else, Josiah also likes to order everyone around! He really enjoyed Grandma's willingness to go along with most of his games. "You tount, Gramma," he'd say many times a day, and scamper off to hide while she obeyed and counted. Sometimes he switched the roles: "You hide, Gramma! I tount!" And he'd count to ten with eyes squinched shut after a quick glance to see where Grandma might be headed. The girls loved to join in and often gave away hiding places--much to Josiah's frustration when it was his turn to hide.

Josiah counting

Bedtime Fun and Falsehoods . . . and Boogers

Josiah loves to play "roly-poly pudding" with Jeremy during our bedtime routine. He says he's "Tom Titten" and Daddy is "Samuel Whiskers." Daddy "butters him up" with a soft blanket and then wraps him up tight in a "dough" quilt, and then he rolls him back and forth while Josiah tries to wiggle out. Sometimes Josiah transforms into John Joiner (a dog in the Beatrix Potter story) who brings his saw to deal with the rats. Sometimes I'm supposed to help rescue Tom Kitten, and other times I'm Anna Maria, the bad rat wife who helps prepare the sooty pudding. His laugh while wriggling out of the blanket is something to hear.

Josiah and Lydia

A couple nights ago, I checked on the kids after lights-out because I heard Lydia crying. I found Josiah sitting in his bed with a crocheted blanket over his head. When he hides like this, it's usually a sign he did something wrong. I asked what happened, trying to phrase it a few different ways to figure out the truth: "Why did Lydia cry? Did you do something? What did you do? What happened?" etc. He claimed he stayed on his bed and was playing there. "Why do you have that blanket over your head?" I asked. He proceeded to stick his finger through a hole in the blanket and into his nostril. "So I can pick my nose through it!" he said.

Going Pantsless

Josiah was playing outside with Grandma when he suddenly stopped and stripped off his pants and underwear. "They're not right for me," he explained. Aspiring nudist? He certainly planned to play in the buff rather than get something else to put on!

This was not during the incident with Grandma above--here he was soaked and so had a more legitimate reason for stripping . . .

Big Brother in Charge

A few times recently I cautioned the girls to be careful or kind to each other at the table (eating a snack, doing puzzles, etc.) as I step out of the room to get something. Josiah, sitting nearby, assured me, "I'll keep an eye on them, Mom."

He also sometimes tries to comfort the girls when they're crying or upset. "It's otay," he says, "I'm here!"

They look up to him!

Sweet and Something Else

Several times a day Josiah says, "Mama?" When I respond, he says, "I love you!" 

Lately if some instruction displeases him, Josiah objects by saying, "That's not fun, Mama!"

Bully or Bible Hero . . . for Real?

Between all the books we read and the Davey and Goliath shows Josiah watches, he has plenty of material to re-enact . . .

The past couple days Josiah pretended a mini woven hot-pad was his "slingshot." (He pulled one of the loops out part way, sucked on it some, and then swung it around over his head. You've never had a spit-soaked hot-pad slung in your face? Come visit!) 

"I'm David killing the giant!" he reported to me at times as he whipped around his hot-pad. Other times he said, "I'm a bully!" (In one Davey and Goliath show, Davey encounters a slingshot-wielding bully.) I told him I didn't want a mean bully around, to which he replied, "I'm only a bully for real," confusing "real" with "pretend"--a telling slip, since I think the lines between reality and imagination are blurry in his mind.