17 plus.

So a week ago, my baby girl hit 17 months. And I didn't even mention it on here. What a terrible, terrible mother blogger I am.

17 months! Hooray! And since this is a week late, we're less than a month away from Brooke's half birthday. One-&-a-half, people. That's insane. I caught myself using that as her age when asked yesterday. Nutso! So here's a little peek at some of our almost-one-&-a-half year old's happenings.

~ The munchkin is still killing us with her vocabulary. It's like once she hears a word, she'll repeat it and log it in her tiny little brain to be used in the future. And she's starting to use sentences, mostly 2 & 3 words (like "more juice please" and "thank you Daddy".) She also helps us read books, and by that I mean she has memorized parts of her favorite books and will blurt words out before we get to them.
~ A couple days ago, I'm getting ready in my bathroom while Brooke wanders about. She started playing with our bathroom scale, realizing that if she pressed on it she would see "mumbers" on the digital screen. So I'm brushing my hair and I hear "six seven eight nine". I quickly turned around like "Huh? Did she just count?" We've never tried to teach her any numbers past 1, 2, & 3, as we thought we should master those before moving on. Well, as it turns out, Big Lady has been able to count this whole time! She knows 0-9, but often stumbles over 4 & 5 (go figure.) Once we master those & #10, I'll get it on video for all to enjoy :)
~ Someone still loves her purses. (Notice all the jewelry she wears while shopping, too.)

~ She's very into Dora. Like big-time BFF's. Elmo's still a good friend, but if you mention Dora, the girl gets giddy. Which I'm cool with b/c I don't mind listening to it. She was given the DVD where Dora becomes a big sister and it has really helped her understand more about babies. Dora's mom has twins...I hope she doesn't think 2 are gonna come outta me.
~ Speaking of babies, she loves them. All of them. I pointed out a baby in church a few weeks ago and was rewarded with 3 minutes of complete silence as she just watched him. She loves loves loves to try to hold her 10-month-old cousin (poor Hannah...) She knows that babies drink from bottles and you have to be gentle with them. I take all of this as a sign that maybe, just maybe, she'll welcome her new sibling rather than ask to send him/her back.

~ Evidently, I gave birth to a little fish. Brooke is obsessed with the pool! We bought a little backyard pool, and she subsequently crowned us the Best Parents Ever.

(This 2T suit is a bit too small, which completely bums me out b/c it's heavenly. Once we saw Brooke's Girls pop out the top, we knew it'd have to be a For Our Backyard Only suit.)

 Let's talk about those legs for a minute...sigh.

 Giving Dora a bath. Obviously.

And she's been to the big pool at the Rec twice now and ADORES it. She walks around with no fear, even though she's still pretty wobbly as she wades through the water. She has no problem going under water - no tears! In fact, she started clapping for herself when she'd do it. She is starting swim lessons within the next week and I know she's just going to love it.
~ Um, we're going to start potty-training very soon in hopes that we only have 2 children in diapers for a very short time. (There. Now that it's in writing, I have to follow through. Even though is scares the life out of me.) We bought a potty and have Pull-ups on standby (though I'm confident it will be months before we get to that point.)
~ So this is the part where Brooke's "perfect child" image comes a-crumblin' down. Homegirl got mine & the husband's worst traits: our stubbornness. This child is the definition of stubborn. Her favorite word is "no" and is very specific about what she doesn't like. "No shirt! No drink! No Mickey!" (All of a sudden she has a problem with watching MMC. Strong Dora loyalty, no doubt.) Sure, much of it is just your typical toddler defiance/boundary-testing, but she takes it to a whole new level at times. She's smart enough to be able to be reasoned with...sometimes. If you give her options over something she is allowed to do/have instead, she can be easily distracted. Other times? She acts like the 17-month-old that she is, complete with meltdowns over absolutely nothing.
~ If she were to get a report card at this age, there'd be a big fat red checkmark in the "doesn't play well with others" box. Maybe 2 checkmarks. By herself, she plays really well. She's an awesome independent player. Put her together with her cousins (the only kids she's ever around) and fights ensue. Bottom line: Brooke is the bully. At least that's how it seems to me. She isn't as much of a toy-stealer as she is a toy-hoarder & craptastic sharer. She does not put up with someone else taking what she has and is oddly territorial over what she's playing with (doesn't really want anyone to join her.) We are very, very aware of all of this and are very, very unsure of how to fix it. I'm guessing it's something that will only come with even more playtime with cousins and, eventually, siblings. But it's no fun to be the bully's parents, you know? (And to the parents of said cousins: please bear with and forgive us until we figure it out.)
~ Apparently Brooke is exactly like me when I was child. Smart & cute, sure, but also sassy as the day is long. I was the queen of attitude, and Brooke makes a perfect successor to her Mommy's throne. My family is getting the last laugh on this one...

Finally, here are a few extra pictures from May. The first few are from the Memorial Day parade, Brooke's 2nd Annual. She had a great time collecting candy and waving her little flag.

And these are from when she helped Daddy water his vegetables. Rather than take a drink from the hose, she gets her hand wet and then just licks her fingers. Goofball!