how is my little peanut baby getting so old, so quickly? I cannot fathom it!
Since she is a typical 2nd child and I am not keeping a traditional baby book for her, I thought I'd better do a quick Halle-boo update. Because sadly? My blog is now the fact keeper for the family!
At nearly 17 months, Halle says: Mama, Dada, Bubba (her name for Dylan), Nana (both for a banana and my Mom . . . a nana to eat and a Nana to love, we say!), Papa, Ah-Ha (found it!), Ni-Ni (Jeannie, her daycare provider), Duckie and WooWoo (which is what a dog says/howls and is what she calls all dogs). Bubble, bye-bye and baby all sound very close to "Bubba", so you have be very situationally aware to know which she's talking about!
She also has very clear signs or sounds for sleep, all-gone, blankie, more, hungry, milk and "where is it". She still nods yes and no, very emphatically, so there are no questions there!
She loves to play chase and hide-and-go-seek with her brother. Halle antagonizes the dog every chance she gets. She also likes to play doggy and would gladly wear a leash all day long if I let her! She would dance from sun-up to sundown, preferably naked and to "Staying Alive". She also loves to feed and watch the ducks and geese at the lake.
Her favorite toy is probably a little pink and purple basketball that she loves to throw. She also loves her Little People "Busy Day House" (I think that's what it's called) and her little baby grand piano (pink!). Halle is officially a terror on her little four-wheeler that Papa bought her for Christmas. She still can't steer it, but boy, can she go!
Highchairs piss her off, unless she's at daycare, where she will patiently sit and eat whatever is put in front of her. She prefers to eat in a big-person chair, which she learned on the cruise, or on the run. Her newest trick is to wedge herself into her tiny little Fisher Price doll stroller and eat sitting in there.
Halle is still resisting all meat except the occasional ground beef in a sauce or lasagna and a cheeseburger (when it suits her). She doesn't like green vegetables, but will eat most orange and yellow veggies, as well as fruits. She could survive on pasta, cheese, bread and bananas if we let her. She would really prefer to live on vanilla milkshakes, Dove chocolates and cookies, but even I have my standards of occasional nutrition!
Halle still does really well with two naps per day and likes to sleep every 3 hours. She typically gets up at 7:15 and is back down for a nap at 10:30. She usually naps until 12:30 and goes back down at 3:30. She can sometimes nap as late as 5:30 - usually when I'm being selfish and don't want to wake her up! She then goes to bed sometime between 8:30 and 9:00. She typically gets up once during the night, has a quick milk break and goes right back to sleep.
She goes to daycare three times a week and is usually there from 8:30-3:30 in the afternoon. We are super-blessed to have Jeannie watching her and her little friend, Laney. The girls are really cute and sweet together, unless Laney gets near Halle's binkies and blankie. Then, I'm afraid, Halle isn't so sweet anymore!
Speaking of binkies and blankies, Halle adores them. She has her two Little Giraffe blankets - the regular and travel size. She likes to lay on the little one, with the big one over her. (I know, I know . . . she's particular!) As for binkies, she has to have at least three. I put five in her crib for good measure! She goes to sleep with one in her mouth and one in each hand.
Halle is very particular about certain things. She wants to wear certain clothing all of the time. Her favorite outfit would be footie pajamas, a red velvet jacket and Mary Jane's crammed over her footies! She's also weirdly obsessed with shoes and purses. I recently cleaned out my ridiculous collection of purses and put the few that I kept on a lower shelf in my closet. Halle has to go and get one or two of them at least once a day and walk all around the house with them on her arms. Usually her arms are straight up in the air to keep the purses on!
"Strong-willed" is certainly an apt description of the little monkey. She knows what she wants and when she wants it, thank you very much! I am certain that her determination will serve her well, later in life. As long as it doesn't kill me first!
As determined and fierce as she can be, she is also the sweetest little snuggle bug. She gives kisses with her lips pooched waaaaayyyy out. She needs to snuggle someone when she awakens from each night and nap. She adores her Bubba and waves "bye-bye" to him for about a block each time we drop him off at school.
Our little Princess Binky-love is such the perfect addition/completion to our family. We are incredibly blessed to know her and love her. She fits us to perfection!
