Maeve: the 17-month old version

Maeve. She's getting bigger. Seventeen months old this past Wednesday, and I feel the same franticness, the same slight feeling of panic, seeping through my soul that I vividly remember from when Bran and Nuala were at this stage. This stage where they change so quickly from a baby into a toddler... a little kid... a person. I feel myself dragging my feet, trying to cling to these fleeting moments of babyhood, but at the same time giddily celebrating each new development that comes rushing on the heels of the previous one. It's an exciting time, for sure. A bittersweet time. A time to stock up on her baby snuggles, knowing I'll never really get my fill... A time to try and memorize the sound of her gibbering whispers as she grabs my face and pulls it close to hers, to tell me something so important that she must be certain she has my full attention... A time to hand her her little PupPup or Meow a hundred times throughout the day just to watch her tuck them comfortably into the crook of her miniature arm... like right here.

Oy. Anyway. Up there in the top picture she's reading to Meow. In fact, pointing out the kitties and meowing. She talks so much. She's almost always game for repeating anything, and some words in her repertoire include:

Kula -- Akula is the dog next door. She is quite addicted to doggies and kitties.

Dodgie -- Dodger, another doggie next door.

Nana -- Nana is the Saint Bernard next door... also, banana, of course

churrees! -- cherries! This is almost always said with the exclamation marks...

strawbee -- strawberries

Hi-ya! -- higher!

Lub oo -- Love you

Boobie -- birdie

'Mon, Daddy! -- Come on, Daddy! or whoever

oo-a-me! -- Look at me! We hear this a lot, little show-off. It actually sounds quite like it, just less defined.

Ep me! -- Help me!

Sawee -- sorry, accompanied by much patting

Noona -- Nuala

Ban -- Bran

Owie -- owie, also what she calls her little friend, Ivy

Emma-ee -- her little friend Emily

Zheezus -- Jesus

Tan-tyu -- Thank you

Pees -- please

'Ere, Mama! -- Here, Mama! Anytime she's giving me something.

And loads of other stuff; she's a rather chatty little lass. She does the whole long-sentence-full-of-toddler-babble thing. That is pretty much the most adorable thing ever. I love when little ones do that. You know they're telling you something very real, but it's all just babble talk. And the whispering! She does whisper to me all the time, and it never fails to make me grin. Her tiny little hands pull my face into position and she fixes her big blue eyes on mine, only about two inches away. And she's so serious when she does it. I LOVE it. Also super cute, she usually laughs as her affirmative answer now:

Do you want this book, Maeve?

No!

Beep book?

NO!

The hippo one?

AHHaHAAhaHA!

She's always been a sunny, happy little babe, and she still is, though her tantrumy moments are increasing and she gets quite loud and frustrated quickly when she's trying to do something by herself and runs into problems. Like stuff all the diapers in a bag and one won't fit. Or buckle her booster seat straps herself. But overall, she's still our happy girl. She has a big "Hello!" or "Byyye!" or "Chau!" for everyone, and blows kisses like she's a movie star.

She loves to be with Bran and Nuala. She's on the trampoline with them, the tire swing, monkeying on the climbing dome... The big kids are wrestling, or playing with blocks? So's Maeve. She also doesn't hesitate to tell them off when they do something she doesn't like. She's small, but has a great set of lungs!

I can put cute little pigtails in her hair, which makes her look even more like a little girl and less like a baby, but so far she yanks them out immediately. And squirms like an eel while shrieking like a banshee while I'm putting them in. A little banshee-eel.

She's still nursing, and will usually give me a chance to discreetly whip 'em out by grabbing my finger and leading me resolutely over to a couch or something and then asking in a loud stage whisper: "Meemees, Mama?" If I take too long, she not-so-discreetly starts in with the demanding.

I don't have an official weight since her 12-month check up, but unofficially at home she still hovers somewhere around 21-pounds. She's a little thing, indeed. But super sure of herself climbing stairs and other stuff. She loves to push our big orange buckets around the kitchen, climb up, and rummage all over the counters. That's fun. She has a fondness for the silverware drawer, and can now unscrew lids. Such as the cinnamon jar lid. That's a great skill to have! Luckily she decided to just lick all the cinnamon off the top (pausing now and then to say, "hot!") and didn't turn it upside down.

Ah, but Maeve, I'll let you dump cinnamon everywhere if you agree to not grow up so fast! Deal?