17 months

Hannah Grace,

You are just one month shy of one and a half years old! That means you are closing in on two! Which means you will be heading off to college soon....well, maybe not, but it sure feels that way sometimes.

Your vocabulary has really taken off in the last month. You can now say at least 20 words. Here's a list of all the ones I can think of: mama, dada, han(hannah), gaga(grandma/grandpa), papa(her other grandfathers name), buhbus(bubbles, our dog), boober(blueberries), buhbuh(bye bye), bath, boo-boo, chee(cheese), hat, wawa(water), baba(baby), baba(Barney), emo(Elmo), ball, uh-oh, coo kee(cookie), nah(no), up. You also said your first sentence a few days ago.."more please", but I think it might have been a coincidence because you haven't repeated it since. Instead you just sign it. You sign lots of words too: please, eat, more, love, all done, thank you, yes, no, duck (along with a quacking sound), bird, and fish (my favorite...you smack your little lips together).

You still love your baby dolls and are constantly holding one or looking for one to hold. Our latest trick to help with diaper changes is to tell you that your doll, Tyler, needs a new diaper. (As a side note, that doll used to be daddy's when he was your age). We lay him on the floor and you come over to "help". You lay next to him and we talk about what a good job you both are doing. :). You love to dance with your baby dolls, give them kisses ("mmmmm"), feed them ("nom nom"), and put them to bed ("buhbuh"). You are going to be the best mommy some day!

Speaking of dancing, everytime you hear music (at home or in a random public place) you just have to dance. You start bouncing up and down and swaying side to side. It is adorable! Just today you were holding one of your baby dolls and we turned on some music. You immediately started dancing. You held your baby doll's hands and moved her around in an effort to make her dance too. I guess dancing is in your genes! I can't wait to sign you up for your first dance class!

You know most of your body parts now. You don't say them, but you point to them on a baby in a picture or yourself. You can also find them on mommy or daddy. Here are the ones you know: head, hair, eyes, nose, mouth, teeth, ears, arm, hand, fingers, belly, legs, feet, and toes.

Daytime sleep is still a very rare commodity, but thankfully you are still a champion nighttime sleeper. You normally sleep 11.5-12 hours at night, without a peep! However, you never sleep more than one hour during the day. But I'm okay with that. It just means I get to spend more time with you every day! :)

You have unfortunately hit a very whiny stage. You have 4 molars coming in all at once, so that probably explains it, but man is it exhausting. You really gave us a run for our money last night when we were trying to have a nice family dinner at a local restaurant. You didn't want to sit in the highchair, you didn't want to sit in the booster seat, you didn't want to sit in either of our laps, you didn't want to stand up next to the booth, you didn't want to eat any of the food I brought....it was exhausting! We managed to shovel our food in and then at the end of the meal, you started screaming for "baba" (Barney) when we realized we had not used all our tricks. Daddy quickly pulled out his iPhone and started your favorite Barney episode! Thank you YouTube!! Why hadn't you asked for that earlier? You stood on the floor with the iPhone on the booth and your chin resting in your hands, SILENT and content! Ahhh. We got to eat the final two pieces of sushi in peace. Oh the life of a parent with a toddler...so luxurious! ;)

In an effort to not make this letter go on and on, here is a list of other things you have been up to this month:
- You weigh 26 pounds now and are still around 32.5 inches tall
- You are officially done using a pacifier and have dropped down to one nap per day.
- We had a lot of family time this month, with MeMaw and PaPaw and Aunt Audrey, Uncle Buddy, Cody, and Kyle coming to visit for a whole week and a trip to Panama City to see Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Julie, and Uncle Chris. You loved seeing everyone and were vey spoiled! ;)
- You can throw a ball overhand.
- You are obsessed with Barney! You ask to watch it all day long. I limit you to one episode per day, while I am preparing dinner. It really is the highlight of your day.
- You got 3 new teeth this month.
- You are still wearing a size 4 diaper during the day and size 5 overnights at night. However, this month we started using cloth again as well.
- You now wear a size 6 shoe....your favorite brown (and very smelly) size 5 shoes no longer fit, which really made you sad.

Hannah Grace, you are something else! You are full of energy, full of love and full of surprises. Mommy and Daddy love you so much! We were just talking about how much we love you today. We think we love you more than any other parent in the world (of course, this is probably not true, but it feels that way to us). We are always aware of what a special gift you are to us. A little over two years ago now, we had come to the end of our rope in trying to have a baby. It just wasn't happening and we were devastated. And then came you! God was so faithful to us and we will never forget that. Even on the days when we are practically falling asleep while reading you a bedtime story or when we are shoveling food into our mouths in an effort to get out of the restaurant, we will always love you! You are the answer to so many prayers! We love you BIG!