Nearly 17 Months Old

Ashton just had her nearly-17-months appointment. The doctor asked, "So, what is she up to these days?" It's hard to keep up. She is doing and saying so many new things everyday. She has recently discovered how to open doors; consequently, I've discovered how to lock them. I used to be able to let her roam freely around the house, but now if I forget to lock the door, our house has been extended to our property and beyond. Kinda scary.

Because she is cutting her molars (at least on the right side of her mouth) she hasn't been sleeping very well. (Notice the early bird pj? I'm kindof regretting the purchase, as when I'm up early-early, too early, I think I doomed myself.) Yesterday she woke up at four singing her ABCs. She can get through the whole alphabet, but pronounces A-J best. It seems she has a little song for everything. The itsy-bitsy spider still takes the cake, but ring-around-the-rosies is a close second. She loves to throw herself on the floor when the spider goes down the drain or when "we all fall down"--it's rather entertaining, until she chases me around the house saying "ashes, ashes" and we rehearse the same scene over and over and over. Raising a toddler can be challenging. I did catch her moving on to the dolly when I'd had enough. Nice. Keep that one up lovie!

She still reads for hours and hours on end. Jake was reading Franklin's Halloween with her the other night (well, really narrating the pictures rather than reading the story). Izzi likes to play "find the________(insert object here)" with her Poppi. Jake said "Find the cat" which really was a little costumed kid carrying a cat candy bag, and what do yah know? Ashton identified the psuedo-cat. Oh, which reminds me. She has moved beyond naming things to making their sounds as well. She really likes to meow like Teanaway or moooooo to the cows on the way to preschool. I guess put in a nutshell, her language and awareness of the world around her is developing rapidly. I suppose that means Jake and I need to censor our sailor talk soon or else we'll hear the parroting and feel our first parenting shame.

We're really excited for our Halloween party this coming weekend. Ashton often points to her costume on the hanger, and so we let her put it on a be a little IzziBee around the house. It's quite entertaining to watch. Enjoy the short video clips.

I guess the last series of pics shows how much she likes to help in the yard. She LOVES to put gloves on and point to things. I walked into the sunroom to find her with my work gloves on ready to get in the mud--but first she has to do her "ring-around-the-rosie" bit around our entry bench. She likes to circle it singing. I'm glad, for the most part, she is self-entertained.

Oh, I suppose I should share the nitty-gritty too, eh? OUr Izzi is still in the 90% for height (33") and 55% for weight (23#15oz). Her head is still small (like mine) in the 25% (45.5cm).

That's it for now. We look forward to seeing you all soon. "Bye-bye"--meant to be read in Ashton's soft, sweet voice with her hand flung high over her head, bowing her fingers to her palm.