Sonia’s 17th month was a big one!
Sonia’s communication skills exploded this month as she began to put multiple words together. The first few we noticed were “big bite” and “move Luna,” but pretty soon she was mimicking any two word phrase we said. She was also picking up new words/sounds even after hearing them only once or twice, such as Soccer “lala” Ball, Oil “oyo” and lotion “lolo.”
We’ve also been amazed at how she now understands what to do in certain situations when not explicitly asked. For example, she spilled a little milk in her playroom and I said “Uh oh, we’ll have to clean it up,” at which point she ran to the kitchen, pulled the towel off the dishwasher and brought it back to wipe up the milk. Other examples include asking me to set up the chair we use to wash her hands at the sink so she could watch me put flowers in a vase, and coming to me in the kitchen and pushing my legs toward the bathroom so I could brush teeth with her and Dada.
Sonia’s interest in books continues to grow, as does her attention span. She can now make it through the longest of her board books and even some shorter story books, but we still have to paraphrase the Serendipity books to keep her interest in those.
She is learning a few new “subjects” as well. She can get in a few of the shapes on her shape sorter clock, says “ABC” and asks for us to sing her the song and read her Chicka-Chicka Boom Boom, and has begun counting to 2. She can also say the names of many different colors, but everything is still “green” if you ask her “what color is this…?” She still gets frustrated when she can’t figure something out right away.
Her pretend play is increasing in complexity. For example, Daddy set up her toy food around the living room, and she ran around to get it all in her shopping cart, and then went to him to “check out”. Some favorite new play activities now include laying on the ground and asking to be tickled, turning circles until she gets dizzy, and singing “Ba-by Goo-Ga” (Baby Beluga).
Sonia also got in some good interaction with others when her Nona & Papa came to visit and take care of her while Mama & Dada went to Tahoe for their anniversary weekend (finally!). I was a little worried given how clingy she had been in Charlotte, but it seemed to make all the difference that she got to be in her own house. She also improved her fork and spoon skills while eating with them, and now really enjoys being able to eat from a bowl, rather than use her fingers. Though, sometimes she still just prefers to grab her food when she gets frustrated.
Sonia did have a few set backs as she went through this latest leap. About half-way through the month Sonia switched down to one nap, and then had a number of nights where she woke up between 10-11pm screaming for us and not wanting to be put back down. We had to go in without saying anything, hold our hands on her back until she fell asleep and then sneak out of the room. During the last week of the month, Sonia had some unexplained tummy troubles (she woke up one morning in a pool of vomit and had runny stools for the next couple days). It was coupled with a week of extremely hot weather (e.g. 110 during the day and high 70’s at night), but oddly not with any fever or other issues. In terms of growth, she does seem to be thinning out and lengthening a bit, but still has the baby belly.
We are really enjoying hearing Sonia open up, and becoming more and more entertained by her antics.