Caroline: 17 Months
I think it’s insane that Caroline is only 17 months old but I give her almost as much independence as her 3 year old brother. She’s allowed to sit in full sized chairs, climb the stairs, walk next to the cart at the store, help with chores, play in the other room by herself, eat grown up food and take a book to bed without my worrying she’ll rip it up. I’d say it’s about 75% thanks to my second-child-fend-for-yourself attitude and 25% thanks to her really-smart-and-capable attitude. No matter what the cause it makes doing stuff with her a zillion times easier than they were with Evan at this age. Not that Evan was BAD, but he was still my BABY. Caroline wants to know if she can borrow the car this weekend.
Her favorite games are Dinosaur Attack Baby, Tickle Tickle Your Face With Her Razor Sharp Nails, Push Me On The Swing Until Your Arm Falls Off, Terrorize The Cat, Hug The Cat, Terrorize The Cat Again, Try On All The Hats, Eat $12 Worth Of Fruit, and Get Naked.
She still takes one long afternoon nap and sleeps about 12 hours a night. She will take a nap even if she falls asleep in the car on the way home, which means I don’t have to sing VERY LOUDLY to keep her awake – although sometimes I just like to sing very loudly. It’s better than another round of Who Can Scream Loudest because NO ONE WINS. She eats almost any fruit, about half the vegetables, and ALL the carbs. She’s still in 12 or 18 month clothes, size 4 shoes and size 4 diapers. Her hair is still more of an auburn than her brother’s strawberry blond and it’s getting a little curly in the back. I am THRILLED.
Likes include hats, animals, swinging, ducks, running, cheese, fruit snacks, slides, brushing her teeth, playing in the garden, her dolly, shoes, anything that looks like a cell phone, her new car seat, water, jumping, somersaults, books, The Fresh Beat Band, sleeping, taking off her clothes, and Daddy.
Dislikes include raspberries, diaper rash, being hungry, loud trucks, and people who don’t share.
I am super jealous of her eyelashes.
WTF is this nonsense? Cinderella was a CHUMP.
I refuse to stop eating long enough for you to take this picture.
Ginger
ROAR!
Happy 17th birthday I mean MONTHDAY Caroline
17 Month Milestones (from BabyCenter, as usual)
Mastered Skills (most kids can do)
Uses six words regularly – Mommy, Daddy, hi, kitty, doggy, quack-quack, roar, hat, fish, yes, cheese and shoes are all clear enough to be understood by other people. Then she has an entire babble-sign-arm-waving language for me.
Enjoys pretend games – Pretend cooks, pretend takes care of her baby and pretends to listen to me.
Likes riding toys – She’ll straight up tricycle-jack your kid at the playground.
Emerging Skills (half of kids can do)
Feeds doll – She rubbed an entire squeeze pouch of baby food onto her doll’s face.
Speaks more clearly – Do I need to speak more clearly? I think I answered that one BABY CENTER.
Throws a ball underhand – Sure, but she’s much better at hockey.
Advanced Skills (a few kids can do)
Dances to music – Sometimes, unless it’s the Fresh Beat Band and then it’s ALWAYS.
Sorts toys by color, shape, or size – I know she knows “blue”, does that count?
Kicks ball forward – Like I said, she’s better with a stick.
Tags: 17 months, baby, baby center, Caroline, milestones, monthday update, pictures, toddler
In the last picture, she looks wise beyond her months.
Being that our kiddos are one day apart, this post made me laugh until I cried. (Which, geez louise, did I need today.) Maybe it’s a boy/girl thing, because I feel like Libbie was very independent already at this age (enough that I thought it wise to get pregnant again … what was I thinking??) while David is still MY BABY. He does play independently really well, and I am probably less worried about him getting in trouble than I am about Libbie. But Little D is still my nursing machine, cuddler, sweetheart, BABY. I don’t care if he can talk, climb stairs, eat meat, etc, because I WANT HIM TO STAY A BABY. BECAUSE I KNOW WHAT THREE YEAR OLDS ARE LIKE NOW.
Haha! And I can’t wait for Caroline to be 3, because she is a good listener and sooooo much less of a drama queen (knock on wood) so I’m looking forward to her being a big kid.
OMG the cuteness is killing me!
If you have any desire to facebook “stalk” my pictures you will see Olivia’s hair curled the same way! And now she is a super ringlet red-head! Around 18 months it started in the back. Super cute girly.
I am super excited to hear that and will absolute FB stalk your photos.
I am the same with Delilah. I let her out in the yard with just Ev and totally trust them. That would never have happened with Ev at this age. She is also a fan of let me tickle your face with my claws, as well as I give you all the face hugs. :D
I really, really need to plan a trip to New England. I desperately want to see Caroline and Wren sass their brothers and eat cheese together.
She is awesome!! And those eyelashes? Stunning.
BTW I think she and Sophie would get along smashingly. What with all the fruit/carb/cheese eating and terrorizing of animals.
I didn’t know Caroline was 17 months! Was she born in December? Judah is 17 months (december 10th, he came almost a month early). I absolutely adore her :-)
Oh my gosh, she’s such a cutie! And those eyelashes are just ridiculous. Both of my babies (BOYS!) have long eyelashes that they clearly get from their father and not my stubby eyelash genes. And I’m totally jealous of your red headed babies. I married a red head specifically because I wanted little curly headed red headed babies. They’ve both defied me and have blonde hair.
OMG! I had that horse (donkey?) toy when I was kid! Isn’t its name Rody or something? On another note, I can’t imagine Kai being anywhere near as independent as Caroline in 3 months… maybe it’s a girl/boy difference?
I think Rody’s a horse. I bought it for her first birthday but she was too short to touch the ground! Now she loves it, and Evan loves it, and I’m hoping it lasts a zillion years.
She is beautiful, and I love her favorite games. Don’t they always want to play eat $12 of fruit? But when strawberries are on sale, it’s like they’re poison.
YES! I have a fridge full of strawberries no one wants to eat because they were cheap and I paid $12 for 2 pounds of not-very-good-grapes they ate in 5 minutes.
she is soooooo beautiful and reminds me soooooo much of poppy at that age!! seriously your description of her is like a flashback for me. what a delight she is!! gorgeous, smart little kiddo. <3<3<3
Oh that hair. So dang cute. And 17 months? Good lord. No more babies in that house. Gonna have another? ;-)
Yes. I mean maybe. I mean someday. STOP PRESSURING ME ASHLEY.
OMG too funny!! My daughter (15 months) is the same as far as independence goes. “Oh, you want to drink out of a cup with no lid and no straw? Sure, go for it… worst case you end up spilling that juice I just prepared for your big brother down your chest. no big.” Also? We have that same dress and I absolutely hate that it’s too warm here for her to wear it anymore.
I’m super jealous of your red headed kidsl! Neither of my kids got my red hair, which doesn’t surprise me, but strangers on the street are always SHOCKED.
she is crazy adorable. this is when it just got more & more & more fun to me. although every stage is more fun than the last, in my opinion. i am jealous of her eyelashes too, but not sure we can be friends if she doesn’t like raspberries. what’s that about??
She is so gorgeous! We have definitely hit the stage where every age seems more amazing than the last and you just want to bottle up the awesomeness forever. I think with Jax that ended around 2 when the tantrums started? ;) She sounds like a total sweetheart though, and a smart one too!
I cannot handle the cuteness. She and Attia would wreak havoc if they were to ever team up…
Your kids are so gorgeous but I am having a huge problem with their horrid habit of AGING. Wtt is happening.