A letter to Toddler H at 17 months

I’m writing this as I see 18 months as a huge milestone. I’m writing this as I know time is flying by and a really want to remember it. I want to remember what you’ve achieved, what your saying, how cute and funny you are. I’d love for you, my daughter, Toddler H, to read this when you’re older and see how much you’d achieved in your first 17 months. How proud mummy and daddy are, how we laugh and smile and cheer and clap at every new milestone, every cheeky grin, every cheeky ‘cheese’ request!

Walking

You’ve been walking properly since Christmas, and you haven’t stopped. You love your reins and get so exited we’re going fora walk when you see them. You bring them to us to tell us you want to go out. You love your shoes and your wellies and would wear them all day if you could. You love putting them on and will spend an inordinate amount of time each day doing so.

Talking

You blabber away having amazing conversations with yourself, your toys and us. Sometimes we know what you are saying, but other times, I’m afraid we have no clue. Sometimes we say the right thing, and you laugh or jabber back happily, othertimes your natter?back unhappily, telling us off, repeating what you said syllabyl by syllabl, or just scowl or worse?the death stare.

Words

This section is scary, you really can say so much!

• duck
• door
• daisy
• tree
• cheese
• more
• shoes
• cuddle
• tea (and you make us tea from your tea set)
• car (brummm brummm)
• dog (woof woof) (and you woof any time you hear or see a dog…. Even when mummy and daddy can’t hear it until we really listen)
• head
• toes
• tummy
• eyes
• nose
• bye
• hello
• whats that
• whats this
• who is it
• who is that
• mumma
• da-da
• toast ( well, a variation of it that is clear, but I can’t decide how to type it!)
• monkey
• fish
• draw draw (any time you see a pen, even someone else using one, or trot off?to where your crayons are in the kitchen and point… we hear those?two little words umpteen times a day)
• hey duggee
• nonono
• teeth
• mouth
• some variation on ‘sarah and duck’.. I know it when I hear it!

And, you understand every single tiny word we say. How scary is that?! Mummy and daddy can’t get away with anything! We can’t even talk ourselves about going for a walk later, without you running off to get your shoes and reins.

Interests

Building towers: when I say “build me a tower” you run off to do it. You have been building 6 block towers for a month or just over now and keep looking for more blocks to add. We’ll need to get you some more!

Walking, running and now splashing in puddles.

At the park you love the slide and the swings (you had a few weeks of not liking the swing, but you love it again) and the roundabout.

In the garden you love watering the patio with your watering can, and your new slide. You also love picking daisies?and talking to the bunnies.

You play nicely with your doll and give her cuddles, you don’t just poke her eyes like you did a month ago.

You love to make us laugh, and play sleeping bunnies, pushing me onto the floor to do it! You sing twinkle twinkle little star and do little hand movements for the stars

You love to dance, to the Twirlywoos, Iggle Piggle and Upsy Daisy…. Copying their moves with such cheekiness. You love the Hokey Cokey and squeal with delight turning around, and around, and around.

You absolutely love swimming, and spend the time propelling yourself along, swishing the water, and absolutely love jumping in to be caught by me.

Eating

You love a big breakfast, cereal and toast, or 2 weetabix, or cereal and fruit

Yoghurt is also a winner, along wit strawberries and peas, though not together! In saying that I’m sure you’d eat them all mixed up!

You also love spag bol, moussaka, toasties, cheese, grapes, a blitzed chicken, veg and rice concoction, fish fingers and chicken nuggets. You’ve eaten a few chips now too and perhaps 2 teeny roast potatoes, but potatoes don’t seem to be a winner in any form!

You keep using your spoon, and manage a whole yoghurt with it now.

Of course, as I’ve shared on #wickedwednesdays with Brummy Mummy of Two, you can be a cheeky monkey…

Naps

You’re really not into napping. You had a spate (less than a week) of napping for 2.5 hours and I didn’t know what to do with myself! You grew a lot, and stretched right out. That was around the point you turned 16 months. Apart from that often you just nap for 30 minutes, sometimes not at all, occasionally for an hour. I really can’t tell what you’ll do on any given day! Your naps have become earlier though, moving from 3.30 to somewhere between 11 and 2.

Cheeky monster

you are so funny…. Testing the limits, and doing things like this:

Well, I can’t believe I’m writing this, I can’t believe how fast you’re growing, but I’m so lucky to see every minute of it.

Lots of love, mummy xxxx