Happy 17 Months G3!

Gabe, you turned 17 months old yesterday...


I read back on what I wrote at 16 months, and was truly surprised at how vastly different you are in just one month. For starters, you've developed a new side to your personality...sort of a Jekyll and Hyde thing, if you will. Yes, you--our sweet, sensitive, mild-mannered little boy--now possess a dark side. Your tantrums sort of snuck up on us, and are now a daily occurrence. Most often they happen because someone (usually me) has taken something away from you that you are not supposed to have. Or, I've attempted to transport you from something fun (like destroying DVDs) to something boring (like the high chair.) You always tell me "NOOOO!" first, and then begin screaming and flailing. At times you actually beat the wall or the floor with your little fists. Sometimes this behavior is laughable, and other times I want to send you to someone else's house indefinitely (just kidding...)

You recently had your first public tantrum at WalMart. I was quite pleased that your father was with us, as he doesn't get to experience the beauty of a full-fledged tantrum nearly as often. We were Christmas shopping for you, and I picked up a tiny kid-sized broom and dustpan. You were holding it, and when it came time to take it from you and, you know, pay for it, you flipped. You ran away from Daddy, and when he caught you, you did the flailing-like-a-wild-alligator thing. Add in some high-decibel screaming and dramatic tears and you had the attention of pretty much everyone within a 50 foot radius. Fortunately all of the other patrons who were lucky enough to experience your wrath had smiles and chuckles on their faces, as did Daddy and I, even though we were slightly embarrassed.


But, when you're not asserting your independence, you are quite charming and cute still. You love to ride your wooden rocking horse, and perform daredevil stunts like standing up on its back or putting your feet on its head. "Horsey" is one of your favorite and most intelligible words. Your vocabulary has grown significantly in the last month, and you now say "apple" "orange" "up" "down" "goat" and "water" along with "cracker" "Mickey" "Nooooo" and of course, "Daddy". No "Mommy" though. When I try to encourage you to say "MOMMY" by pointing to myself and saying the word in a long, exaggerated tone, you generally respond with "Daaaaaa-deee!" in an equally long, exaggerated tone. Cute.


About once a week we get together with your playgroup friends, and although you are sometimes shy at first, you always light up when you see their faces. I am very lucky to have a playgroup in which 4 of the 5 kids are mild-mannered and get along well. You are generally very interested in bigger kids. You've decided that you don't really like big dogs in your face these days (except for Mickey) but you love cats, especially Grammy Flock's. And, I think I've mentioned this but you are obsessed with the horses at Grammy's.

It will be so interesting to see the changes that come over the next month, as you hit the milestone of 18 months old. We have holidays to celebrate and our annual 5-day trip to Avalon. Last year you sat on a blanket for five days and played with soft toys and took about 3 naps a day. This year will be much, much different I am sure!!


Happy 17 months, Buddy:)