17 Months!!

My not-so-sweet-as-of-lately Clayton… you are 17 months old today!!

So what are you up to these days??

Well, if you take a look at my last couple of posts, it looks like you are really honing your skills as a tantrum thrower! You are really opinionated and are only satisfied if you get your way. I’m convinced I am being paid back for all the temper tantrums I threw in grocery stores (and other places) that caused my poor mom so much grief that she couldn’t take me out in public for 2 years!

Putting that aside… let’s focus on the positives – because there really are a lot of them!

You are finally saying Mama and Dada!!! You don’t call us that all the time, but I can point to myself and you’ll say “Mama”. The other night when I was rocking you, you put your sweet little hands on my cheeks and said “Mama”… melted my heart! You were on a kissing strike for a while, but you are now back to giving me kisses. I LOVE your kisses even though I feel like I’ve just been given a bath.

You are P-I-C-K-Y when it comes to food lately! There are a few things you will consistently eat: snack cakes, ice cream, teddy grahams… hmmm, I’m noticing a pattern here! You obviously got your sweet tooth from your Mama! You also like healthy things like fruit and yogurt (still has to be Go-Gurt). It’s hit-or-miss on things like vegetables and meat. I can usually get you to eat green beans and chicken nuggets, but it’s hit-or-miss on hot dogs, grilled cheese, broccoli and avocado (which used to be your favorite!!). I finally gave in and was desperate to get you to eat something with protein in it, so I gave you a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I know, I know! I was told by your pediatrician, “No peanut butter until 2”… but everything I read said if there are NO peanut allergies in both families… it should be ok. You weren't too sure about it at first, but with some high-maintenance spoon feeding, you ate the whole thing (see video at the end). You also didn't go into anaphalactic shock or break out in hives, so I guess PB&J is a keeper!

You love, love, LOVE your books! I’d think you’d be happy if that’s all you had to play with! We read them to you so much, I think I’ve got just about every one of them memorized (and you probably do, too!). You now have started pointing to everything on the page and want us to tell you what it is. Sometimes I will ask you to find certain things on the page and you’ve gotten pretty good at finding them!

You’re still obsessed with ELMO! You’ve also taken a liking to Big Bird. You’re even saying Big Bird’s name… kind of! Your favorite thing to do right when you come home from daycare is watch that day’s episode of Sesame Street. You’ll stand right in front of the TV with that thumb in your mouth and watch the whole thing! I think it’s absolutely adorable when you grab my hand and lead me to the living room to watch TV with you!

You still like your farm play sets and it’s so cute how you identify the animals, not by what they are, but by the sound they make. You’ll pick up a sheep and go “Baa”… or you’ll pick up the cow and go “Moo”! Very cute!

You are still a fabulous sleeper and even entertain yourself in your crib for as long as we leave you in there! You’ve learned how to climb up on the couch and you think you are “Big Stuff” when you do it! Now I’m just hoping you don’t learn how to climb out of your crib!

Happy 17 months old, Baby Clay!!!

No pictures today, but I do have video of Clay eating his first PB&J. I love what lengths his daddy will go to get him to eat it! He ate the whole entire sandwich via "airplane"...