17 Months

Weight: 24.4 pounds

Length: 32.5 inches

Favorite activity: Walking around, rearranging the furniture, digging in the sand, splashing in water

Favorite food: berries, chocolate cupcakes, tofu, fruit and yogurt smoothies

Favorite spot: the couch. She loves to roll around in it, move the cushions and look at her books.

Cutest moment: Playing hide and seek with Great Aunt Susan

Important milestones: First haircut!

Teeth: 10

Words: 9 - dada, mama, woof, yes, dis (this), kack (quack), hi, thanks (maybe), uh oh, bye

Signs: 9 (more, all done, dog, please, berry, cheese, grape, water, milk)

How Mom's Feeling: I'm feeling good. We finished up the school year, and I'm on week 2 of summer. I had my first week off, and this week I'm teaching an afternoon cooking class.

Lorelei is really becoming her own little person, with her own very distinct personality--which is fun to watch. This month she experienced jealousy for the first time--she threw blocks and tried to fork her cousin. But she also is learning how to play with others. Just this weekend, she played ball with another child. She's playing chase and hide and seek, and is even doing some pretend play with her tea set and food.

Lorelei's sign language has really taken off this month. It seems like she's learning one or two new signs a week. It's also clear that she's understanding so much more. She can follow one step directions and wants to be a helper. She can put her toys away (as long as there aren't too many of them), can close the lid to the soap in the dish washer and push the buttons on the dishwasher (with help), will move or come when I call her (most of the time), and will pick out her own pajamas. We're working on brushing teeth. She tries to put her own clothes on (even though she's already wearing clothes. And we've ordered her new toilet seat with a potty training book. While I don't think she's quite ready to potty train yet, I want her to get used to seeing and sitting on the potty.

Mostly though, it's amazing to see her become more of a little girl than a baby.