17 months for Miss H

Just wanted to share some of the things that Hadley is doing at this age now.  She doesn't talk often, but I think she's saying and understanding a lot more than Owen was at this age.  Here's a few off the top of my head...

• "mama", "dada", "uh-oh" - been saying these since at least 11 months
• "raar" - lions and tigers
• "mmm" - cow
• "bah" - book and/or ball
• "den-tull" - gentle, especially regarding cats
• "didduh" - kitty, sounds a lot like gentle - she may be confused since they are usually said together :)
• "ah duh" - all done
• "hi" - hi and bye with an awkward wrist wave
• "hoo hoo" - train
• signing pretty well for "more" and does an arcing hand (like a plane in the air) when she hears a plane outside
• can follow commands like "put that back", "close it", "get the book", etc.
• smiles, shrieks, and runs to the bathroom when we ask if she's ready for a bath
• can build small block towers of 2 or 3 blocks

She will climb into her own free-standing high chair when she's hungry.  And though provided with a spoon and guidance, she still prefers to eat with her hands, even for her cereal and yogurt.

She is currently going through the spastic hand phase, in which her arms flail dangerously when she is excited or angry.  Sometimes the hand contains a book or toy and the recipient can be heard exclaiming, "Hadley, no hitting!"  (Mostly Owen.)

When I was folding laundry the other day, she had actually found two matching pairs of socks and set them aside for me!  This was a surprise because usually she's just pulling everything out of the basket, which I have to ignore so I don't go crazy.  She is kind of obsessed with socks though.

She loves to play Hide And Seek with Owen or peekaboo with anyone.  I prompt her with an exaggerated "Where's Owen?" with my hands out in a questioning pose.  Now she uses that all the time when looking for things.  "Where's Daddy?" (She hid him!)

"Oh, there he is!" Poke, poke.  (She also loves to poke any exposed skin, say between shirt and pants, and giggle.)

She and Owen will go downstairs by themselves and play together.  Sometimes this even goes past 10 minutes without any crying!

And here's a video of them dancing to the Rockettes from the Thanksgiving Day Parade. Note that Owen is really into fake falls these days and asks about a fruit-looper?  Not sure what that was about...