Post-Christmas Review/17 Months

I never thought having a child would make Christmas an even better time than it already is, but this year, it was really wonderful and special.  From the Christian holiday perspective, Christmas, is, in fact, about the birth of a child, and while I am not particularly religious, that thought really struck me this year.  In many ways, Christmas is a celebration of the arrival of a child, of new life.  Indirectly, it is a celebration of the joy and new hope that children bring into the world. 

This year Z started to realize that something interesting was going on.  Whether it was "Tree!  Pretty!" accompanied by a huge smile or the excitement she got from putting on pretty clothes (those red shoes were a very big deal -- perhaps I have a fashionista engineer baby on my hands) or the interest she took in the strange phenomenon of "gift wrapping", you could tell that she was taking it all in, trying to figure it all out.  We had so much fun watching her figure out how to open presents and tear into the gift wrapping.  She's a master at ripping up magazines, so you would have thought wrapping paper would have been a cinch, but she had to work at it to figure it out. 

Perhaps the most magical part of the holiday has been her interaction with my Dad.  Up until recently, she's been very stand-offish with men and we hadn't really convinced her to let her only grandfather carry her or interact with her while in close proximity.  But this holiday she has been his buddy.  He's been able to carry her and show her things, read books with her and play with her on the floor.  Probably the best gift I got this year.

This transition from 16 months into 17 months has been a time of blossoming for Z.  Her language skills are incredible (at least in my own, biased opinion).   She not only repeats words (and with very clear diction -- it is not at all hard to understand what she is saying) but she is also putting concepts together in two or three word phrases.  "Pretty" is her favorite adjective, and she regularly makes it clear to us what kind of things she likes -- she has very particular opinions about clothes; she can tell us what she did "broke it" or "go shopping"; she sings "Jingle Bells" (well, she sings that phrase three times...) she also now uses "Thank you" at the appropriate time, and this morning she surprised us all by pointing to a calendar sitting on the table and saying "football" (she had only heard the word once the night before while she was helping us open packages).  And then there is the fact that her Polish vocabulary is also becoming quite strong.    Her ability to communicate better just makes things fun for everyone, I think.

She's also becoming quite the social butterfly -- and is becoming adept at getting things she wants from adults.  She makes many friends when we go shopping -- she acts coy to get adults to interact with her, and then slowly but surely ramps up her biggest megawatt smile.    On the flip side, she's also learned that if she's being ignored, she can do something bad and adults will pay attention to her.  Or she will tell us she's "poopy" right before she gets put down to bed in hopes of forestalling bedtime with a diaper change. 

She's also become very attached to her father.  Last night her cousins were over.  Both of the older two love John and love to spend time with him.  But both times that he did, she couldn't deal with the fact that he was doing something with them and barged into the scene.  When she wasn't doing that, she was being unhappy and needy and doing things to get his attention.  As soon as they were gone, she was back to being her happy self again. 

Christmas brought Z everything a baby could wish for: wooden puzzles, Duplo blocks, alphabet magnets and computer games, new clothes (she is very into sweaters and will often comment when I am wearing one), books, a small Ikea train set and a Magnadoodle sort of thing.  Of course, her favorite toy is still the almost week old helium baloon that her father bought her and that she almost doesn't let go of when she is awake.  Sometimes the simplest things are the best, and there must be something magical abouta  toy that rises up instead of falling down. 

From my house to yours, we hope you had a lovely Christmas day full of whatever gives you the most joy.  And Z wants everyone to know that every girl should have a pair of red shoes that make her happy!