17 months old

Our little madam is growing up so quickly.  A friend of mine who hadn't seen Lily for about a month couldn't quite believe how she had grown in the short period of time that she didn't see her.  She is now exceptionally steady on her feet and it would appear as if she had been walking for ages instead of only a month and a half.  She is communicating beautifully and this mommy actually grasps what she is trying to say most of the time.

Her vocabulary is growing by the day and she now incorporate words such as "bless you", "morning" (said with much gusto and enthusiasm when walking into her room in the mornings), "roar" for what a lion says, "sssss" for what a snake says and "lights" (which she pronounces perfectly).  There are others that I'm forgetting...

Unfortunately for me, Lily has figured out where we keep the biscuits, chips and household "yummies" and she seems to frequent this cupboard far too often during the day.  She opens the cupboard door and reaches for what she is after, all the while saying "more, more, more" for mommy to give her something.  I'm continuously going into the pantry and pulling her out from the grocery cupboard.  I think a child proof lock is the only way I'm going to maintain my sanity!

Lily is a very independent little girl and doesn't really worry where her mommy is when out exploring.  My sister and I went to Eden on the Bay the other day with our packed little picnic including a blanket, food, drinks, etc.  Lily was having none of it and left the 2 of us to sit on the grass watching her wonder off.  She would turn to us, give a wave and continue on her way.  Luckily the area wasn't busy so we could watch her without having to move every few seconds, but it did take me almost an hour to finish my lunch with all the running about to fetch her and return her to our little spot.  She wouldn't hang around for longer than a minute and off she would go again!  I'm definitely being kept very busy.

One little concern that I have is how to ween her off her dummy though.  She is far too attached for my liking.  She insists on having it when we are in the car and will protest and scream if I don't give it to her.  She also likes to suck on it when she is tired, going to bed or upset.  So this mommy is going to have to bear with the protests and upsets and just refrain from giving it to her.  Hopefully it isn't too much of a difficult process.

Otherwise, little madam continues to bring so much joy, laughter and huge smiles to our lives.  She is a real little character who I love to absolute bits!