17 Months

Seriously? 17 Months?! That seems impossible. I am l.o.v.i.n.g. this age, Allie Joy. You are busy, boisterous, dramatic, and did I mention busy? You never, never stop moving! From the moment you wake up, until we rock you to sleep, you are in constant motion.

An average day in your almost 17-month-old life looks something like this...

You are sleeping in!!! Your Daddy and I have waited many months for this. Last weekend, for the first time, all 3 of the Riegers slept in past 8:30 on Saturday AND Sunday! It was awesome!

Generally, you wake up around 8:15 or 8:30 these days. You don't cry, you just stir around in your crib, play with your blankie, and wait for me to come get you. When I come in, I turn off your big box fan, and your eyes immediately go to the door - looking for the dogs. Scout and Jack almost always join me in greeting you in the mornings. Jack loves to stick his wet nose through the slats of your crib to greet you, which you think is particularly funny. Some days, you wave to them and say, "Hi J..."! You've got the first sound of "Jack" down, but haven't really mastered the rest of the word, haha. It's adorable.

You love to play in your crib!

You are generally good about putting your blankie back into the crib before we head to the kitchen for breakfast, but some days, you cry a little when you leave it behind. It melts this mama's heart that you love that blanket so much. I worked a long time picking out those fabrics and even longer choosing the *perfect* lettering with which to monogram  your first baby blanket. I'm so glad you love it. (So much that I've already had to make two "little blankie" imitations, and a second full-sized blankie.)

For breakfast, nearly every day, you have a waffle. ("Wah-foo", as you refer to it.) You love to put the frozen waffles into the toaster and wait for them to "pop"! After the waffle, you and Mama have a "Green Drink" smoothie to start our days now. It's so good, and you wait anxiously for it each morning. You drink almost as much of it as I do! You've learned, through loving these smoothies, to drink through a straw, which you think is a pretty cool trick.

Bubble Beard! :)

After breakfast, we head back to your room to get dressed. Some days it takes me forever to pick out your clothes - I love it! Dressing you up is one of my favorite things about having a little girl. You are even quick to let me know if I've forgotten your hair bow these days!

Once you're dressed for the day, you usually follow me down the hall to my work room, where we listen to music or watch a movie while I stitch out a few monograms. You also love to make the work room as messy as possible on a daily basis...pulling out all of my fabrics, showing them to me one at a time, and emptying as many spools of thread as possible. Just recently, you love to sit in my lap and watch the sewing machine work. Sometimes, you prop your tiny feet up on the sewing desk like you've had a long and taxing day. Melt my heart, little one - I love it.

Sweet Grins

After getting some work done, you often "help" with a few household chores. Your favorite is sweeping. I don't know how this is possible, since just about anything having to do with cleaning the floor is my least favorite chore. Hate sweeping, Hate Swiffering. Hate mopping. But you...you love it. We have a small, half-sized broom that we use for sweeping up the dust piles into the dust pan. It has become 'Allie's broom'. You carry it all over the house, chase the dogs with it, and think you are big stuff.

You *love* your baby dolls more than any other toys. They go
everywhere with us!

Lunch is usually around 11 or 11:30. Your favorite lunch time foods right now include hot dogs (the healthiest we can find, I promise), Chick-Fil-A chicken nuggets, sliced deli turkey, macaroni and cheese, ground taco meat. strawberries, peaches, pickles, tortillas, rice, and "veggie sticks". You eat like a horse, and we have absolutely no explanation as to why you are still such a tiny girl!

After lunch, we usually spend some time sitting on the couch together and playing or reading. You can almost climb up onto the couch by your self, but not quite. Much of our couch time is spent practicing this skill lately. Looks like you are going to be an adventurous climber! I better brace myself if that's the case.

Your nap time is around 2:00, and you sleep 1-2 hours. Truth be told, most days, when you wake up, I go in and snuggle you in the rocking chair for an extra half hour or so. I love this time with you, and know I'll never regret it. I can't get enough Allie snuggles!

After nap time, you have a little snack, and wait anxiously for "Da-tee" to get home. You get SO excited when you hear the garage door - the tell-tale sign that he has arrived. Sometimes you gasp, other times you just run and point toward the garage door. It's so sweet, Allie. You have really become Daddy's girl more and more over the past few weeks. When Daddy is here, you don't usually want a lot to do with mama. It blesses my heart so much to see the special relationship the two of you are already building!

After Daddy gets home, we eat dinner together, spend time watching TV and playing together, give you a bath in your little inflatable tub, and tuck you in for the night. You love bath time. You love to splash, play with your little rubber duckie, and you often protest getting out of the tub. The most adorable thing - you love to pull your little hooded towel down over your face to play "peek-a-boo" after your bath. So cute!

I love my days with you, precious girl. I know that as we add to our family, I will always look back on these days with just the two of us with sweet memories and fondness. Your are my best little buddy, and I am so grateful to God to get to be with you all day, every day. I am living out the dream God placed in my heart as a little girl - to be a mommy. I love you, my precious girl!!!