17 Month Recap

**I'm behind again! Hoping to put a few new posts up within the next week covering our Pumpkin Patch and Penn State visits!**

But first, Nolan's 17 Month Recap! September was a busy BUSY month! We did some more hiking, had the 7th Annual "A Night with an Angel" Dinner, another visit to NJ for Nolan's cousin Logan's Baptism and my BFF Lauren P's 30th Bday party, and the start of our trip to Austin!

Nolan - 17 Months

We had our annual Emily C. Specchio benefit dinner on Monday, September 16th. It was certainly busy preparing for this, and I was thankful to have this huge event accomplished for the year. It was a success with over 250 people attending, and Nolan hung in like a champ through the cocktail hour.

7th Annual "A Night with an Angel" Ticket Auction set up in the cocktail hour space

This is how you entertain a 17 month old while setting up. All you need are wine corks and a bucket!

A new favorite photo! All dressed up before cocktail hour!

My boys right before the dinner started/Nolan's bedtime

He LOVED riding the luggage cart the next day. Spoiler alert - he got another ride at Penn State!

We were back in NJ only a few days later for Nolan's cousin Logan's baptism and Lauren P's 30th birthday Pig Roast. We did it all in a day trip, which made for a LONG day, but it was fun to celebrate with everyone. I was so relieved when Lauren's cousin Mikey was at the Pig Roast - he was an AMAZING babysitter/buddy for Nolan and entertained him the entire time. I found myself wishing he lived in Philly instead of Boston - we'd hire him!

Nolan and Mikey

Nolan also got to ride in his first grocery cart car this month! I've been holding off putting him in there knowing there'd probably be no return to the front of the cart after he'd experienced it (I was right!), but he started pointing and requesting them this month and I couldn't say no! He LOVES riding in them, and will even turn the wheel to steer and beep the horn at people as we go by. It is super adorable.

Focused on the road

Loving it!

Beep Beep!

Glimpse at Nolan at 17 Months:

Talking/Singing: His new words are coming at a very rapid pace. He is probably saying a new word a day at this point (meaningfully) and mimicking most words we try to get him to say.

A sampling of new words this month (I'm sure I'll miss some): GEEZ (cheese. Always said with gusto), Duck (Truck), Bah (Bus), Ca (Car), DOO (Shoe - one of our favorites. Also said with gusto. He also refers to his socks as doos), oh NO (he says this one a lot too), Nack (Snack), Nonna  (said pretty well), Bak (book)

Some of his old words he has started saying better - like Bottle pretty much perfectly, and Buddle for Bubble (so cute), Bye Byes. He also hilariously answers "Nooooooo?" ending in a high pitch if you ask him if he Boom Boomed (pooped). Guess someone doesn't want a diaper change... ever!

He sings Old MacDonald great for the EIEIO (but usually leaves off the "O") and when you say "and on his farm he had a ____" he will enthusiastically say "DOG!"He also hilariously sings "Feed my Frankenstein" (by Alice Cooper) from Wayne's World with us. When we say "Feed my Franken..." he says "YEIN YEIN YEIN!" and when we say "Oh Whoa..." he says "Yeah Yeah!" Makes us laugh every time.

Nolan is also learning his body parts at school. He can point to his nose, ears, eyes, mouth, and belly button! 

Wanting to ride in the "big boy" swing!

Motor Skills: Nolan continues to develop in this area and is super sturdy on his feet and fast now! He can maneuver backwards and sideways with ease and is getting better at climbing! He can also push around and carry things in every direction. Hoping we still have a good amount of time in his crib before he learns to climb out - I'm not ready for him to be in a big boy bed yet!

Eating: Nothing too exciting/new to report here. He still loves the same kid foods and is getting better and better at self feeding and using utensils. He's definitely increased the amount of food he can eat in a sitting, and I've upgraded to the bigger tupperware containers for his daycare meals. 

Sleeping: Thankfully nothing big has changed in this department either. Nolan still reliably sleeps from 8-8 every day. He requests "Bak!" as soon as we go to his room for bedtime and we usually end up reading the same 2-3 books several times each night before bed. He does sometimes take longer to fall asleep (and still doesn't like to be put down before he is asleep), but no big complaints here.

Favorites: Still such a great age! I love just watching the wheels in his brain turn every day as he figures out how everything works.

• One of his favorite past-times are the vacuum and swiffer. We keep them in our coat closet downstairs and he constantly asks to open that door so he can get them out. His relationship is sort of love/hate with the vacuum as he will sometimes be frightened by it, especially when it turns on.

I want to go in there Mommy!

Nolan and his BFF

• Favorite toys: Push toys are still fun for Nolan - he loves his mini luggage and wagon (seen above) as well as his popper (and the cleaning tools). He also started getting into mini cars/bus/plane and pushing them around the floor (he even figured out how to pull them back to wind them up to make them go fast). Also the radio (turning on and off and tuning stations). 
• Favorite books: My First Mother Goose, Red Truck, Los Colores de Elmer, The Very Hungry Caterpillar , and Brown Bear Brown Bear What Do You See? He will bring them to me and back up to sit in my lap. :)
• Favorite songs: If you're happy and you know it, Old MacDonald, ABC song, Itsy Bitsy Spider, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. He loves dancing by shaking his butt back and forth!

Nolan is a very busy toddler - he plays hard and sleeps hard! We love chasing him and his silly personality. Such a fun age, and we look forward to many fun months to come!

Love this kid!