Shelby Frances at 19 Months

Words she says regularly: mama, dada, and uh uh (which she says any time we try to feed her or fix her hair), yeah, bye bye, BeBe (my mom), mah mah (for my mother-in-law, and pronounced differently than when she is referring to me), Baby (for her baby doll and for our dog, Bailey) Matt (for Uncle Matt), and ah ah (for Aunt Ashlee). Two months ago, the only words she regularly said were mama, dada, and uh uh. Her vocabulary has really increased in the past month and she is particularly drawn to people's names. Harding can't wait to be added to the list of names she says.

Favorite activities: dancing to music (her favorite album is Paul Simon's Graceland), making silly sounds with her mouth, playing peek-a-boo with her "lovie", army-crawling after toys she has thrown, reading books, splashing in the bathtub, snuggling with her favorite people, and pointing at body parts when we say their name.

Favorite toys: Her fish tank that plays music when she puts the three rattle fish inside it (thanks for loaning it cousin Riley, sorry because we will probably never return it) and her piano that MoMo gave her for her first birthday.

Cute things she does: Reaches out to people (even strangers) that she wants to hold her and fusses until they do hold her, sways and reaches up with her right hand to move it to music with a good beat. This is hard to narrow down because pretty much everything she does is adorable.

Things that soothe her when she's upset: Paci, pink lovie, snuggling, people singing to her (especially the song we learned in Kindermusik "Hop Up My Baby")

Favorite foods: yo baby banana and Earth's Best Tender Beef and Spinach baby food (ick), and mashed avocado.

Shelby is the princess of the family and pretty much has everyone wrapped around her little finger. Her older brother adores her and is constantly trying to play with her. He sings to her when she is upset. Shelbs is spunky and sassy and likes to have her way. This "sass" has made things difficult for her physcial, occupational, and speech therapists lately, but I think it will help her with some of the challenges that she faces. She has unmanageable, crazy, curly hair that we are reluctant to cut. Her smile and laughter are infectious and have the power to put anyone in a good mood. We love her so much!