I think that every stage that Caroline has gone through I have said is my favorite, but this stage really is my favorite. Caroline is almost a year and a half old. She is so cute and so independent but not at the same time. Here are some things that I’m loving about this age right now.
* Unsolicited Kisses – don’t you just love when your little one comes up and kisses you with the most fantastic kiss in the world?
* Independence – Caroline loves playing by herself. We do independent play time and she’ll play in her room for an hour… And she LOVES it! She reads her books, or builds with blocks. I usually get a couple toys out for her that I want her to play with so she’s not just skipping from one toy to the next.
*Activity level – Caroline never stops moving. While this can be exhausting some times, there are times when I love it. Caroline used to just sit and smile while I took a million pictures of her. She is now known as that blurry thing that’s in our pictures. She keeps me on my toes and keeps me active.
* Having a helper – Caroline loves helping. She wants doors to be closed and things to be put away. If I give her one instruction and don’t distract her, she can do things such as put her cup on the table or put her socks in her drawer. She actually is understanding instructions and wants to help clean up. Also she always wants to help me vacuum and I’m never going to tell her no.
*More free time – I am so glad to be out of the phase of napping every two hours. While I loved having a schedule (it’s imperative since I work from home) I felt very tied to being at home during nap times. Now that Caroline only takes one nap in the afternoon (a three hour nap!), we have so much more time to go out and be a part of the world during the morning.
*Playtime – It was always super fun playing with a baby, but now we play with dolls and blocks and crayons. Caroline has started building things with her blocks and rocking her babies. Its so sweet and I love watching her play. There is nothing cuter than her running around with her phone and saying “hi Dada, hi Mama, hi paw-paw” in her sweet little high pitched voice.