One and a half!

Caroline is one and a half. How did that happen so fast? She's growing like a weed and doing fantastic. A bit of what she's up to:

• She's talking more. I know this is what I write about all the time, but she is learning new words and sounds so quickly, I can't get over it. There are lots of words she can say and anyone can understand, and then there are the ones only I know... like squirrel. She says it every time she sees a squirrel, but it sounds more like "koar". Or Bucky, as in Bucky the badger...the Wisconsin Mascot. Every time she sees a picture of him, she says "Buh". Can't really get the rest out, but she definitely knows what it is. She's also just learned how to say shoes and boots, which she usually uses to tell me she wants to go outside. Or that she wants to wear her galoshes. She'd wear those all day everyday if she could.
• She just started answering questions consistently. Before she'd just ignore me or else shake her head no if she didn't want something. Now she will nod her head yes if she does, or say yes or no or other one-word responses. It is pretty awesome.
• She's getting much better at sharing lately. Especially snacks. She likes to hand them to her little friends. But amusingly, she's also just learned to say "mine"... not sure where she got that from. For now, she usually just says it in front of me, rather than to her playmates.
• She's also incredibly determined about what she wants to do. The other day she wanted to hold all of her crayons in her hands. There were way too many to fit, but she really was determined to get them all. So she'd pick up more and then drop others. It was so futile, I couldn't help but laugh a little. And she got so frustrated she just started bawling. Oh well.
• She loves Elmo. Why do these little ones always love Elmo? Maybe she recognizes him from a few of her toys we got at garage sales- Chicken Dance Elmo... Or maybe it is his silly voice. I don't know, but she is much more mesmerized during Elmo's World than in the rest of Sesame Street. (An aside... have I mentioned how much I love Sesame Street? It is just the most clever and amusing show. I love the take-offs they have on pop culture- from "preschool musical" to "Indiana Jones and the search for the golden triangle." We try to only let her watch TV for a little bit when she wakes up and after her nap, but I do think Sesame Street is really as good as TV gets.)