Rebekah Joy - 17 Months

Rebekah is a talking, laughing, and almost running pre-toddler these days.  We missed two weeks of this month being in Australia but I know her grandparents enjoyed every minute of this joyful and happy little girl.

Sleeping:
Her nap still starts between 1 and 1:15 and she continues to sleep until about 3:30 or 4.  Her sister usually sleeps a bit longer and I think Rebekah really enjoys the time she and I have together just the the two of us but then she also loves having her sister around.  Her nighttime sleep continues to go well. We've started putting wool socks on over her tights (under her PJs) and that is keeping her feet warmer at night.  But, no real issues to speak of there.
Eating:
Rebekah continues to eat like there is no tomorrow.  She will rarely eat the meat on her plate first but she eventually gets around to it, especially because she knows she can have more of whatever good stuff there is once the meat is gone.  I still warm up her milk for her, I guess out of habit really because she drinks it just fine when I forget.  She uses her spoon to feed herself soup!  She loves using her utensils and that might be one of her favorite parts about meal time. 
Skills:
She has become quite the climber and loves to work on getting up onto the playground when we are at the park as well as random rocks.  She can get off the couch by herself but not quite onto it yet.  Rebekah has always loved books but this month she really started "reading" and what is even cuter is that she tries to say the letters for every word that she sees on random tags or in a book she is reading to herself.  She will point to the calendar numbers or the alphabet poster and try to say some letters.  They are just sounds (and most sound like E) but she is so cute!  Rebekah is also a big helper.  She loves having a task to take something to someone or put something away.  She enjoys helping me with meal preparation although lately I have started just giving her some kitchen things and some water and really she is just as happy with that and it is less stressful on me.
Play:
Well, we finally did something about solo play.  It took 3 days of correction every time she cried but now we are having 45 minute - 1 hour solo playtimes with no crying.  I am not sure how much actual play goes on in there but there is no crying and I figure she will play eventually.  She enjoys sitting down to tea with her sister and having a little party as well as anything to do with babies.  With Frank being home she has found a new love for being chased by him and lives for him chasing her so she can run and laugh.  She is continuing to do Bible craft and worship time with us in the morning and enjoys the time singing together.