17 Months

Her face is changing shape.  She is starting to look different to me. Pete says it might be because she finally has four teeth on top, and two on the bottom, and the teeth are changing the shape of her jaw, instead of just looking like a gummy, toothless old man!  That may be true.  Sometimes I catch glimpses of myself in her face, though it’s usually her expression.  Her hair is getting curly again now that the weather is getting warmer and more humid.  It curls up beautifully right out of the shower.  Lots of tangles and struggling to comb it too!  She also loves her realistic baby doll, who is almost as big as she is!  The doll is heavy and Lucy struggles to carry her all over the house and bring her into bed with her.  She feeds the baby, pats its back, rocks it in her arms and puts it in the cradle.  Lucy is a born nurturer!  She will be an excellent big sister some day.

Incidentally, I had originally bought this baby doll at a thrift store when I was 8 months pregnant and looking to create my grotesque Halloween costume.  I needed to cut off its head and arms, to glue them to my belly.  This particular doll was very lifelike with wrinkly skin and squinty eyes.  It was also about the same size that I imagined my unborn baby to be, and I just couldn’t bring myself to cut its head off!  I had to go back to the store and get a doll that looked like a doll, not a baby.  I kept the realistic baby, and Lucy has adopted her as her own little friend.