Could I be leading my girl astray?

For the first time in my 17-month-old’s life, I let her watch almost an entire hour of Sesame Street. She sat on my lap while the whole family gathered in our bed. She kept pointing and saying “baby!” The theme was about babies and what it’s like being an older sibling. Cam was even engaged.

But here’s the thing. I haven’t really plopped the girl in front of the television before at home. She’s watched DVDs in the car during a long car ride, but never at home. By this age, Cam was a pro. But Cam turned into one of those kids who zones out with the television on. When he was little, he’d throw such a tantrum when I turned off the tv that I just stopped turning it on. Nowadays Cam has to earn 30 minutes each day. That’s pretty much it. So Jordan loses out. She watched about 50 minutes this morning and she was so engaged. She learned about the letter E and the number 17. She watched all kinds of people talk about babies. She loved pointing out the babies.

Should I Tivo Sesame Street so she can learn more some other day? Is she falling behind because she hasn’t worked on colors and numbers like Cam did… Especially since we’ve spent so much time getting her gross motor skills up to speed? I know this is silly, but my boy knew his colors at 18 months. That’s before they really teach that kind of stuff at school. It’s silly for me to expect Jordan to understand colors at the same age. It isn’t normal. But for some reason, I open that little baby color book every morning for her to read just in case her mind can grasp onto the concept of colors as early as her brother.

Did I mention Jordan demands to read books in her crib every morning before I can get her out and change her diaper and clothes? She loves to page through her bwa-bwas. (Yeah. She calls a book “bwa-bwa”)

Did I mention that the closer Jordan comes to being a full-time walker, the more personality comes out? She’s dynamic. She loves to interact with people, but she’s wary of strangers at first. She’ll actually hide into my legs. If she’s comfortably walking, she’ll drop down into scooting mode if she feels crowded by a stranger. She also loves to say hi. She is starting to talk to people on the phone! But as she grows more independent, she still loves me with all of her heart and soul. It’s incredible to watch the joy in her face when I walk in. It’s so great to get the hugs and cuddles when I pick her up! She is such a sweetheart.

Did I mention she’ll kiss Mommy, Daddy and Cam on demand. She’ll even kiss the phone when asked while we talk to family members.

Did I mention that Jordan is SO into using the word “no.” It’s comical. I’ll tell her it’s time to go upstairs. She says no. I ask her if she wants a snack. She says no. Any sentence that ends in a questioning tone leads to Jordan saying no. Most of the time, she really means it. She wants to do her own thing unless she wants me to get involved. It’s FASCINATING to watch her become her own person. Cam made this transition so rapidly, I’m gobbling up the process of watching Jordan grow.