Toodler stage has begun

Kelsey is awesome! She has started to really get her personality and it is so hilarious to live with. I'll admit there are crazy times (or weeks) that I just want to go back to being a teenager when all I had to worry about was what I was going to eat for breakfast, but most of the time I am happy BECAUSE of Kelsey. We are really starting to see a personaitly develop and it is getting to be hilarious.
Kelsey is Miss Independent. Rarely does she care if I am in the room with her. In fact she prefers to be left alone. Our house very baby proof, however the toilets and garbage cans are still a concern so we have to keep our ears very sharp. Kelsey's newest thing is to go into a room, is to open and shut doors. Sometimes she will shut the door and sit in front of it so we can't open it and sometimes she will shut the door all the way and then scream and pound because she can't get it open. Her most success is found when she closes it to be just a jar and then opens it again. She will do this all day if she could.
Kelsey also does not like to be "told" what to do, even when we are trying to make her life better. For example: Crying and arching her back before she goes in the stroller and carseat, kicking her feet so we cant get her shoes on, holding the wrong end of the spoon white knuckled so that we can't flip it around, going wet noodle on us any time we pick her up, etc, etc. I don't know where she gets this stubborn side because I am not at all stubborn :) Sorry Ethan.
The best part about Kelsey growing up is that she laughs and plays all the time. She loves to play! Watching her learn and discover is so much fun. She is really starting to get toys and books, and knows when we are being hilarious. She is really starting to "play" with other babies and recognize who we are as her parents. Every day when Ethan gets home, she hears the door open, says Hi, waves, and crawls as fast as she can to greet Ethan. In the mornings when she wakes up, most mornings she doesn't cry but just starts talking to herself and when we go in, she will wave and say Hi.  She also gives GIANT hugs and is starting to give kisses. There is just nothing more rewarding than getting a hug from your baby and knowing it is on purpose!
Raising Kelsey is getting to be harder and easier. It is harder because now she is starting to care about things making my control start to dwindle,  but it is easier because when she's happy she is happy and gives me so much validation and joy.

New tricks: Bye, Hi, Dad, climbing up AND down stairs, throwing EVERYTHING when she is done with it (which is driving me crazy cleaning up all the spilt milk) and using a spoon.