While walking at the Arboretum last week Sarah and I passed a pair of experienced mothers who asked how old Madeline was. We said she is now 17 months old. They congratulated us for having almost gotten over the hump where things start to get easier. Their benchmark was that things get easier after 18 months as the baby increases independence. I have yet to see the easier side of things. We are having more fun doing things like completing verses of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, recognizing letters and numbers like the number three that hangs on our apartment door, drawing with crayons, and modeling adult behavior... but easier hasn't happened yet. Madeline still likes to get a lot of attention before sleeping. You can't just put her into the crib awake because if you do she'll get so worked up with frustration that it could add an extra thirty minutes onto the time to get her calmed down back to sleep. She still likes to toss food from her chair to the floor. She fights being changed or dressed. She needs constant attention because she doesn't enjoy many activities alone. But we are having a great time and answering questions like did you do anything fun this weekend with a stock answer of 'huh?'