15 Months

Emma you are 15 months old!

This month:

*you've been loving when Boomer howls because you laugh after he does it.  You also love watching Boomer and Koda play.  A lot of times you will stop what you're doing and crawl after them, but unfortunately this also results in them sometimes knocking you over.

*your favorite book has been "Peek A Baby" by Karen Katz.  You ask for "more" over and over whenever we read it.

*you celebrated your second 4th of July by enjoying a parade and your very first sucker!

*you learned 2 new signs: "baby" and "help"

*your favorite activity has been putting your animal magnets on the dishwasher.  You ask for it by pointing to  the bar, where they stay when you're not playing with them, and saying "rawr" because you know there's a lion magnet.  

*while you love your magnets, your favorite toys have been miniatures.  You will crawl into the play room and play by yourself for a good 20 minutes, just taking each one out, one by one, looking at it and then tossing it aside.  It makes me smile thinking of all the times that I used to do the same thing with the exact same miniatures.  

*you started climbing and it started with climbing up on your stroller.  You were trying to get to some miniatures that I had up on the desk and since your stroller was right next to it, you tried to get them by yourself!

*July 11th was a big day!  While playing with your magnets you let go of the dishwasher, squatted to pick one up, then stood back up without holding on or losing your balance!  You did it 4 times in a row.  You haven't done it since, but you always get a good workout with the magnets because you do lots of squats.  This just makes me believe even more that you could walk if you wanted, but you just don't want to right now.

*you learned how to make "fart" sounds by yourself.  I really need to upload a video because it really is hilarious!  You first learned how to do it on a ball, but now your favorite place to do it is on my leg or shoulder.

*you tried tuna for the first time on the 24th.  Seafood was the last thing I was nervous to give you because I was afraid that you might have a bad reaction.  I made tuna patties one night and you loved it!

*you learned to use a fork on the 26th.  You concentrate so hard and it's so cute to watch your determination.  What's even cuter is hearing your little giggle once you actually get something on the fork!  The first time you were trying you would keep picking up the fork after each try to see if you got anything.  When you get tired of trying you just use your hands.  We still have some more work to do, but it's a great start and I'm so proud of your persistence without frustration.  If you were like your Daddy you would be throwing the fork down each time it didn't work!  Ha!

*the 27th was another big day!  Still no walking, but we seriously thought you were going to.  You were walking along the wall only using one hand and then out of nowhere you just let go.  Your Daddy and I held our breaths because we thought for sure you were just going to start walking like nothing.  Instead you took one tiny baby step and fell, but at least you tried all by yourself!  We're so proud of you!

*you also learned a new word on the 27th-"bubble"!  We have some Sesame Street bath books and one of them has bubbles in it.  I always try to get you to say it, and on this night you did!  I also have some bubbles sitting on the counter and you pointed to those and said "bubble" clear as day!

Other things about this month:

I'm guessing you weigh about 27 1/2 pounds and I know you've grown but I don't know how much.  Your clothes, shoes and diapers are still the same sizes as last month.  

You're eating and sleeping great!  You take 2 naps a day for 1-2 hours each and nurse 2-4 times a day.  You LOVE Cheerios and also love to feed them to the dogs!  You think that's the funniest thing in the world when Boomer and Koda take the Cheerios from your hand.  

Developmentally you're doing great!  In all areas, except physical, you're at 16 months or above.  I really think you're going to start walking soon and once you do you'll be right on track with other kids your age.  I'm in no way concerned that you're not walking yet and while it would be nice because you're getting kind of heavy to carry and my back is taking a beating, I know once you start you'll really look like a toddler and I'll be sad.

I wanted to write down all of your skills because you're learning new things every day and I know I won't be able to keep track once I go back to work (more on that later!).  You've had a huge explosion in your receptive communication and it really amazes me.  Here we go!

Verbal words: "mama, dada, agua, dog, hi, bye bye, yay, ball, bow, bonk, night night, light, bubble, lalala (love you)"

Sign words: more, all done, eat, milk, baby, please, help

Sounds: "rawr" (lion, bear, tigers), "woof woof" (dog), "oo oo ah ah" (monkey), "sss" (snake), elephant sound, fish sound

Receptive language: You know what "come here" and "clean up" mean.  Now, do you always do them?  Not quite!  

When I say "time to eat" you go to your chair.  

When I say "let's go take a bath" or "let's go play in the agua" you go to the stairs.  

You'll also go to the stairs if I say "let's go night night" and you'll sometimes say "lalala" because we always say "love you" to Daddy when I put you to bed.  

If you hear "let's go bye bye" you go to the front door and knock on it.

You know what to do if we say "drum drum", "shake shake", "shake your booty", "nod your head", "clap your hands" and "stomp your feet".  

You know some of the hand motions for Itsy Bitsy Spider, Happy and You Know It and This Little Piggy.

You know where your eyes, nose, mouth, teeth, cheeks, hands, feet and hair are.

Alright, I think that's it.  I'm not trying to brag on you, but I know I'll look back one day, and so will you Emma, and be happy to see this!

We love you so much baby!