15 Months Old

Dear Eva Kate,
You are 15 months old! I've been looking forward to doing an update for you because you have been growing and changing so much over the past 3 months! About a week after your first birthday you took off walking. Now you are a fast little munchkin and sometimes it's hard to keep up with you! You have also learned the fun of really playing and interacting with your toys. You make me laugh sometimes when you just wander off into your playroom and I hear you playing with your toys or look over and see you "reading" a book to yourself.

You can say probably 10-15 words. The ones I can think of right now are Dada, Mama, Nana, Papa, Night-Night, Bye-Bye, Hi, Hey, Boo, Ball (Baaww), Duck (Dud),  Dog (Daaww), Oh, & Hohoho (for Santa) and lately you've been putting other words together with Dada, like saying Bye-Bye Dada when Daddy goes to work in the morning. What a smart little girl you are! You are also good at using a few signs to help tell us what you are wanting (more, all done, milk, it hurts, please, eat/hungry, cup and sometimes diaper). Most of the time you run around the house saying,  "AH-AH-AH" which can mean "Look at that!" , "What's that?", or usually "I want that!" . You are also understanding so much of what we say. We can say, "Where is your ___?" and you will go and find it (if you can). You know the phrases that are part of our everyday routine, like, "Let's go for a walk." You are also learning your body parts and can point to your tummy, toes, ears, head, mouth and sometimes nose (mostly you point to my nose). 

As your personality grows and emerges we would definitely say that you can be dramatic. When you're happy, you're so very happy! But when you're upset...let's just say that occasionally you have laid out on the floor with big fat tears rolling down your face.  You still love being around people and get super excited whenever you see other kids. We have to remind you to love gently because even though you're little, you like to love your friends in a big way!

Speaking of being little, we had your 15 month checkup this week. You only weigh 19 pounds, 2 ounces and are 29 1/2 inches tall... that puts you in the 3rd percentile for weight and 18th percent for height....so tiny! But your doctor said you are a healthy, happy girl so we'll take that. You wear mostly 6-12 month or 12-18 month size clothes, a size 3 diaper, and a size 3 or 4 shoe.

After a hard month of being sick and teething - you have 16 teeth now! - you are finally back to a good sleep schedule. You usually sleep 8 PM - 8 AM, and take a morning and afternoon nap that are each 1-1 1/2 hours. You still wake up once in the night to nurse but we are working on improving that. You were doing well before you got sick so I know that you are so close to sleeping through the night again.

You are so sweet and loving. You love to give Daddy and me hugs and kisses. You recognize lots of friends and family. You have a baby doll that you like to carry around, patting her on the back and rocking her...and occasionally dragging her along the ground. You enjoy playing outside and I try to spend time outside with you every day. You love seeing dogs and ducks and birds when we're outside. You are constantly my helper in the kitchen and can quickly empty out the kitchen cabinets as you explore. You aren't a picky eater and will usually at least try a few bites of anything I feed you. You have a big beach ball that you have learned to throw and kick around - so much fun! You are a silly dancer and you like to spin in circles and stomp your feet to the music.

I love seeing who you are becoming, seeing which parts of you are like me, which parts are like Daddy, and which parts are just uniquely you. You were absolutely wonderfully and fearfully made by God. We love you so much and I enjoy each day with you!

love, Mama