15 months

Avery Claire, at 15 months, you:

- have the best little personality I could ever have dreamed for you. You are such a people person and never meet a stranger. I feel bad that you haven't been to daycare all summer. You love to interact with other kids. Too bad we don't have a Mother's Day Out around! You wave at everyone you see. You will go to anyone. I thought that might change as you got older, but not yet it hasn't!

- just got that 13th tooth to break through. It's an eye tooth and it has not been fun! I guess the others will soon follow...

- watch every.single.thing.we.do! You are a smart girl and you miss nothing. I'm always surprised when I say something and think you'll have no idea what I mean...and then you do. I asked you the other day if you wanted me to turn the t.v. on for you, and you walked over and pointed to it. We can ask you to brush your hair and you do. You know how to throw something away in the trash can - and you like to look over to make sure it's in there!

- love to hide so we can look for you. We play chase all of the time, and you run and hide on the other side of Mommy and Daddy's bed. You run into the living room and around the ottoman and your pink chair. You giggle and squeal the whole time.

- can say Daddy, Mama, Papa, Gaga, uh-oh, hi, hey, bye, here {he-uh}, dog, hot!, bite, cheeese, and you've just learned to say Mmmmmm when you think something is good. You can sign 'more' to let us know you want more of something you're eating.

- are really into dancing and jumping. You bend your knees and pop up really fast. Your feet don't leave the ground, but you think you are jumping so high! So precious!

- seem like you have grown a foot this month. I really don't know how much you've grown or how tall you are. We have to go for your 15 month check up soon, so we'll see.

- love clothes and shoes, which Mommy loves! You bring things for us to put on you, and you love to walk around with clothes on a hanger.

- are sleeping on your pillow more in your bed, and tend to sleep more on one end than you have in the past. I wondered if that would ever happen! You still wiggle and move, but you turn around less and less.

- took your first trip to the beach and loved it! You waved at every boat and bird and plane and parachuter around. You thought the waves were fun even though we didn't go out very far. And you loved the kiddie pool and the fountain in the big pool.

- like to stack things and line things up.

- like to put things in bags and take them out. You try to put all bags over your shoulder like a purse.

- are soooo ticklish on your legs and your belly and ribs!

- have a little temper. You will stomp your feet when we move you away from something we've told you not to touch or do...like the stools in the kitchen that you try to push around, even after they've fallen and you got hurt. And you're as stubborn as your Daddy a mule. You will try something over and over again, which sometimes gets you into trouble if it's something you know you're not supposed to do!

- get hurt more than once a day because you are such a daredevil! Fearless. Where you get it, I'll never know!

- think it's hilarious if we pretend to cry. If you're crying about something and I pretend to cry, too, 9 out of 10 times, you start laughing.

- have started to get your feelings hurt easily if you think we're getting on to you - especially Daddy!

- are a great packer. You can sling throw things into a box faster than Mommy or Daddy could think about!

- have developed a light brown birthmark on the left side of your face. It starts at your ear and kind of goes to your cheek. It's not extremely noticeable, so we aren't sure if it's always been there and it's showing up more since you've gotten some sun...

- like the kiddie pool at the city pool area and are not scared to walk into the deepest part.

- are still a great sleeper {except at the beach!}. Up until the past couple of nights, you lay right down and go to sleep at night and at naptime. For the past couple of nights/naps, you've cried when we lay you down. We aren't sure why, but we are going to be consistent, even if we have to sleep train again? We hope not, but you've always been so good at going to sleep by yourself. If there's one thing we've learned about children, it's that nothing stays the same and there are countless stages you go through! It's certainly not that you want to be rocked or that you want to sleep with us. You still don't like that stuff! You want to be up playing. I really think you're afraid to miss out on something, even if it is just packing! We do love that you enjoy life so much!

- you are becoming so independent. You don't need help walking down the street or standing in the bathtub! You sling your little arms if someone tries to hold your hand.
- you will grab Mommy or Daddy's hand to walk with us to another room. It absolutely melts our hearts!

- sat in the sanctuary of church for the first time in probably a year {during a wedding}. Mommy and Daddy were so proud of how well behaved you were.

- have started coming to us and turning around to sit in our laps. Sometimes you bring a book for us to read, sometimes you bring your cup, and sometimes you just want to sit with us. Again, melts our hearts!

- are such a joy! You are the most loved little girl in the world. You are so full of life and bring so much liveliness to our house, all of the time. We truly can't remember life without you. Even though it's bittersweet to leave "babyhood" behind, we are so proud of the little girl you're becoming. We couldn't imagine a more perfect, sweet, precious, smart, fun, mischievious, fearless, tender-hearted little girl and we thank God every day that He gave you to us.

I took pictures right before we left for the wedding tonight, so I didn't have time to be persistent. And this girl was too busy to sit still. So, we didn't get much. We did get a couple with Mommy and Daddy after the wedding, so we'll add those to this post.



And she's off...