Life Lately

I'm sure it is obvious, but after we hit the 52-week mark, this mama had to end the daily/weekly updates. 

Not going to lie, I already miss them. 

I feel like life goes by even faster without them.  

I have mommy panic moments and can't remember exactly what day did you finally have hair long enough for your first pony?  Or what day did you say the cutest little "uh-oh"?  Or when did your play time evolve into pretending ... cooking, reading, rocking babies, sipping coffee ... Or when did you figure out you needed to use a napkin at dinner?  You are growing up.  There's no doubt about it.

Days turn into weeks turn into months and all of a sudden you are sixteen months.

At your fifteen month check-up, you weighed 26 pounds and were 33" tall, which puts you in the 99th percentile for height and 90th percentile for weight.  Your pediatrician is convinced you are going to be 5'10" when you grow up.  And as you would guess, you are still a very good eater, on most days.  Your favorite is roast beef, mashed potatoes and carrots, which must make your Daddy very happy because this is his favorite too.  You also love cheese, fruit, eggs and milk.  And recently, you have discovered a new obsession with ketchup.  Mama uses it to disguise veggies you may not have eaten otherwise, and I've also caught you dipping your fingers in it, and licking them clean.

You have some pretty adorable habits ... including "blowing" on your food when mama tells you it is hot and insisting on using a napkin during dinner.  If we forget to give you a napkin, you start pointing at the paper towels and raising your voice at us.  As soon as we give you one, you wipe your hands and your mouth and then stuff the paper towel beside your leg for later.  We should consider stock in Bounty as we are going through many more rolls of paper towels these days.

You also insist on blowing your nose with a Kleenex.  You've recently went through a spell of runny noses, and now that you are tall enough to reach the drawer where the Kleenex's are kept, you help yourself.  You blow your nose, which actually consists of blowing air out of your mouth, and then put your tissue in the trash.  It's adorable.  You also help yourself to a tissue (or the whole entire box), when you find any trace of water on the floor, whether it's from Mama's wet hands moving between the stove and the sink, from a dish out of the dishwasher, or from your sippy cup.  As soon as you spot the water, you immediately get a tissue from the drawer and are quick to clean it up. 

You had your first doctor's appointment for being sick when you were 13 months.  We took you in to see your pediatrician right before Christmas when you had a fever of 104 degrees.  You were diagnosed with a virus and spent the next 24 hours at snuggled at home.  Luckily, you bounced back quickly. 

Thanks to mother nature, we had had several snow days at the beginning of the year.  You and Daddy bundled up and went outside for a bit.  You loved the snow and loved being outside.  However, we are completely over the cold, wintery days and looking forward to a steady stream of spring weather!
 

Bath time is still your favorite.  You are getting quite onery though before you get in the tub and if mama isn't careful, you will sneak out of your bedroom and streak around the upstairs, running between bedrooms and down the hallway yelling, jabbering and carrying on.  You've discovered you can see your reflection in the spout and blow kisses, talk and laugh to yourself.  You also figured out how to get into the bathtub even when it's not bath time.

You love music.  You love to play the piano but when Mommy tries to join in with you, you quickly swipe my hands off of the keys.  Sometimes, if I'm lucky, you'll put your hands on top of mine and we can play together.  I know it's a good song when I see you start to sway back and forth.  You also love anything that plays music.  We resurrected your exersaucer from when you were a baby...not because you want to sit in it, but because you love the music it plays.  Daddy taught you how to jam out to the jungle music, you think it's hilarious.  Mama also laughs and loves to watch you and Daddy dancing :) 


You are still my little helper around the kitchen.  You love to help empty out the dishwasher.  Mama usually gives you the Tupperware to put away, kitchen utensils that go in the drawer that you can reach (if you stand on your tippy toes), or if I'm really brave, you are in charge of taking cups or bowls from Mama and giving them to Daddy who is across the kitchen, waiting by the cabinet.  Emptying the dishwasher is one of your favorite things so much so, that typically when we're all done, you're mad and have been known to throw a full-blown fit.  Hmmm...I'll remind you about this when you're 10 or 11 years old and I ask you to unload the dishwasher.

Second to the dishwasher, you love taking everything within your reach out of the pantry and sitting it on the counter.  You've also become so clever as to shut yourself in the pantry...and lucky for you, the light in the pantry is motion-censored ... so you're never left in the dark and Mama is left to wonder what exactly you're getting yourself into. 

Your playtime has evolved into lots of pretending.  Your favorite is cooking, stirring and eating.  You feed your babies, and then give them lots of hugs and pats.  You also cook for daddy and his meals usually consist of eggs, Oreos, a hot dog (no bun because it's in the bottom of the toy box somewhere) and corn on the cob; Daddy's meal options are limited :)  You like to pretend drink from your tea cup, but not before cheers-ing your Daddy's tea cup first.

 

 

No doubt, I miss your babyhood days but something about this stage you are in now is pretty wonderful.  Keeping up with you some days is quite the workout, which is good because sometimes it's Mommy's only workout.  Daddy says you are a mover and shaker.  And we can already tell you are a smarty pants.  While your vocabulary may still be limited, it's pretty amazing at what you can comprehend.  I'm always amazed at how well you follow directions, sometimes even better than Daddy :)  And your personality continues to develop.  You can be shy around new kids or in new settings (we've had several friends celebrate their birthday's recently!) and at first you like to stay close by Mama or Daddy, but by the end of the party, you are playing with the other kids, running around trying to sneak food or drinks off of the tables and...showing off your belly.  You're a little bit ornery and a whole lot of sweet. 


You are a happy toddler, a delight to be around, and have brought more joy to our lives than I would have ever guessed sixteen months prior.  Not every day is perfect and some are more challenging than others, but we have learned to ebb and flow and figure it out along the way.  When you were still just a little bean inside my tummy, I tried to picture what it would be like to have a baby, who would eventually grow to be a toddler.  I can say it's really nothing like I imagined.  It is better.