Annie is 15 Months Old

Annie is 15 months old and good gravy is she something; she is so full of spunk, joy and certainly keeps us on our toes.

She isn’t saying a lot of words yet but does know some baby sign language.  She can say ‘Mama’ clear as day.  We know she knows how to say ‘Dada’ but isn’t saying it quite as much right now.   When you ask her what a dog or Charley says, she replies with the cutest ‘Woof, Woof.’  And when she reads a book with a dog in it, she points and instantly goes ‘Woof, Woof.’  When you ask her a question, you can usually get a yes or no nod of the head, which has made my life a little easier when asking if she is ready to get out of the bath or is hungry.  When you ask her where her belly button is, she lifts her shirt up and points right to it, we find these little things pretty comical.  Aaron likes to trick her when she is wearing her swimsuit and ask where her belly button is and then she can't figure out why she can't find it in her one-piece.  I think that is borderline mean {as I laugh at her struggling to find it}. 

She’s not really into any toys right now.  In fact, she hardly plays with her toys, what she is into is books and Legos.  In particularly picture/word books and books with flaps to open.  I usually just sit a pile of books in front of her and she can entertain herself pretty easily but mostly really loves to be read to.  She definitely has a few favorite books which do get a little old by the 20^th time thru in a row.

She has teeth galore coming in, which has made for some challenging teething days.  She pretty much has half of her teeth now and I’m looking forward to just having them all in.  It’s funny, sometimes a new tooth doesn’t even phase her while others pretty much make for an entirely miserable day {and night}.   Some of her friends at daycare have given up the paci, we think it really helps with soothing thru this teething process so for now I think we will hang on to the paci until teething is over.

I wish I could report that Annie has become less clingy but it’s actually gotten worst.  She constantly wants to be held by me or needs me nearby.  If I leave the room she starts screaming, running after me.  I can barely catch a bathroom break!  Recently I was cooking in the kitchen, my hands were a mess and she was hysterical, with a total death grip around my leg, I had to literally drag my leg with her on it across the kitchen so I could clean my hands and pick her up.  It’s gotten that bad lately!  I love her wanting me and I do enjoy holding her but it’s becoming too constant that we really need to get to a happy-medium soon!   My chiropractor visits are becoming too frequent from carrying her around everywhere!

I’m always amazed at how well Annie excels at Daycare.  The other day I picked her up mid-day and was spying on her before she saw me.  She was eating lunch and I couldn’t believe it, using a fork to eat and she was doing it so gracefully and so focused.  I was like when did my child start using utencils?!  She learns way more at Daycare than she does from Aaron and I.  Daycare has been great parenting for us too.  They help prompt us when she is ready for a change.  She hasn’t been on bottles for months now and sleeps on a cot at daycare, no more cribs for day naps.  She is also very influenced by her little toddler friends, she sees them all doing it so she wants to do it too.  She is a way better eater at daycare then she is for us at home, again we think it’s because her toddler friends are more influential than we are when it comes to eating.  Dropping her off and going to work is easy when we know she is in good hands during the day.

Asleep in the cart, who knew that could be comfortable? 

Lately, we’ve noticed something Annie has been doing.  Sorting.  One day I was watching her take her 3 Leggo sets that are all in one tub and sort them between tubs.  I was kinda shocked that she knew how to sort them so well.  It was a proud and terrified moment for me because I think she has OCD like me!   I didn't mention it at first and then Daycare mentioned one day when I walked in during one of her sorting moments.  I watched her as she walked around sorting like items and they said she does it all the time and is very meticulous about putting like-items in tubs.  Since, we’ve noticed that she does it pretty often.  She watches me sort her toys but I’ve never sorted her Leggos before so that tells me OCD is definitely a hereditary thing!  It’s like I’m proud when I see it and think this girl is going to have amazing organizational skills but terrified because I know how life consuming OCD can be.  Oh Annie!

Annie has also started to learn how to give us kisses on the cheek when asked.  Her wet sloppy kisses are the best. She even makes the 'smacking' noise when she goes in for a kiss.  They usually are wide open mouthed kisses, which is quite comical when she comes at you with her mouth wide open, going “muah!”, she even pulls back kinda fast, which is funny because she is totally mimicking how we kiss her (minus the wide open mouth thing, not sure where she got that from!)   She loves to wave bye-bye, blow kisses and give hugs too.  The running hugs with huge smile on her face might be my favorite.  Aaron and I keep saying that this is one of our favorite ages so far! 

This video pretty much sums it up.  Life is oh so joy-filled with Miss Annie!