Happy 15 Months Birthday!

Katy learns her ABCs.

Katy, 15 months, May 18, 2011 (also Pop-Pop Tinkey's birthday! :-)

Off to school!

Today you are 15 months old, Katy! I can't believe that you are already a walking, babbling, running toddler who loves to smile, laugh, giggle and play!

You have a mostly sunny disposition and personality-wise, you take after your Daddy, Katy. You find joy in the little things and love to laugh and play. Of course, sometimes you like to play with things that you shouldn't- like the TV remote, the trash and my car keys...

You have eight-going-on-nine teeth. Every time you see either Daddy or I brushing our teeth, you point up to where we keep the toothbrushes and insist on brushing your own teeth with your Cookie Monster tooth brush.

You love to try and feed yourself and some meals it's a struggle to try and feed your neatly. You are definitely very head-strong and stubborn (I have no idea where you get that from!?!?) and at times wrestle to get the spoon our of our hands so that you can feed yourself. Let's just say that we have had to clean applesauce off of the strangest places in the dining room thanks to food splatters.

You are a little "mommy" in the making. While I don't want to type-cast you into any sort of gender role, you are very much a girly-girl and love to nurture and take care of your dolls. You love purses and shoes and anything bling-bling. You are fascinated with sparkly jewelry and love to go through my purses and shoes. Speaking of shoes, you understand that shoes come in pairs and you understand that Daddy wears certain shoes opposed to me and different from your own. You always bring (matching!) pairs of shoes out of the closet and most morning insist on wearing them (even if the shoes don't stay on).

You understand pattern and routine. When we say, "Night-night time, Katy!" at bedtime, you will pucker up your lips to give Daddy a goodnight kiss before reaching up for me to take you to your bedroom. Of course, it would be nice if you slept a little better at night, too...

When you finish eating we usually use a wipe to wipe down your high chair tray, mouth and hands. The other day, you took the wipe from my hands, started wiping down the tray and then when I let you down, you marched over to the trash can, stepped on it to open it, and threw the wipe in.

Before we eat dinner we say, "Let's say a prayer, Katy!" and you will fold your hands in anticipation of grace. Of course, this doesn't work if you are really hungry and just want some food!

You are learning to put things away and know that there is a specific place that toys go away. When you do something that you know is right (like put your bath toys away), you will look up at us and start clapping in anticipation of us saying, "Good job, Katy!"

You like to crawl up the stairs by yourself, Katy. You like to do it without any help, too. If I try to spot you too closely, you will turn around and push away my hand. After we get to the top of the stairs, you will reach for the gate (because we never let you run around upstairs without the gate up).

You are still a little animal confused. You say "Moo" when we say cat and you still think that squirrels are puppies and and you don't quite understand that puppies are dogs.

You know where your belly, toes and nose are. You can point to them on demand (of course, this is all in your own good timing and never for the video camera). You can even point to other people's bellies, toes and nose.

You continue to be super flexible. You love to sit on your pink sofa and pull your feet all the way up to your head. It's amazing what babies can do!

Sleep is still an issue around this household. Daddy and I take alternating nights being on "Katy duty" and I must say that this has been a huge relief to me since I was always the one getting up with you in the middle of the night when you were breastfeeding. You usually go down for bed around eight and can stay asleep in your Ghetto crib by yourself until midnight. After that, anything is possible... Naps are sometimes taken by yourself in the Ghetto crib- it just depends.

We are working on learning how to better feed you with the new information that you are allergic to nuts, soy and eggs. These allergies would better explain why you were so sensitive to diaper rashes and why you would turn your nose at scrambled eggs and Asian foods. Funny thing is, I did not want Asian food when I was pregnant with you, Katy, and even the smell made me feel sick. Interesting, the way the body informs you of certain ailments.

Your favorite night time book is "Things that go!" a pop up book from Grandma Ethel and Grandpa Jim. We read that book at least a dozen times a night before bedtime.