15 months

We are a quarter of the way into my baby girl's second year.  She really is just the most fun, sweetest, funniest, independent girl around.  

We adore her

At 15 months she talks a ton.....a ton a ton a ton.  I don't always understand her but she is always trying to tell me a story, or explain something to me, or ask about something, or just be included in the conversation.  It is so cute.  If I ever talk to you on the phone, you are bound to hear isla talking in the background.  Her vocabulary that I can understand includes:

Mama      Dada      Isla            Brooke         Aubrey

Jesus        Baba      Bye bye     Hi                 Tickle

Ball          Baby      Bear          Bunny            Book

Doc         Golf       Shoe          Sticker           Hat

Bubbles   Brush     Uh oh        Wow              Thank you

Out          Up        No             More              Nose

Eye          Duck    Quack        Moo               Baaa

Shh          Hot       This           What’s this?    This is…

She also does (her own made up) signs for some words instead of vocalizing them:

Doggie noise (tongue out saying huhuhu)

Fishy (purse lips and smack)
monkey (tickle tummy and say uhuhuhuh)

Elephant (lift arm and say aww)

Kiss (mmm muah)

Mouth (puts her finger between her lips and moves it up and down to make the vibrating noise)

She is still a friendly little girl that likes to walk up to any and all strangers and figure out what they're doing or try to play with them.  But she is also very independent.  So, if she goes up to another little kid and they try to make her do a game they are playing, then she'll usually just walk away and come up with her own game.  Her independence is amazing for me (most of the time).  She rarely cries if she can't see one or both of her parents.  She's usually pretty happy to be just doing whatever it is that she's doing.  So I'm generally free to just sit back and watch her play or I can do chores while she's entertaining herself.  Or if we're outside, then I can visit with the neighbors and she just happily plays.  But, this also means that she likes to just run off and wander on her own.  I have to keep very close to her at Seven Peaks or she would just take off doing her own thing.

She really is just a happy and content little thing....unless.....you try to take something away from her that she wants or take her away from something she's doing.  Then you get a little scream from her.  But, she usually gets over the scream quickly.  She does not however forget what it was that she was doing or playing with.  It will take many times of me grabbing her and telling her not to play with the garbage (for example) and showing her different things that she can play with before she gives up.  She is very determined and usually finds a way to get whatever she wants.

She loves to laugh!  She loves to be tickled and chased and play hide and seek.  Bryan and I still love to compete to see who can make her laugh harder when doing the same thing.  I still win most the time (I'm just really funny what can I say).  Sorry Bryan.....better luck in the next 3 months. If anyone else is laughing around her, then she'll laugh too.  I don't know if she thinks they're laughing at something she did.  Or if she just doesn't want to be left out of the joke.

She loves water.  Loves loves loves water.  We just got her a life jacket thing that the front floatie part has connected arm floaties.  So now she can float on her own in the water.  Which is amazing because she thinks she can swim.  And does not like it when I try to hold her back.

She is pretty much fearless.  She likes to climb up all over everything to get what she wants.  She just climbed up onto our bed yesterday for the first time.  

She loves baby dolls and all stuffed animals.  She just started feeding her babies and animals a bottle.  I love watching her do that.  And if I ever pretend that her baby is crying she'll bring the baby over to me and say "shshsh" and pat their back.  Just like I do for her if she's crying to try and calm her.

She is starting to like to play dress-up.  She loves to put her headbands on herself and her necklaces and bracelets and sunglasses and hats and purses. She likes to pretend to put her clothes on too.

She loves action songs now.  Her favorite is "If you're happy and you know it".  I love testing her knowledge to see what new things she can do.  She often surprises me with what she knows.

She has 7 distinct dance moves.  1) twirling in a circle  2) booty pump  3) quick step  4) arching her back  5)  swaying her head to the music  6) shaking her arms to the music  7) trying to jump or lifting her legs (this one is new and is as a result of watching so you think you can dance

She is becoming obsessed with her shows (boo!).  I figured out about a month ago that if I put a clip from a disney movie on my phone for her while I change her diaper that she'll just lay there peacefully and I can get her all cleaned up without any crying or squirming or rolling over or trying to jump off the table.  It's been bliss!!!!  We also have an ipad that we brought on our trip a couple weeks ago that I downloaded tangled and a doc mcstuffins episode and a little einstiens episode on too.  Now since we've been home, if ever she finds the ipad, she'll bring it to me and ask me to put a show on for her.  Other than her diaper changes and  watching one show during lunch we really don't watch tv.  I want to get her out of the habit of wanting to watch a show all the time but I don't want to get rid of our blissful diaper changes.  We'll see how the next month goes.

She also has started loving her binkie.  She never wanted a binkie until a few weeks before her first birthday.  Now she will look all over the house for one and then suck on it until i take it out.  I will only give her a binkie while I'm putting her down for a nap or bedtime.  But I do let her suck on it for awhile after she finds one.

She is down to one nap a day.  The naps are averaging about 2 1/2 hrs.  I'm hoping they get a little longer.  I was used to having 2 - 2 hr naps during the day.  She no longer cries at all when I put her down to sleep.  She doesn't always fall asleep right away.  But she doesn't cry.  She'll just play for awhile.  It's heaven!!!!  She can only fall asleep though in her crib in the pitch black with her noise maker.  I don't think I would ever find her asleep while eating or playing with toys.  She needs her peace and quiet to sleep.

I just love watching her explore and love life.  Everything is so new to her and so she revels in every experience.  She's the best little girl around