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 

life day by day :: april

here's a look at our day by day.  all photos and captions via instagram

instagram is just the best and easiest way to quickly share our life with those we love

we decided to paint easter eggs outside...and good thing because isla's favorite game was dumping the dye!

{April 5}

My cutest little easter bunny! Our grocery store had face painting and an easter egg hunt.

{April 6}

Daddy came home!

{April 6}

At the BYU baseball game

{April 7}

It still looks a lot like Easter around here

{April 9}

I've got my snacks, got my sippy cup, got some books, and OSO's on tv.  Nothing could be better

{April 10}

Somebody loves her new shoes! She keeps taking a few steps and then bending down to look at them :)

{April 11}

We went to Toys R Us for Brooke to pick out a birthday present from her grandma.  We filled a cart with all the possibilities and then set them all out so she could choose!

{April 12}

She is begging Rachael Ray for a bite.  My baby girl would like to have food in her hand and in her mouth at all times

{April 13}

Party prep is in full force for a little someone's birthday!

{April 13}

Daddy's almost home!

{April 13}

What is better than having an almost 1 yr old?  Having an almost 1 yr old that likes to lay on mama for a few minutes after she wakes up from her nap

{April 16}

Easter eggs were the best thing to ever happen to us!

{April 17}

We needed some boxes for "cars" for Isla's drive-in bday party but Bryan had the car.  So off we walked to Bed Bath and Beyond.  Loaded up and then walked back down Main Street.  We got a few looks.  What can I say we're super classy!

{April 18}

And this is how I found my little lady when we got home.  She's transistioning to one nap and didn't take her nap this morning.  Luckily she stayed asleep when I put her in her crib

{April 18}

My sweet baby did not get enough sleep yesterday.  So some snuggling/dozing time with mommy was in order.  And she actually wanted a pacifier for the first time in like 6 months

{April 19}

Isla's first bday party!! she loved sitting in her car eating her food and watching the show! I loved every minute of her party

{April 21}

this little girl is loving all of her new toys!  She got spoiled :)

{April 22}

My baby girl is one year old today!

{April 22}

Little buddies :)

{April 23}

Once you're a 1 yr old you no longer need mom to read the stories to you

{April 24}

Somebody has the flu :(  At least it waited till after her birthday

{April 25}

Just staring out the window and wishing she could go outside and play with her friends.  So sad!

{April 25}

The last two days have looked a lot like this:  building toy forts, reading stories, and snuggling stuffed animals.  Found out she has the flu and strep.  Poor little thing!  And you wouldn't even guess she's sick with how sweet she's been

{April 26}

Sometimes it's hard to choose which stories for bedtime.....so we'll just do a page from each one :)

{April 26}

Isla went to a princess birthday party yesterday - she was snow white!  If only she would look up at me sometimes

{April 28}

Playing a round of....."I'm gonna come and get you!"  If only you could hear the squeals of delight accompanying this picture

{April 29}

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11 months

this post is so late....and now it's a blur when exactly she started doing things.....but here it goes

She not only is the cutest waver when saying hello and goodbye but also blows a kiss whenever you say bye to her.  I adore it!  I'm pretty sure she thinks that say goodbye means blow a kiss.  She even makes the muah sound when she does it.

Isla is the best dancer around.  She still does all of her really great dance movements like bouncing and kicking her feet and bopping her head, but has added waving her arms like she is conducting music.  So funny!  I think she might have got the idea from the music leader in primary.

I've noticed her getting a little shy around strangers.  She doesn't like anyone to force themselves on her.  She likes to get comfortable with the environment first and figure everything out and then she'll make her way to you if she finds what you have or are doing interesting.  She just doesn't really like when people grab and hold her.  She'll usually reach back to me or bryan when they do.

She is an independent little lady.  When we are at home she is busy doing her own thing.  I try to come up with games for her and I to play together, but she'd rather come up with her own game.

I like to call her danger baby - because she has no fear!  She climbs up on everything.  I think she sees the whole world as one big stair case.  We spend a lot of time outside climbing up and down the stairs.  My back doesn't love this game all that much.  She wishes I would let her do the stairs by herself......but she's not really capable of going downstairs alone yet.  She can climb up though.

She is my best little friend.  I love getting to spend everyday with her.  I just adore her and love watching the silly little things she does all the time :)