Fifteen Months Old

Our little toddler is so fun and learning all the time!
Height: 31 inches
Weight: 25 lbs 2 oz

Jove is so much fun, and we love to watch her change all the time.  Her personality develops more all the time.  She definitely has a sense of humor.  She gets a glint in her eye and a smirk on her face and you can just tell she has a joke in there somewhere.  :)

It's been awhile since I've posted about her development, so settle in!  Here are some cute and big girl things she does:

• At night after her bottle, we tell her to bring us a book, and she toddles over to her bookshelf, picks a book and brings it back to Daddy in the rocker to read.  Sometimes she says "Read, read!" which comes out more like "wre-wre".  Her current night-time favorites are her big crayon books and the Jesus Loves Me book.
• She can point to all kinds of things now when you say the word - her language skills are really expanding.  She also understands the full sentences I say when I ask her to do something. This includes vocabulary expansion. We've stopped counting how many words she says because there seem to be more all the time. She'll try to repeat almost any word, and her favorite go-to's are "Doggy", "Baby", "Howie", "Hi", "Anana" (for banana) and "Ummmmy", said with feeling when she likes food or sees something she wants to eat- even on TV.
• Her communication is also getting much more sophisticated.  When Howie barks she says "Shhh".  She voluntarily tells us when she's all done by signing it instead of us having to ask.  She'll walk over to her high chair and make the sign for "eat".  When we say we're leaving or going outside, she gets very excited.  And when I tell her that we're going to Ms Jessica's house, she flaps her arms and kicks her legs in excitement.  Also, when I ask her if she's sleepy, she says "Ni-Ni" (for night-night) if she's tired.  The whinier it is, the tireder she is.  Now she'll even go stand at the baby gate by the stairs if she wants to play, or if she's pooped and I ask her if she needs a diaper change. Waving and saying "Hi" is her favorite!
• The other day, for the first time, she went up to the table and grabbed her sippy cup, walked around with it for a couple minutes and took several drinks, then walked back and put it back where it was before.  It seemed so grown up and Mike and I were quite impressed.
• She can point to parts on her (and your!) face: Eyes, nose, hair.  Tongue and teeth are really cute - she sticks out her tongue and chomps her teeth.
• She tries to do all the motions to "Itsy-Bitsy Spider" as soon as she hears the music.
• For some reason, she LOVES license plates on cars.  Perhaps because they are her height and she likes letters so much?  When we walk down the sidewalk by our house she stops to point them out and wants to touch all of them.
• Her new favorite thing to do is open and close cabinets, pull stuff out of them and put it back in, and put stuff in and out of boxes or other containers.  She must see me do that a lot.  :)
• She still loves animals - especially dogs and squirrels.  Anytime she sees them on a walk she stops and points.  Still points for helicopters and airplanes, too!
• Her playing is more "big girl" too.  She puts her dolly in and out of the play stroller, babbles while she reads her books sometimes (although she still really studies them quietly at times), likes to play games with us like "hiding" behind things and peeking out, and plays at playgrounds more like a big girl by "running" and climbing around as much as she can.
• She still loves Howie!!  She chases him around, hugs him, kisses him, pulls his tail, fights over his toys with him, says "Howie, Howie, Howie."  My favorite is that when he barks she says "Shhh".
• When she's trying to be loving, she hugs or kisses something, pats it and says "Awww".  She'll do this to Howie, Mommy or Daddy, her stuffed "Doggie" or Bear.
• The "uh-oh" game is a big thing these days - especially in her high chair.  She'll sit in her high chair, drop the cup over the side (and flinch waiting for the sound of it hitting the floor) and say "uh-oh!"  And then again.  And again.

It's hard to believe we're at the 15 month mark.  Love to watch this little one grow up!