15 Months

Happy 15 Months to Miss Adrienne! What a joy. She is turning into such a little person, and though she walked a bit on the late side (compared to extreme early walking in Jillian), she has transitioned to a solid walker much faster. No more arms held at high guard as she tries to balance--she just puts them down at her side and wanders around like a big person. We find it to be irresistibly cute and funny at the same time. I tried to take a picture of her mid-saunter this morning as we were headed out to church, but accidentally took a video. She looks so cute that I still can't help but post it.

It also illustrates a snippet of a skill she is quite proficient at--sticking up for herself. She knows how to holler and can really turn it on when Jillian gets a little too close (or too bossy) for her liking. Matt and I witnessed multiple instances this weekend where Adrienne squawked unnecessarily in attempt to manipulate us to get after Jillian when she truly was innocent. Survival of the fittest, I suppose.

Despite this emergence of true sibling banter, these girls really love each other. Adrienne thinks it is awesome to wrestle Jillian. You might think that Jillian is the instigator of this game, but she is not. It is almost always Adrienne who starts this type of fun.

Adrienne has added a few new words this month, but most notable is "poop". She frequently grabs her diaper and says "poop"--and she is right. The girl definitely associates the act with the word, and can tell me when she is dirty. She gets a lot of practice at this because she is extraordinarily "regular" if you catch my drift. In other language related development, she has started calling me "Mom" or "Mommy" instead of "Mama" and clearly calls Matt "Daddy". She is completely smitten with him, and seeks him out when he is home for some regular snuggles and attention. The word "baby" is more clear and she is excited by any baby or picture of a baby she sees. If you ask her a question, she often responds with "yah!" (i.e. "Do you want to go outside?"). I guess she is a true Minnesotan.

Adrienne is starting some climbing, though she is still relatively cautious. She gingerly climbed atop a diaper box last week and I've caught her trying to stand on box-like toys in her "baby jail". I generally only put her in there when I have to make dinner, and she rarely makes a fuss about it. On Thursday, I went to retrieve her and found this little surprise.

I guess we can add "removes clothes" to the list of new skills. I'm thankful this wasn't one of those "poop" instances because she also had the back of her diaper like a thong. Close call, for sure.

Last, but most certainly not least, is her giggle. The kid has such an infectious laugh that just overtakes her whole body. It is easy to elicit with just a bit of tickling.

I am doing my best to savor every second of this stage. Precious, precious, precious.