Fifteen Months

I stopped doing month-by-month posts after Staley turned one, but Staley went for her 15 month check-up today, so I figured a 15 month up-date was in order.  My Staley is now weighing 22 lbs, 1 oz (38th percentile--I could have sworn she weighed more!) and is 31" (68th percentile).  She is a good eater, sleeps from 8-7 daily, and takes an afternoon nap.  She still only has her front 8 teeth, but is really working on her 4 molars.

Likes:  My Staley is still a happy-go-lucky, finding-fun-in-everything kind of girl.  There is so much that she enjoys that it is hard to make a list.  She LOVES playing outside.  Bubbles, balls, and sidewalk chalk are great!  She loves all her toys, but has lately been showing more of an interest in blocks and puzzles.  Books and balls are still at the top of her favorites list.  Staley loves swimming and bath time, going for walks, swinging at the playground, going on outings, and being around other people.  She loves playing with other kids!!  New loves include finding Easter eggs (which we've been doing around the house A LOT this week), riding carousels, and helping around the house.  Staley is a good eater, so it's hard to list favorite foods but she LOVES fruit.  Other favorites include goldfish crackers, graham crackers, fish, brats, pancakes, and (sadly) french fries.

Dislikes:  Staley does not like to take time out of her busy schedule for diaper changes or clothing changes.  Being strapped into her carseat without something to read/play with can get old.  Staley can be dramatic about putting away favorite toys, getting out of the bath, or saying 'good-bye' to friends.  She would rather walk than be carried.  However, Staley remains generally good-natured and her 'drama' only happens occasionally and is short-lived.

Skills:  Staley is a full-fleged walker.  She never crawls anymore, although she still walks like she's had a few too many.  She crawls up stairs and can turn around to crawl down stairs (with close supervision).  She is learning to climb onto furniture, and loves to climb on and off her little chairs.  Staley is starting to put pieces into simple puzzles (or at least partially in the correct spot).  She can activate all the levers on her pop-up toy, stacks 3-4 objects on top of each other, loves to scribble on paper, and can put shapes into her shape sorter.  Staley likes to put on her own hats. She is improving with feeding herself with a spoon, and is starting to try to use a fork.  She likes to help brush her teeth (although sometimes just ends up sucking off the toothpaste) and loves to wash her hands in the big sink.  She will also wipe off her face and her highchair tray after meals, and puts her cup in the dishwasher.  Staley talks all the time and I can understand MOST of what she says.  She has hundreds of words, and is consistently putting 2-3 words together.  She knows her full name and how old she is.  She can count to 12, identifies about 13 upper case letters, knows all her body parts, and asks for most of her books by name.  She can often finish sentences in her books and songs.  Staley understands most of what we tell her, and she knows the rules. (Not that she always follows them, but at least she knows them.)   She consistently uses please and thank you, gives wonderful hugs and kisses, is a super-cute dancer (think lots of arm swinging), and makes friends wherever she goes.  Staley amazes me on a daily basis, but what's most amazing is how full she makes our lives and how much joy she brings.  I truly LOVE spending time with my baby girl--I just can't get enough!!

Staley at 15 months

Helping

'Helper.'  This is one of Staley's words and one of Staley's fun activities.  As we were preparing for our trip to St. Louis a few weeks ago, I was at the computer booking our hotel.  Staley walked into the office, a pair of Zach's socks in one hand and dragging one of Zach's t-shirts behind her.  She looked at me with a big smile and said, "Helper.  Daddy."  Now I'm not exactly sure how much help it was to Zach that Staley was taking off with the clothes he was trying to pack, but she was so proud to be trying.

Although Staley has always enjoyed being a part of the action when I am doing chores, she has recently been participating in a more helpful fashion.

Putting away groceries

Putting her cup in the dishwasher...

...and then closing it

Giving the cats their treats

She also enjoys opening the mail, throwing things in the garbage, and putting away the laundry.  And I don't care that now my groceries are in the refrigerator like this...

and the laundry is put away like this...

My baby girl is so pleased with herself when she helps me out.  And I love my little helper.

Making Friends

Introverted.  Shy.  Clingy.  These are words that definitely DO NOT describe my baby girl.  Staley has always been a people person.  Even as an infant, she loved being around people.  She never liked to sleep on the go because she didn't want to miss out on the action.  And with her newly aquired mobility and language skills, making friends has never been easier. 

Staley has many, many words, but her very favorite word is 'Hi!'  Anywhere we go and anyone we see gets greeted with this simple, two letter word.  At church, at parties, in the store, at family gatherings, on the playground.  No matter where we are, Staley is making friends.  She will walk right up to people, look up at them, and say 'hi!'  It doesn't matter if she knows them or not.  I think she sometimes takes people off guard.  You generally don't expect to be boldly approached and greeted by a toddler while shopping in the canned foods aisle.

Staley enjoys being around adults, but she LOVES being around other kids.  There is a family with 4 young kids who live next door, and Staley gets so excited about them.  She talks about them all the time, always wants to look out the window or walk over to their house to see if they are outside, and cries when they go inside.  She loves playing with her cousins, her friends at day care, and our neighbors.  Boys.  Girls.  Her age.  Older.  Younger.  It doesn't matter.  Other kids are awesome!!  I took Staley to the zoo a week or two ago.  The lion was sitting right up at the glass at her eye level.  A crowd was gathered to look at the lion.  Staley was standing right up at the glass, but was turned away from the lion so she could say 'hi' to all the people.  Up close encounters with exotic animals or meeting new friends.  In Staley's book, apparently there's no contest.
 

My little cheeseball

Easter

Last year, Staley was vaguely interested in her Easter basket, sat quietly through an Easter church service, slept through part of Easter with the family, and was a mere spectator when it came to hunting for Easter eggs.  So much changes in just one short year...

Finding her not-too-tricky 'hidden' Easter basket

A little before church try-out of her new Easter toy

A picture with the Bradford cousins with everyone looking in the same general direction and mostly smiling.  SUCCESS!!

Hunting for Easter eggs took a little practice...

but Staley caught on quickly.

And by the second egg hunt of the day, she was a pro!!

Easter baskets, church, 2 family gatherings, 2 egg hunts, lots of play time with cousins...

Who can blame a gal for being worn out???

Happy Easter!

Watch What You Say...

...because little ears are listening, a little mouth is repeating it, and a little mind is remembering it all.  My talkative little girl is adding to her vocabulary by leaps and bounds.  I stopped keeping track a long time ago (because I just couldn't keep up), but she probably has several hundred words that she uses spontaneously.  She repeats so much of what she hears now, even things we don't think she is paying attention to.  Which is why she has referred to me several times as 'Ellen' (a habit I am NOT encouraging), has called her Grammie Walles 'honey', has found humor in repeating a part of Uma's funny story (over and over again), and even mentioned the 'stalker' that Zach and I were talking about.  That's right.  The word 'stalker' is now in my 14 month old's vocabulary.  Oops!!

Sad

I have so enjoyed each and every moment and milestone of Staley's almost 15 months.  I can't be sad about her growing and changing because I'm so amazed at the little person she is becoming.  I loved newborn Staley and I loved baby Staley and I love my little toddler Staley.  Each phase brings so much new joy and excitement as I watch Staley's world grow and expand that I can't feel sadness...until this week.

I can honestly say that I felt my first true twinge of Staley-growing-up sadness this week.  Staley is done nursing.  And that has been hard for me.  She has been losing interest over the past month or two, but I continued on--mostly for my own sake.  She never fought it or refused to nurse, but talking or looking around or becoming distracted by the cats/Zach/the ceiling fan/random noises began to take precedence over the nursing.  I gave up night nursing last month because she REALLY wasn't interested with a full belly of dinner, but I'd kept her morning nursing time because I just loved starting our day off together in that peaceful, bonding moment. 

Staley hasn't missed it at all.  She doesn't ask for morning milk or seem at all concerned that our nursing time together is over.  But I miss it.  I do.  I miss the closeness.  I miss our quiet morning moments.  I miss looking down on my baby as she looks back up at me.  I miss our special time that she couldn't share with anyone else.  And I'm sad.  I won't dwell on it, but I need a moment to be sad.  Just a moment to think back about how much has changed in the past 15 months and how quickly it has gone.  And then I'll move on so that I can fully enjoy our moments together tomorrow and the next day and the next, because the next 15 months are going to fly by just as quickly...and I don't want to waste any of that precious time being sad.