Vital stats:
15 months, 3 days old
22 lbs. 8.5 oz.
30.2″ tall
Anna is still pretty much in the 50th percentile on the charts in all respects. My average little baby!
Poor girl got 3 shots today, and was not happy about them. The nurse commented that it’s a good thing she does this all the time, because Anna is strong and nearly succeeded in pulling her leg away.
Dear Anna,
Today you are fifteen months old, and what a big girl you’re becoming!
You are obsessed with Signing Time. Truly, truly obsessed. Every morning, the minute we come in from putting your sister on the bus, you ask for Signing Time. Every morning, I give in, so I can drink my coffee and eat my breakfast in peace! Because of your obsession, however, you have a lot of new signs that you’ve picked up and regularly use: “baby”, “signing time”, “hat”, “penguin”, “mouse”, “cookie”, “daddy”, “pear”, “bird”, “bear”, “doll”, “yellow”, “shoes”, “stars”. 
You also have quite a few new verbal words: “apple”, “boo!”, “bye-bye”, “Signing Time” (more like “dih-dih-dah!”), “pasta”, “cheese”, “Poppy”, “hi”, “dog”. You shake your head “no” a lot in response to things, and it’s really adorable because your hair swirls around your head with a life of it’s own. When your words fail you, you’ve figured out how to point to an item you want, and then point to yourself to indicate that you want it. In short, you’ve got the communication thing down pat, and you’re just working on adding to your vocabulary.
You’ve figured out how to stand back up in the middle of the floor by yourself, without pulling up on anything. Pair that with your walking and climbing skills, and it can mean nothing but trouble for me! No rest for the weary, right?
Every month brings such big changes, and every month you get cuter and sweeter. I love being your mama!
Love, Mommy
Anna got ahold of my cell phone today while we were at the shop and I was helping a customer. I noticed her with it and heard a few beeps, and when I took it away from her there was a text message with my balance on it. I don’t have a text message plan, so that’s going to cost 15¢ or however much. But it got even funnier ten minutes later:
Ring, ring…
me: “Hello?”
Denis: “What’s up?”
me: “I don’t know, you called me – what’s up?”
Denis: “No…I’m returning your call. You called me a little while ago.”
me: “…uh, when exactly?”
Denis: “A little after one.”
me: “Well, apparently your baby wanted to talk to you, because *she* dialed the phone!”
So in the space of a couple of minutes my 14 month old managed to check the balance on my phone and call her father. I’d better hide the credit cards!
Anna managed to pinch her little fingers in the play kitchen cabinet, which caused a few tears. Before I could even get to her, Carrie was right there, kneeling in front of her and hugging her, saying “It’s OK, baby, you’re OK.” Anna hugged Carrie right back and cried into her shoulder. It was the sweetest, saddest moment – and it was truly fleeting, as just another moment later they were happily playing together with chef hats on and pots and pans banging.
Anna adores seeing her big sister off on the bus, and will wave and say “buh-buh!” after the bus pulls away.
But even more adorable is watching her reaction in the afternoon when she sees the bus coming down the street. Her little legs start kicking and she squeals with laughter. It makes my heart melt.
Dear Anna,
Yesterday you turned 14 months old. Somewhere in my feverish haze I vaguely realized it was the 12th, but then I had to take a nap. I feel slightly better today, so let’s see if I can make sense…
You are walking! Truly, truly walking, although you also still like to “bear walk” on your hands and feet and are happy to crawl sometimes depending on the situation. You especially love to walk around outside while we’re waiting for your sister’s bus in the mornings and afternoons. I won’t need to bother raking this fall, I’m just going to let you loose to pick up each leaf one at a time, it’s your very favorite outdoor activity. You only try to eat them sometimes…
You have two new verbal words, “ball” and “down” (which is really “dow-dow!”). At one point (in front of several witnesses) you said “button” as clear as day – a few times, even. But you haven’t repeated it since. You don’t really have any new signs (though you sort of sign “ball”, which I suppose is new) but you point a lot. You’re pretty good at communicating what you want, and I’m sure the word explosion is just a couple of months away – by Christmas you’ll probably be asking Santa for a pony!
You have a bedtime routine down: when it’s time to go upstairs, if you’re being carried, you say “dow-dow!!” and insist on crawling up the stairs yourself. Then you crawl into the bathroom, climb up (laboriously) onto the step stool (again, all by yourself) and grab the toothbrush that I’ve put toothpaste on for you (while you were climbing up). While you “brush” your teeth, I finger-comb your hair, and then sometimes you let me take a turn with your toothbrush. Then I put you on the floor and let you toddle off down the hall to your room. Your favorite book to hear is Goodnight Moon, and you’re starting to point out the things in the pictures as I read about them.
Your personality is just starting to blossom, and each day brings something new. I’m enjoying every bit of it!
Love, Mommy
Anna officially has yet another tooth. The other upper tooth, to the right of the middle teeth.
And Carrie seems to be completely better. She slept all night last night, started out the morning pretty rough, but then after going back to sleep until lunchtime she suddenly woke up, ate a full lunch, and insisted on playing outside for half the afternoon. We even took the girls on a wagon ride around the neighborhood – Anna’s first ever time in the wagon!
Fever gone, appetite and energy back…assuming she wakes up the same tomorrow morning, kindergarten starts on Tuesday!
Anna has another tooth, finally! Upper left, next to the center teeth. Those center teeth are really, really crooked, too. I’m a little worried that her finger sucking habit is going to cost us a small fortune in braces someday…
Anna is officially a toddler now! We were at the calling hours for my great grandmother, and she kept pulling up, walking five or six steps, plopping back down, crawling to the nearest thing or person she could pull up on, and repeating the sequence.
She charmed the pants off of everyone there, and added a bit of sunshine to an otherwise sad occasion. Carrie helped lighten things up as well, and took the entire open casket thing completely in stride. I’m not quite sure how she accepted it so easily, but I’m glad for it.
Back at my grandparents house, Carrie managed to convince nearly every single adult there to take her around the woods for walks and help her pick up acorns. And Anna spent the afternoon being danger baby – not only walking, but standing up in the middle of the room without pulling up on anything, and climbing up and down the porch stairs. Oh, my.
Our anniversary sale is going on this week, so we packed up the kids and all went to the shop so I could be there all day – Anna’s still nursing a few times a day, so I can’t really leave her for an entire Saturday.
While Denis and the girls were hanging out on the couches, Anna took her first couple of teeny-tiny steps. Of course, she wouldn’t repeat it, but she did it, which means it’s only a matter of time before she’s running after Carrie!