15 (and a half) Months

I am once again WAY behind on the blogging. And as usual, our baby girl is growing up faster than we can keep up with. She is getting really good at climbing and is talking more and more.

With the warmer weather, we have been able to be outside a lot more. Myelle LOVES to be outside, and if she can't be outside she wants to be in the basement or garage. She really enjoys swinging in the "wee wee" (swing), playing in the sandbox, writing with sidewalk chalk, going for bike rides... okay, she just loves the outside. Inside, she looks at a lot of books. Her and Kyler are usually sitting next to each other, each looking at a book and occasionally checking out the other one's book. She has also been into a couple new girly things. One is playing dress up. She knows where a couple of sundresses are in her dresser so she gets them out and wants them on over her clothes. Other times is it her hat or coat or one of Kyler's t-shirts. The other thing she likes is make-up. She wants me to hold her in the mornings when I get ready so I let her sit on the bathroom counter and she watches me get my makeup on. She loves to use the blush brush on herself but ends up looking sunburnt.

She has done really well without the pacifier and I even threw them away one day. She did find one in the trash and didn't want to give it back, but I was able to bury it in the trash later. After the paci, she got even more attached to her kitty "Meow Meow" and a soft white blanket that feels similar to Meow Meow. I have been randomly hiding the kitty and she is able to go to bed without it which is good. She is still taking a bottle of milk before naps and before bed. We are starting to try to wean her, so she is only getting about 3-4 ounces each time. She loves her milk and anything in a cup is "muk."

She takes an afternoon nap around 12:30 or so, usually between 2-3 hours lately which is nice. She had been on a 8:00 on the dot bedtime schedule but that has been loosening up with the longer days and nicer weather. When Myelle gets tired, she will start saying "Night Night" which means she is ready for her bottle and her bed. She wakes up around 7:30 or 8:00 in the morning.

Her temper tantrums have not stopped. She is very demanding about what she wants and gets frustrated extremely fast. We have been working with her on using her words when she needs something that she is able to communicate. She says "help," usually in a whisper for some reason which is adorable. She also says "all done" and gives the sign for it. This has started to help eliminate the food being thrown on the floor. Some of the cuter things she says are "I did it!" and her own form of "where'd it go?" For some reason she calls her uncle Brent "Ment" just like Kyler did. She is a repeater and will try to copy anything.

She knows most of her body parts: nose, eyes, ears, hair, mouth, cheeks, hands, arms, fingers, legs, feet, toes, and tummy. She attempts to count but only has a few numbers down, and not in any particular order. She thinks everything is the color orange, because she can say "oinj." And she knows several animal sounds but defaults to "baa" if she's not sure. The cutest one is her rooster. And the funniest is chicken. Any time we have chicken for dinner we will tell her to eat her chicken and she says "bawk." She is also really cute when we say our dinner prayer. She knows where the "Amens" go in the sign of the cross and after the prayer itself.

She is starting to figure out how to use silverware but we are still a long way from a non-messy meal. We have learned over the past months that her reflux issues are probably still around. Juice is a big no-no for Myelle. We also have to sort of watch other acidic and spicy foods, but nothing too major. Her favorite foods are fruit and sweets. She can't stay out of dough (bread, pizza, etc.) and likes her breads. Like Kyler, she does not like potatoes although she loves french fries. Meat has been a toss-up lately and vegetables are pretty much a thumbs down.

She is a Grandma's girl. She loves her Grandma Debbie and always wants to be held by her. Myelle has started to gravitate equally between Brett, Papa, and I. She kind of likes to hang out with the guys.