15 Months Old

Dear Staci,

You are 15 months old!  Not a day goes by that you don't make your Dad and I laugh and leave us in a state of amazement.  You are so much fun at this age!  You are walking everywhere but still falling quite a bit.  You love to dance, and when we ask you to, you sway back and forth complete with your own song.  It goes kind of like this "eh eh eh eh mm mm mm".  You love to give hugs and say, "ahhhh" as you dole them out.  You give these hugs to Lovey, Shania, Rascal, your friends Bella and Veronica, and of course Mommy and Daddy. 

We went to the Zoo yesterday and had so much fun! You absolutely loved the dolphin show and practically jumped up and down the entire time.  You clapped and laughed and squealed as they performed for you.  You were your normal fearless self and made friends with everyone around us, making sure to tell everyone 'hi'.  It was very hot, but you didn't complain at all.  It was hard to get you to stay in the stroller and we had a few battles when Mommy got too tired to carry you any farther, but we made it through.  Eventually, you fell asleep and Mommy loved watching you sleep for a little while.

--You are still nursing 3-4 times a day and once or twice at night
--You are finally falling asleep on your own.  On occasion you fuss a bit, and tonight you started crying :(  I got up to check on you, but you quieted down before I got to your door.  So, you must have been OK.

--You are wearing 12-18mo and 18mo sized clothing

--Your communications skills are excellent for your age.  You are speaking single words and combining signs left and right like 'milk, please' and saying 'up' but then signing 'please'. 

--Your signs include milk, please, thank you, mama, eat, and bath.  You have made up your own signs for 'fancy' and 'closed'.  I love that my 15 month old says 'fancy'!!

--You know where your belly button, mouth, nose, eyes, and hair are. 

--You have six teeth.

--It is difficult for Mommy to keep the house clean because you pull things out of cabinets, open them, and dump the contents out on the floor.  Or just take random things and leave them in random places!  I can't wait for you to talk so you can tell me where you put my mascara.

--You figured out how to undo the childproof cap ages ago. 

Mommy and Daddy love you, Anastasia.  Thank you for being a constant source of joy in our home.