15 Months!

Month 15 feels like it has been a big one for Annie.  While she has been trying out some new things, this month was really notable for how she got a lot better at the things she was already doing.  We went to the doctor yesterday for her 15 month well baby visit, where she got three vaccines and a flu shot.  Up until this point, she has had very little reaction to her periodic vaccinations (with the exception of breaking out in a rash after her chicken pox vaccine...which is completely normal, they tell me), but this time was a real game changer.  This round of shots has really thrown her for a loop, but I think she's turning a corner and will be back to her usual rambunctious self before we know it.

Our sweet girl.

If this isn't a guilty face, I don't know what is.

Black beans and babies...may not mix after all.

Here are her 15-month stats, for the record books:

Height: 32 inches (90th percentile) -- she's a tall one, like a Noble
Weight: 22 lb, 14 ounces (50th percentile)

It only takes about a minute of watching her to figure out how she maintains her weight (not that we are worried about that) - she never, ever stops.  She is basically running now and from the time she wakes up until the time she goes to bed at night, she rarely takes a breather.  With the exception of morning and afternoon nap and meal and snack times, of course.

In a couple of weeks, Annie will make the transition into the next classroom at daycare.  She will officially be in the Toddler room.  And this is hitting me hard, for some reason.  She spent most of yesterday in that room and when I picked her up for her doctor's appointment she was sleeping on a cot like a big kid.  They eat meals at a table in that room, instead of a highchair, and have more structured play involving art and music and language.  Oh, and they go to one nap a day, instead of two.  As much as I am having a hard time wrapping my mind around how big she is getting, Annie seems totally prepared for this change.  She's ready for it.  In fact, I think in her own mind she's 15 months going on 15.  Oh boy!

Here are a few things our little toddler started doing (or doing more of) this past month:

* Jumping - she has everything down except for the actual getting off the ground part.  And, as cute as her version of jumping is, I'm inclined to believe the whole leaving the ground part is over-rated anyway.

* Stomping and marching - Ask her to stomp her feet and she will do it with gusto.  Ask her to march and she will take off, lifting one leg high, but keeping the other leg in a pretty normal gait.  Too funny.

And here's a little video of Annie's jumping and stomping skills...

* Annie will follow directions now.  If you ask her to take a book into her room and put it in the basket, she will do it.  She even anticipates directions because they are part of routine - return Bobo (the monkey) to her crib before we leave for school, say "bye bye" to the dog as we leave the house, that sort of thing.

* We are bottle free in the Noble household.  A few months ago we dropped to a morning bottle and a night bottle of milk, with sippy cups in between.  Then we dropped the morning one, and about a month ago I was finally ready to give up the night one.  Annie made the transition like nothing ever happened.  Mama, on the other hand, mourned the loss of our more extensive nighttime routine of singing her 3 or more songs while she took a bottle each night.  We've made up for it, though, with lots of songs during the day.

* Words - Annie added the word "bubble" to her vocabulary this month, and has started repeating more words that we say, like "diaper" and "all done."

* Teeth - we are up to 5 whole teeth now in that tiny mouth.  Looks like we really won't have to get baby dentures after all.

Running through Dick's Sporting Goods...with a fancy hat she swiped from a display.

They say each stage is the best, and so far that has definitely proven to be true for us.  We love watching Annie as she transforms into the little girl she will be...the little girl she is.  As I have said a million times before, it is all happening way too fast.  But it's so much fun, I think I can handle the speedy passage of time.