15 Month Check Up!

Well, I decided to take a little break in sharing vacation photos to give everyone a little update (oops, turned into a long update!). Rachel had her 15th Month Well Baby check-up yesterday and she's doing great:)...we thought so, but it is good to get that affirmation from the pediatrician. The check-up was a bit late as she will actually be 16 months old in 6 days. The doctor was on vacation, then we were, so...just a tad late. I was actually surprised at her height/length this time. They measured her at 32 inches! I honestly did not think she was that tall yet. Her weight...not a big surprise as most of her clothes are still falling off her tiny self. She is just about 20 1/2 lbs. now. She is down in the 25th %ile for anyone who pays attention to that. She was pretty average or a little above average (50-60%) for her 2, 4, 6 and 10 month check ups but then dropped way down at 12 months to the 20th%ile. She's always been higher in her %iles for her length and head:). The doctor is pleased with the steady little increases though, so no worries:). She'll just continue to be our little peanut:)...

"Is it snacktime yet, Mommy?"

She is doing well with her walking, talking, eating and sleeping just as she should be. The walking is going great! She is getting around all over the place now and her confidence is rapidly increasing with each step. So darn cute! She is just mighty proud of her little self:). I will try to post some video soon. The talking is good too...mostly babbling, but we can tell she has some very specific words or sounds for things. She says a lot of Ma Ma, Da Da, Ga Ga, Ba Ba, and La La. She also has lots of other sounds, not very specific words, but sounds. (just love that sweet, little voice) She lets us know what she wants and doesn't want. She points and does a cute little head shake for "no". The doctor loved it when I asked Rachel if she wanted some juice. She just lowered her eyes and did her little "no" shake. Cute, but she does it A LOT! Gotta love a girl who knows what she wants...and doesn't want! (right?) Her eating habits are still very good. We are working on a new concept though..."give Mommy whatever you do not want to indicate you are finished...do not just toss it onto the floor!" Oh, boy...Sheena loves that new "toss it on the floor" habit! Rachel is very good at signing for "more, please" but hasn't quite got the one down for "all done"! We're working on it:)...oh, she's getting two more teeth too! She has 12 and will then have 14 in there! Goodness, how do they all fit?! It looks like her two top canines are coming in. Her little gums are swollen, she is drooling like crazy, and putting everything in her mouth! Everything except my finger! She won't let me feel the area for teeth, but she did let the doctor have a peek:)...She never really complains, but I see the signs...pink cheeks, drooling tons, gnawing on things including her board books!, and sleeping more than usual.

We take snacktime very seriously in our house:)...

Speaking of sleeping, we are very fortunate as she is still just an amazing sleeper. She still takes two naps a day (Yay!) and sleeps about 12 hours a night. She is definitely a "blankie" girl:). She doesn't have one favorite blankie though. She simply loves any and all of her super soft cotton receiving blankets. I wonder if it is because they are the ones I swaddled her in from birth? Goodness knows, you had better not try to go somewhere without one! I was halfway to the grocery store the other day and she was whining and whining and whining in the backseat. That is not like her at all and I kept saying, "Rachel, what is wrong? Please stop that whining. Mommy has to go to the grocery store..." I glanced at her in the rearview mirror and suddenly realized the problem...I had forgotten a blankie! Yep, I did a quick u-turn and ran in and grabbed two of them, gave her one and kept one as a spare:)...and we were good to go! I looked back a few moments later and she was just holding it in her two little hands and staring out the window as content as could be:). They are so magical, Frank wishes they came in big, grown-up sizes! She is still a big fan of books and all things musical. I recently opened the xylophone I had purchased for her about a month ago. She thinks it is pretty neat and is doing a good job using the wand to hit the keys...when she is not smacking them with her hands, that is! I just made a few compilation cds of children's music and made copies for the two cars and her room. She has discovered the joy of dancing:) It is very cute how she will clap and dance to music. She was even doing it from her stroller at Disneyland. Every time we walked by certain areas that had live music, we'd see her little hands come up and start shaking around as she "stroller-danced". She loves to play Peek-A-Boo with you whenever she can. She'll use anything from one of Frank's baseball caps to my computer to hide behind and "peek-a-boo" at you...repeatedly:). She gives hugs and kisses when requested and sometimes even when not. I'll catch her looking at me sometimes and then she'll just lean forward and kiss me right on the edge of my mouth. If that doesn't melt my heart I don't know what would...so sweet. She does the hand gestures to "Pat-A-Cake", "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" and part of "Itsy Bitsy Spider".

"Bubbles for you, bubbles for you, I have so many bubbles for you!"

...a favorite Gymboree song of ours...

She loves books where she gets to lift the flap or touch and feel. We now read two books every night at bedtime, sometimes three! They are "Goodnight, Moon", "Pajama Time" and "Little Bunny's Bedtime". I read "Pajama Time" to her tonight and then "Goodnight, Moon" and when I got to the end of "Goodnight, Moon" I continued it adding..."Goodnight, Mommy, Goodnight Daddy, Goodnight..." and I was about to say doggy when I realized she was shaking her head "no"! I asked her if she wanted me to read another story and she pointed at the pile of books in front of us. I then let her reach for one and she handed me "Goodnight, Moon" for a second read. I read it a second time and then she was ready for bed! She laid back in my arms in the rocker and listened to the whole story and my extra goodnights then I put her in her crib with blankie, turned on the lullaby cd and it was "Goodnight, Rachel". She watches me from the crib every night with her big beautiful eyes as I sign, "I Love You" to her. I have been doing that since birth and it always gets me a huge smile:)...then I kiss my fingers and touch her face three times...a kiss from Mommy (touch forehead), one from Daddy (touch cheek) and one from Sheena (touch other cheek). I walk out of her room every night with tears in my eyes as my heart overflows with the love I feel for this child...our beautiful, precious, amazing, incredibly sweet and happy baby girl...and I whisper a sincere "Thank You" to God for this incredible gift. May she always know just how much her Daddy and I love her and how proud we are that she is our daughter. She brings such incredible joy to our life every single day. I probably check on her at least half a dozen times every night (besides watching her on the video monitor) and I say the same thank you every time. At times I have to drag myself away as I just want to stare at her sleeping so sweetly in her crib and not miss a moment. She seems to be growing so fast right before my eyes and I wonder where the past (almost) 16 months has gone already?!! Gosh, this Mommy is feeling a bit emotional right now:)...

Sleepy baby...no smiles for Mommy...