15 months!

Wow.  I have a toddler!  And she is pretty amazing.  I don't know how time went by so quickly, but it seems everyone warned me this would happen, so I should have known.  I will have to go back and add photos/video later, but for now I want to get everything down before I forget.

Amelie blows my mind with her intelligence.  She is far more vocal and adept with sign language than any other baby her age I've met.  I know we shouldn't compare babies, but honestly, she is a super star when it comes to language skills.  This little lady can sign 23 different words, and says a whole bunch of stuff with regularity too (in addition to mimicking whatever we say).  At her 15 month checkup (where she clocked in at 22 lbs, 14 oz and 31" tall), I was able to check almost everything off the 12-24 month milestone inventory, with a few exceptions.  It's easier to say what Ami can't do, rather than what she can.  She can't yet stack 6 blocks (only 5), and she can't take all her clothes off by herself (aside from socks/shoes/hat).  She can't run, and she can't eat with utensils without spilling (though she loves to try!).  Otherwise, she is well above her developmental curve, mastering many things months ahead of schedule.

Here are her 23 signs:  Milk, More, All Done, Potty, Diaper, Medicine, Cheese, Goodbye, Book, Bath, Cookie, Poop, Again, Please, Cold, Shoes, Yes, Bounce, Sorry, Hot, Thank You, Help, Stop, Hurt, and Open.

She also says Dada, Mama, Kitty, Up, Cold, Hot, Nice, Diaper, More, Milk, Num Nums, Outside, Water (wa wa), Nose, Eyes, Yay, Night Night, Bye Bye, Baby, Stop, Whoa, Boom, Ouch, Walk, Purple, Shoes, Rock, Mail, Please, Help, Open, and she tries her best to say a whole lot of other words, including many spontaneous imitations.  Plus her adorable baby "talk" that makes no sense to anyone but her.

She can recite the noises on command for the following animals: Dog, Cat, Cow, Horse, Chicken, Lion, Monkey, Wolf, Sheep, Elephant, Pig, Frog, Bunny ("hop hop hop!") And also Truck, "vrmm vrmm!" ;)

She can throw and catch a ball.  She is starting to say her own name (though it sounds mostly like Am...).  She loves to be outside, and really gets upset when she has to come inside. She still goes on the potty in the morning, after nap. and occasionally during the day.  She hasn't been going numero dos in the pot lately, though. Too busy to stop what she's doing, and harder for us to catch her cues when she is walking all over the place!

She is still nursing like a champion, and has only ever drank breast milk and water.  She loves to eat cheese, seaweed, blueberries, pasta, watermelon, peas, Trader Joe's O's (Non-GMO Cheerios), and yogurt.  She doesn't really care for meat.  She especially loves cookies, which (to her), includes granola and any treat like Trader Joe's dark chocolate peanut butter cups.  We don't generally give her things with refined sugar, except that. She has had a few tastes of ice cream, and is definitely a fan.  She will try anything once, but often spits things out after deciding she isn't keen on the texture/flavor.

She takes one nap a day, usually 90 minutes (11:30am-1 or so), and still doesn't sleep through the night.  She is in (Mommy's) bed for 12-13 hours a night, though she wakes up to nurse as often as every 2 hours or more.  Since Daddy is working overnights, mostly Mommy just switches sides and goes back to sleep just ask quick as Amelie does with some milk.

She wears size 4 shoes, size 12-18 month clothes (for the most part - some 9 mo, and one or two 24 mo), and size 3 disposable diapers (at night... cloth during the day).  She is in the 68th percentile for height, and 73rd for weight.  Her head (big ole' brain!) is in the 91st percentile.  Crazy how far this tiny 6 lb baby girl has come!

We feel so lucky to have Amelie in our lives, and also to have such supportive friends and family to share in our journey as parents.  Thanks to all of you for being interested in our little lady!