Linnea Months 13-16!

Linnea,
Sweet girl time is FLYING by.  Seriously.  I cannot remember you as a baby.  I see baby pictures and I just don't believe you were ever that small.

You are walking all over the place.  You try to run but you aren't that fast yet although you are working on it!  I think walking is my favorite stage so far.  I just feel like you can do so much more now that you can choose where you want to go and can get around quickly instead of me placing you somewhere.  I will say I am way less productive with a walking baby/toddler than I was a stationary one :) (even though at the time I thought it was "so hard" having a baby and getting anything done - ha!).  Walking is also a lot quieter than crawling so I lose you fairly often in the house.

Since this post covers several months most of it will be what you can do as a 16 month old but below I'll include some notable milestones I've written down about each month between 13-16 months.

At 13 Months: 
*Learned how to nap in your stroller

*Drinking milk from a bottle or a sippy cup while lying on the floor.  Started supplementing milk about 2 weeks before 1st birthday.  Then slowly started giving milk instead of nursing.  Took away the 11:30 session first, then after a few weeks took away the 3:30 session

*you could say ball, baby, bye bye and banana
*started feeding yourself yogurt with a spoon
*using a fork
*you like to hold clothing up to your neck or behind your head.
*top 3 teeth the 4th one on top showed up at the end of the month
*Roseola (Called 3 day fever in Swedish -tredagarsfeber) - Your fever bounced between 102-105 even with medicine.  You just wanted to be held all the time.  Your fever broke and your rash showed up while we were on the plane headed to Stockholm.

*Did great on the plane ride to Stockholm (probably because you were getting over your fever).  You fell asleep during takeoff and we woke you up when we landed.  Can't do much better than that.
*We had one rough night in Stockholm trying to adjust to the new time zone but your dad slept with you on the couch.

*You ate lots of rocks and sand at the parks :(

Owl & Gorilla (or Monkey as I say in the video)

At 14 Months:
*You learned how to climb on and off the couch at the Stockholm apartment
*You love playing in the sandbox at the park

*Can say and sign all done
*Started walking more on Aug 15th.  You could take about 8-10 steps but once you feel you would usually keep crawling.

*Got your first fat lip and drew blood while walking on the floor.
*Can say: up, all done, baby, ball, banana and point to things to let us know what you want
*Loves to play with plastic baggy clips, bulldozer and to read books
*Babies and Doggies book is a favorite!  Thankfully the Stockholm library had it so we could check it out!  You love the page that says "They both play ball!" and you like to say "ball" so now we pause so that you can say the word.  You will sniff, pretend to eat, kiss and cuddle all on the appropriate pages.  You rarely do all of them at the same time when we read the book but you will pick a few to do each time.

*Likes to eat Cheerios
*Nursing only at night and in the mornings.  Eventually cut out the night session (which isn't normal but you don't nurse for comfort or to fall asleep so it worked for us to have the morning session be the last one.  One your 14 month birthday we nursed for the last time.  It was sad but I think it was time.  Plus this meant I could actually sleep in in the mornings!  WOO HOO!
*When you drink milk you drink about 4-5 oz.  It took us (probably a little too long) to figure out you like your milk warmed up.  It doesn't have to be hot, just not cold.  You will drink it cold if we are out and about and having it warmed up isn't an option.
*You can finally hold a sippy cup!  I search high and low around Stockholm for a sippy cup that you could hold and we finally found a Mam one and once you learned on that you were able to use others and tip it back.  You also liked drinking out of a straw cup.

Here were a few of your favorite toys this month:

At 15 Months:
*Loves going down slides on your belly, feet first.
*Can say: up, all done, mama, ball, bottle (kind of), water (kind of stretching that a bit), bark like a dog, uh oh, banana (bababa)
*Can sign please (as well as more)
*Walking click right around Sept 6th.  I think it helped that we stayed with Riandi and Franna and you were able to watch Noah walk around.
*You like to carry bags around and put things in them
*You like playing with your baby and feeding him/her

*On Sept 17th I got to sleep in for the first time since you were born and your dad woke up with you and gave you a bottle.  It was glorious!
*Started cutting your molars
*Got your 4th bottom tooth so you are even now :) and have 8 teeth total
*Babies and Doggies book is still a favorite.  So is It's Pumpkin Day, Mouse.  We read that one over and over again.
*You like to carry bags around the house putting different things in them.
*You like pushing your cart around and standing on it backwards while swaying front to back.
*Like to play in the house your Grandma Janet made you for your birthday.
*You like hugging people including Zion (Brad and Victoria's daughter).

Stats

At your 15 month appointment you weighed 19 lbs 11 oz which was in the 10th percentile.  First time in double digits!  You were 30.5 inches long which was the 50th percentile and your head was 18 inches which was in the 55th percentile.

Eating
So far (knock on wood) you are not a picky eater at all.  You eat whatever we are eating.  In fact you are pretty convincing that you need to eat what we are eating.  If for some reason we have something on our plates that you don't have you let us know you'd like to have some too :).  I tried order your first kid's meal for you at Chick-Fil-A and you hardly ate any of it because you wanted what I had.  Well I was hoping you'd eat the grilled nuggets and fruit cup but instead you wanted my crispy chicken strips and fries :(.  Guess I need to set a better example.

I can't think of any foods you refuse to eat.  You actually love veggies.  Your favorites are carrots but you also really like green beans, peas, broccoli, zucchini, peppers, corn, really any veggie we have you will eat.  You like meat, fish, shrimp, chicken, and pork.  You also like fruit especially blueberries.  If you are eating and then we sit down with something new on our plates you insist that we share :).  You had apple cider at the Louisburg Cider Mill and you couldn't get enough of it.  I'm pretty sure that was your first taste of something that wasn't milk, water or breast milk.  I haven't given you juice because you love drinking water so why would I give you something sugary when you don't "need" it.  You love drinking from a straw out of a big cup.

Sleeping
You still sleep about 11-12 hours each night with hardly ever a peep.  If you do wake up it is easy to get you to go back down after one of us holds you or we lay you back down in your crib and rub your back and then slowly creep out of the room.  You do wake up occasionally about 2 weeks before new teeth pop through.

You are slowly thinking about dropping your morning nap.  In September (when you were 14 months old) we started going to Mops and Bible Study Fellowship each week and on those mornings you miss your morning nap.  Unfortunately those are back to back days so the day after BSF you are definitely ready for a morning nap again.  You do a pretty good job missing your morning nap but I can tell it catches up with you.  There have been a few times when we are home for your morning nap and I lay you down and you talk through it for an entire hour.  So I have a feeling you are almost ready to give them up completely.  That will definitely help if we need to run errands but I'm going to miss having an hour in the morning to get things done without you around.

We still pick you up after you've been asleep for a few hours just to get in some cuddles while you are asleep.  We've let a few people (your grandparents and Erin McGonigle) hold you during this magical time and I think they've enjoyed it.  It is my favorite thing to do with you.

Clothes
You are wearing size 12-18 month tops, pjs and pants.  It kind of varies by brand but for the most part you are in the same size as your age.  You typically need the next size of pants before shirts since your legs are long (just like your mama).

It turns out I LOVE buying clothes for you.  Maybe it is because everything looks cute on you and I don't have to try it on myself :).  I've been buying most of your clothes at Children's Orchard and Once Upon A Child which are second hand clothing stores.  I could buy you brand new clothes but why would I when I can find super cute clothes at less than half the price.

You are finally wearing shoes (well when you aren't taking them off and chucking them while riding in the car or stroller).  I bought 2 pairs from Children's Orchard to start you off and they've been great.  One was a Stride Rite pair that ended up being your play/get dirty shoes and the other pair were Jack and Lily sandals which have been great!  I just wish I could figure out how to keep you from taking them off when you are in the car or the stroller.

This has to do with your hair not your clothes but your curls are adorable.  I had blonde curls just like you as a little girl.  You get lots of comments about them and I just think they are so cute.

Playtime
You LOVE to read.  You bring me a book and insist that I read it to you 10+ times a day.  How can I say no to that?  So I usually stop what I'm doing and pop a squat right there and read to you.  Sometimes we read several books; sometimes we read one over and over and over again.  A few of your favorites include: Smile, Let's Ride Bikes, Bizzy Bear, We're Going on A Bear Hunt, The Babies and Doggies Book, It's Pumpkin  Day, Mouse, Apple Farmer Annie, and Smile Baby Faces.  I LOVE our public library!  I usually check out 30 books or so every 3 weeks.

I asked you to find the book with the football in it and you walked over to the book box and looked and looked.  You picked up one book looked at the front and then set it down.  Then you found the one you were looking for which was in the Thanksgiving book and brought it over to us so we could find the page with the football on it.  You are one smart little girl!

You've been playing with puzzles and a shape sorter.

 You love putting on these Halloween glasses. 

After visiting Grandma Debbie's house we brought back a stroller for your baby doll and you love pushing her around.

I just can't get enough of her in this dress that her Aunt Annie wore as a little girl.

You like to find your monkey in your crib and bring him out into the living room.  One time we asked you to put him back in the crib and you actually did it!

You've played with beans but usually have to stop once you start throwing them out of the bin and onto the floor.

You are your father's daughter.  You are adventurous and you love to try new things.  Looks like being with your dad for the last 15 years has just prepared me to be a mom to one of his kids.  Lots of practice not freaking out has come in handy already! 

You love playing with these light switches.

Daddy is funny!

You LOVE going down slides.  Your dad taught you to get off of the couch and bed by going feet first so we had you go feet first down the slides which meant you could go down lots of big slides all by yourself.  Sometimes your shoes would stop you but for the most part you had no trouble at all.  You like big curly slides the best.  Now you will go down short, straight sides on your bottom.

We went to Topeka for a play date with Kelli, Luke and Eli.  You had a lot of fun at the park!

This month you figured out how to walk down the stairs.  We have stairs at our house but the basement stairs have a door at the top and you never go down them and the other staircase we never go up so you don't even really realize it is there.  You can go up stairs but then you usually go down the slide so you haven't had much practice going down the stairs.  One day at the park another little boy kept walking up and down the stairs with his mom's help.  You watched him and apparently decided to try walking down the stairs without my help.  You did it on the first try.  I was really impressed!

Walking down the stairs all by yourself on the first try.

You love playing with latches.  Often times I won't buckle you into the shopping cart because the buckle will keep you entertained while I shop.  It also means I have to keep a really close eye on you!  You love to help buckle your car seat and the lanyard your Grandparents brought back from their cruise is a favorite toy right now!

Our Days
We've gotten into a pretty good rhythm being at home.  We go to a workout class twice a week and you play with other kids while I workout.  We go to MOPS once a week where you spend a little over 2 hours with kids while I get to hang out with other moms and listen to a speaker or make a craft.  We also go to bible study one day a week.  That has been a little harder for you to get used to but I'm hopeful you'll come around pretty soon.

Activities and Outings
We spent 2 months in Stockholm this summer plus a trip to Prague.  Prague was your first international trip and you did great!  We spent hours at playing at parks in Stockholm and hanging out with friends.

We went to Wichita for my cousin Danielle's wedding reception and you got in lots of cousin time.  It was so fun to see all of you interacting.  I feel like now that you can walk it is a lot easier to play with them.

These two are almost exactly a year apart.  It is fun "looking into the future" to see what we will be doing a year from now.

We went to Gieringer's Orchard Pumpkin Patch with Liz, Jon and their 3 kids.

We had a great time with Brad and Victoria (and Brad's parents) at the Louisburg Cider Mill!  You LOVED the big slide and there were several parents and kids who were impressed watching you go down alone.

You also loved walking across the bridge and you figured out how to do the incline without wiping out!

For Halloween you were Yoda.  When your dad and I were dating in college I entered him into a contest to win a life sized Yoda and he won.  He saw it and realized you were close to the same size so that is what you were for Halloween.  You were adorable.  I bought the hat off of Etsy and you were good to go.

You had fun at Trunk or Treat at the church where we go to MOPS.

I love this picture because it seems like no matter how many times we get together you girls still don't realize you know each other.  Ha!

We went to Star Wars Night at the Library and you had a great time . . . except for when Darth Vader got a little too close for comfort.

Halloween

 You did not like feeling the inside of the pumpkin.  You kept saying no and putting it back in.  Ha!

Taking turns stealing food from each other :).

 The only one where all 3 girls are looking!  We met these girls and their mamas at Rhyme Time at the library.  I noticed we all had girls about the same age and we were all first time moms so after seeing them a few weeks in a row I got brave and asked if they wanted to hang out outside of rhyme time.  It has been so fun watching the 3 girls together even if they don't even realize that anyone else is there half the time.  Ha!

 Stealing Everly's bag . . . or candy.

 Mama, Linnea, Miranda, Lydia, Hanna and Everly

Firsts and New Skills
You can WALK!  You took your first step in the Chicago airport on our way to Stockholm on July 14th.

You now have a total of 9 teeth including your first molar.  You seem to be able to handle chewing most foods which is great.

We often ask you questions (like do you want to read this book? Would you like to try _____?) and you usually respond with yeah! or yep!  It is SO cute!  Sometimes I ask you if you had fun with your friends while I was working out and you'll say "yeah."  If you are crying and you want milk or something else and we asked you you answer in the most pathetic little voice.  It is pretty cute though.

This dress is one that your Aunt Annie wore when she was a little girl.  It is adorable!

Most of the time you say yes but every once in a while you say "no".  Honestly I feel like you hear "no" the most when you play with older kids which is a bummer because we've tried hard to use that word sparingly.  You definitely don't get your way but we try to phrase it in different ways so you aren't just told "no" all the time.

You figured out how to open the microwave which "isn't for you" so sometimes you have to go to your room for a little bit until you forget about the microwave and start playing with something else.

You can identify your ears, nose, head, belly button, toes, teeth and tongue.  We were reading a lift the flap book about body parts and when we got to the teeth page you knew exactly where your teeth were.  It was super cute.

You can say mama, ball, baby, bottle, water, yeah, yep, up, all done, night night, and bye bye.  One night at dinner you said "I don't know" pretty clearly.

You can make the animal sounds for a dog, cat, cow and lion (thanks Lydia for that one).

Remember
I want to remember you toddling over to me with a book saying "up" and after I ask you if you want to read it you say "yeah".  It is the best!  If I am sitting on the floor you will back up to me and plop right down.  I have yet to say no to reading a book with you.  I wonder why?

I want to remember the hugs I get after I pick you up from daycare or when you hurt yourself.

I want to remember how much fun you are and how lucky I am to be your mama.

I want to remember how great your dad is with you.  It is so fun hearing the two of you together.

We like to pick you up when you've been asleep for a while to cuddle with you.  One night when we were staying with our friends Riandi and Franna in Stockholm, I came in to find you on the bed with your dad.  We cuddle for a bit before putting you back in your crib.  It was awesome!

We love you so much sweet girl.  Time is flying by and we are so happy you are here with us.  Thanks for making us laugh and realize how lucky we are to be your parents.

Love,

Mama