Yes, I realize that is a rather bold statement, but it’s true. Gracie is so so smart! Maybe it’s just because she is my first born and it amazes me by the things she does and says. It is probably normal for every 15 month old to act like she does, but to me, she’s a little Einstein!
Gracie turned 15 months on the 22nd, so I’m a little late posting this, but I figured better late than never, right? She is turning into such a big girl and it breaks my heart but at the same time it’s so fun to see her grow and learn. Seeing the world through a child’s eyes is surely something to be cherished and I’m so glad I’ve been given the opportunity to do it with her.
Let’s start with size since everyone is always curious about the stats. She’s weighing in at about 19-20 pounds and I’m guessing about 29 inches. So she is still on the small side but she sure doesn’t think so! She wears a size 2 or a size 3 shoe and a size 3 diaper. Her clothes are generally about 12 months, but she can wear some 9 months and a few 18 months depending on how it’s made. {note: the outfit she has on in the picture, the top is 18 months, and the bloomers are 3-6 months. Odd combo, I know.}
She’s so active! She hates taking naps. Lately when I put her down for naps she will say anything she can think of to get out of taking a nap. This week she screams, “no momma, shoes!” “no momma, cup! cup! cup!” and “no momma, eat!”. So she acts like she needs to go outside {shoes}, or that she’s starving or dying of thirst. Girlfriend has it figured out. Also, she’ll scream for me and reach her little arms out of the crib and start grasping with her little hands over and over. It’s the most pitiful thing! Oh, and I almost forgot, “Momma… tuck!” Tuck Momma!” when she purposely puts her legs through the crib and gets stuck. What a little stinker!
She loves to play with her babies and read books. Her favorite toys are her baby dolls though. She loves to feed them, and wrap them up in blankets, and rock them in her mini rocking chair. Such a little momma hen! She also LOVES to sing and dance! OMG the girl loves to perform. And once she knows she has an audience, there’s not stopping her! I already know she’s going to be the star of all her school plays. She loves to be outside and play with her sand table, her splash pool, the big pool, and dirt. She loves anything water related and swinging and sliding. She is so independent though, she likes to try to slide by herself. She pushes my hand off her when I try to help.
For a while it was debatable if she would be a momma’s girl, or a daddy’s girl. It’s finally settled, she’s a BIG TIME momma’s girl! She loves her daddy too, but she definitely has to have her snuggle time in with momma right when she wakes up and before she goes to bed. I’m the first person she asks for when she wakes up and it does makes me feel good =) The way she says it is so cute. I’m normally the one to go get her if she’s not in our bed already. And she says “momma?” Momma” I’m just waiting for her to follow it one day with “is that you?” because that’s what it sounds like when she says it, haha
She really is not on a concrete schedule since we are so on the go during the summer. But she always has to have her “cup” right when she wakes up along with a banana, and she normally will take 2 naps a day. She does fine on one nap if there’s no way around it, but I prefer for her to take 2 because she’s much happier. She eats anything and everything, but is partial to semi healthy food and I’m hoping it lasts. She loves to brush her teeth before bed and asks for it every night after she gets out of the bath tub.
She will repeat almost ANY word you say to her. And she does it pretty clearly too. Here is what she says consistently and knows the meaning of:
momma
da-da
dog
ball
pool {to reference any body of water}
All the grandparents (Nina, MiMi, Papa, Doc, G-pa, G-ma)
Her aunts, Samantha (we call her ya-ya, that was started years ago, and Brittany – BB)
paper {pay-pa}
bye bye {ba ba}
hi
yellow {will point to something yellow and say it}
one and two {she can tell you she is one, and if I say “one” she’ll say “two}
app {on the iphone, Lord help us}
outside {side}
shoes {shoosh}
please {peas, AND will actually say it when she wants something. Kind of backfired on us though because know that’s ALL she says when she wants something in the store}
Thank you {tane-tu. the most adorable little sound I have ever heard! She says it when you give her something}
shh {to tell you to be quiet}
cheese
Yogurt
Pretty {pippy}
cute {tute}
bed
up
no {of course, it’s her favorite}
Hey
Play {pay}
kiss {siss}
cup
eat
spoon
chicken {chicky}
belly button
bow
nose
baby
bottle {for her baby’s bottle}
sa-sa {that’s what we call her paci}
cracker
I know there’s more I’m not thinking of. Her please and thank you are seriously so precious. And she uses them in context! That is so crazy to me!
She loves attention and if someone at the store is not paying attention to her, she will stare them down and say “hey! Hey!” and then when they look she will say “tane-tu” haha. Adorable if you ask me! Also, she bats her eyes, no joke. All I have to do is say “show so and so your eyes” and she bats them and flirts. I never taught her that so I’m not sure where she got that. She loves to spin {especially in dresses} and clap and sing along with songs and do all the motions.
She is a little lover girl because she loves to love on everyone. She loves to give kisses and hugs. Although she does have an ornery streak and will pretend like she’s about to give you a kiss then turn and run away at the last minute. She loves to test her limits and will look over at me when she’s about to do something bad just to see if I’ll say something. She loves to throw her cup and bowl on the floor then cover her mouth and giggle. Ornery I tell you!
I used to be paranoid about how much milk she drinks, because it’s not very much, but I just give her as much as she wants and don’t give her juice or water until she drinks at least 2 sippy cups full of milk. She eats pretty much whatever we eat. For snacks it’s usually fruit or yogurt, or wheat thins with strawberries and cheese. There is really nothing she won’t eat. She’s kind of picky about her meat though, it needs to be super super tiny for her to like it and eat it. She feeds herself 100%, sometimes with a spoon, sometimes with her hand.
She can tell you what a dog, monkey, horse, bear, chicken, duck, and cow sound like. She can also tell you where her fingers, toes, hair, eyes, nose, mouth, ears, and belly button are. And, where her bow goes!
Lately her favorite word has been “no”. She will say no to everything! And if she really doesn’t like something, it’s a very LOUD and drawn out “NOOOOOOO”, then I tell her to “shh” and she looks at me and says “peas”. I think she’s asking me to ask her to “shh, please” haha
She loves to mimic everything I do. She loves to brush her hair and pretend to put on make up. She loves to play with my jewelry and say “pippy momma”. She loves to clap when I put her bow on because I did that for so long to her. The last few Saturday’s Eric has gotten up in the morning with her so I can sleep in for an extra 30 minutes or so, and she will come into our bedroom to find me. She will be holding a picture frame with her baby picture in it and bring it to me in bed and say “pippy baby momma” haha. Yes, she is a very pretty baby.
She will sometimes throw a good tantrum and throw herself on the ground forward with her butt in the air, but for the most part, she is such a good, sweet girl. Sometimes I am just overwhelmed by my love for her. She really is such a special baby with a good heart. I am so excited to see all the things God has in store for her.
