Happy 15 Months!!

Miss Lu Lu Belle turned 15 months yeterday. She had a big month. I swear, each one gets more fun than the last...hard as that is to imagine. I swear we are ALWAYS looking at each other and saying, "THIS is the best age!"...and we've been doing that since the day she was born. Ok, maybe not the day she was born, but at least the day she started sleeping more than 45 minutes at a time! ;)

She had her 15 months appointment this morning, and it was all good news. She's now up just over 21 pounds (25th %) and 31 inches tall (75th %). She's right on track with development, and although the nurses seemed to make her very leery, she loves her Dr. It is funny, though, because Pediatric appointments with your little one start to feel a little like Parenting: Pop Quiz!

Questions and Answer Key:
1. "Is she drinking from a cup now?"
Give yourself 5 points for drinking from a straw, 2 points for drinking from a sippy, and -9 points for still only taking the bottle.
2. "Do you brush her teeth?"
Give yourself 7 points for brushing after each meal, 3 points for brushing once a day and letting baby play with her toothbrush, -5 points for "Brushing her teeth?"
3. "Can she climb up stairs?"
Give yourself 5 points for yes, 3 points for "She could do that before she could even walk.", and 0 points for "Not sure, we haven't exposed her yet."
4. "Does she mimic you?"
Give yourself 8 points for yes, 0 points for not really, and -16 points for "Yup, she's already perfected yelling 'Oh SHIT!' whenever she drops a toy."
5. "How many words does she have?"
Give yourself 10 points for more than 12 words, 3 points for 5-11 words, and -5 points for, "Just 'Oh SHIT!'."
6. "Does she recognize words even if she can't say them?"
Give yourself 6 points for yes, 2 points for very rarely, and -6 points for "Just 'Oh SHIT!."
7. "Can she feed herself with a fork and/or spoon?"
Give yourself 5 points if baby tries, 2 points if she has no interest, and -7 points if your answer is, "Shoot, her DADDY barely knows how to use a fork!".
8. "Does she understand and respond to basic commands?"
Give yourself 10 points for "Yes, she does and she even throws away her own trash.", 3 points for "She understands basics like 'no', 'stop', and 'come here', and -4 points for, "She's excellent at fetching Mommy's valium and Daddy's beer."

Lucky us, we scored 45 points, so we were sent home with a sticker for Luca and a follow up appointment at 18 months.

The one question that did make me pause and think was how many words she has. I know she has quite a few, but I've never sat down and counted. So, in order to help me remember in the long term, here are her words:

~Hi
~Bye
~Up
~Ball
~Dog
~Uh-Oh
~Mama
~Dada
~Wow
~God! (blasephmy at it's finest)
~Shoe
~Apple
~Nana
~Hot
~Go

She also can tell you what dogs, cats, monkeys, and monsters say. She has an obsession with shoes (if you take yours off in our house, she'll bring them back and try to put them on for you), is very into closing things like doors and drawers, and loves to give kisses. In fact, if you tell her to 'be nice' to the dogs or one of her stuffed animals, she gives them a giant hug and a kiss.

In other Luca news, she had a pretty big month. She visited the Mesa Museum for Youth with her BFF Melody. They had so much fun playing with the fake veggie garden, sitting on the couch together with some books, and going down the slide feet first.










We also took Luca's first 'real' vacation, to California. She got to see her Great Grandma and Great Aunt, as well as her Aunt Ann. She also saw Yosemite for the first time, and went on her first boat ride. It was such a blast!!





Last, but not least, Luca helped her Daddy celebrate his 30th birthday in style! It was a great month for all of us, and I can't wait to see what the next month brings!