15 months

Today was Ellie's 15 month wellness check and I wanted to make an update post about how our girl is doing. To say the least she is doing so good, and I have a lot to say, hence a long post (some pics at bottom!)! Her vocabulary has bumped up a ton and she's adding on the poundage/length wonderfully (the nurse and doctor were quite impressed) and has continued to get sweeter...even though she's starting to test some boundaries with listening (no surprise for this age though).

Today she weighed in at 23.5 pounds (77%) and height at 30.7" (51%). Her progress in both weight and height since she was 7 months has been ah-mazing! She had dropped down to the 3rd percentile at her 7 month well check for both of those measurements, mostly because she spit up so much. But when we increased her solids it helped keep milk/food down and her body of course showed the love. She's wearing size 5 diapers and clothes ranging in 12-24 month sizes. She loves playing with her/our clothes and accessories all. the. time. All throughout the day she is grabbing those items, trying to put them on herself, her babies/stuffed animals and us. Definitely a girly girl!

Whenever we get asked about Ellie's sleep schedule people say we are so lucky. The reason being is she has continued to sleep 11-12 hours straight every single night since she was 5 months (with the exception of some nights where she wakes and talks for a few moments, but she goes right back to sleep on own till her normal/average wake time-around 8am). We of course love her predictable sleep pattern and ability to be in crib, putting herself to sleep. And when she wakes she is very happy and talkative. Around 14 months we needed to cut her morning nap out completely; which made me a little sad and I had to therefore adjust how I did things in the morning...working out and showering before she wakes (that can be a little tough some mornings...hello cup(s) of coffee!). And her nap starts around 1pm and lasts till, on average, 4pm. 

Ellie still eats 3 meals a day and snacks once a day (sometimes twice). Veggies can be a struggle to get down, but she eats pretty much everything else great. She is a milk-aholic and would probably drink a ton more than we give her. At 13.5 months I ended breastfeeding. Whenever I would want to cut a feeding, Ellie would nurse super short and then when I actually would skip that one the next time, she would never miss it. Plus she took to whole milk like it was no big deal. I'm glad her and I were on the same page the whole time, because it made for a very easy transition. There have been some moments where I've missed those moments, but it helps that she has a very loving personality and still cuddles before sleep times. She also has 5 teeth with one more trying to come in! There hasn't been any teething issues either, we never knew when one would pop through unless we checked!

I have tried keeping track of all the words Ellie has said, or has tried to say. There are so many that sound a like, but within the context or where she's pointing, we know what she's referring to. Here's a list of the words and if it's in parenthesis, that is how it kind of sounds:

mom

dad (dah)

dog (doh)

cat (cah)

woof

shoe/shoes

sock/socks

bow

box

book

bib

milk (mil)

strawberry (she has only said the whole word once and it blew our minds!)

banana (nana)

cheese

bean

zebra (ebra)

duck

bunny (bun)

bear

giraffe (aff)

mouse (mou)

monkey (mon)

bubbles (bub)

bar - this is for granola bar...not a real bar ; )

bath 

teeth (ceeth)

cheek/cheeks

block (bahk)

box

okay

hi
yes

uh-oh

car

truck (tuck)

cook

ball (bah)

diaper (per)

baby (bab/babe/ba-by)

dance (dan)
stuck

There are probably some more, but I'd say that's pretty good ; )

And she understands what way more things are than what she can say obviously. It's amazing the things she has picked up on already. She can also point to the correct body part when we ask her where her head, hair, eyes, nose, mouth, teeth, cheeks, ear, fingers, hand, arm, toes and feet. 

She has the sweetest personality; constantly giving out hugs, kisses (and blows kisses-with the lip smack sound-to those she won't actually kiss) and loves to her babies/stuffed animals. She waves to people everywhere we go, says hi a lot, and really zones in to other kids - going up to them and watching what their doing/playing with them. 

I could keep writing several paragraphs more, because there are so many things to brag about. We are two very proud parents and love this thing called parenthood...we would recommend it ; ).