Wednesday, February 12, 2014

15 Months…and a Tooth!

Sweet Iyla Grace, today you are 15 months old! I have been appreciating your amazingly sweet, gentle, giving nature this month. It is extra evident when we play with other little ones- you want to offer them your toys, check on them, give hugs, and are just so kind. Many little ones your age are in the 'me me me' stage and tend to push, pull, or even bite. Not you. You have such a loving heart, and I adore that about you.

How big?

15 month appointment stats:
*19 lbs, 9.2 ounces (10-25%)
*30 3/4 inches tall (50-75%)
*17 3/4 inch head circumference (25-50%)

And here you are next to Sam:


Here are a couple from last month I forgot to post (and just back-posted to your 14 month entry):


Words? You are adding new words to your repertoire on a daily basis! I would guess you have 40-50 sounds & words at this point. You love to point at everything around you and have us name it for you. This month's new words include: trees, cookies, eyes, bye bye, hi, butt, broc (for broccoli), knees, uh oh, and girl.

Sleep? You still take 2 naps/day, though I hear in the next few months that typically transitions to 1 big midday nap. We shall see! You definitely still are ready for a first rest around 10am, and a 2nd around 3pm- both anywhere from 40 minutes to an hour. You go to bed around 7:30 and sleep through to 7, laying awake happy and quiet in there until 7:15-7:30!

*Note* The last two days you have fought your afternoon nap a bit by throwing your pacis out of the crib- then fussing a LOT when you wanted them back. Not fun for either of us, as I can tell it is a test to see "if I do THIS, will Mama come back?" Hoping that is a short lived phase!


Potty time? You are still going every morning & after each nap.

Food? You continue to be a great eater. You have been loving soups lately (very messy!) and also sautéed spinach. You are still taking your milk in bottles- which is something we'll need to adjust very soon (to straw sippy cups).


Teeth? You had a strange virus over the weekend that started with a vomiting episode and was followed by about 24 hours of a low grade fever with fatigue. You woke up yesterday totally back to your happy self- and lo and behold, as you were playing on our bed I noticed your gum line looked a little different. Upon further investigation, you have a little bump poking through! Your FIRST tooth! And true to your style, it isn't the 'typical' first tooth babies get on the bottom. Nope- your first tooth is on the upper left. So exciting!

Milestones?

*You are getting better at moving your body around- crouching and crawling to peek under things, lifting a leg to get into your wagon or off your little bike, and going up and down hills.

Crouching down at the Children's museum

*Trying to carry as many dolls and/or objects at once as possible! You practice stacking them in your arms, holding some with your chin, and grabbing more than one with a hand. Little multi-tasker!


*You have spoken a couple of 2 word phrases this month! I've heard "Hi baby,""Hi doggie," and "uh-oh baby."

Current likes:

*Practicing walking up and down hills

*Your dollhouse! This is your very favorite toy right now, and you love to arrange your dollies and babies inside it. You also love to play "knock knock" where I put a doll on one side of the door and you open it to reveal who is there.

*Going for walks by our house. You love to watch the kids play in the nearby baseball fields and wave to your shadow!


*Requesting videos. You will say "yayaya!" for video, then "go go!" for Frozen's "Let it Go"or "hap hap" while shaking your head side to side for "If You're Happy and You Know It". We did lots of video watching while you were under the weather this weekend.

Sweet video snuggles

*Talking about babies- all day every day.

*Swim lessons. We started the spring season with a new teacher- and all the other kids are younger babies! You are in heaven with the water & the little ones all around.

*Pointing out and naming facial features & body parts:

Mouth

Ears

Eyes

Belly button! (your favorite)

Current dislikes:

*The wind down to your nap. You typically start fussing when we walk in the door to your room, and only calm once you are having your milk.

*Diaper changes. You don't like to slow down and stop!

*Patience for food. When you are hungry, you get fussy and will cling to my legs calling "up up!" as I hustle to finish cooking.



Happy 15 months sweet girl! 
Here's wishing you another month filled with so much joy and learning. We adore you!


Saturday, February 8, 2014

The Secret Language of Toddlers

Iyla Grace adds new words to her vocabulary on an almost daily basis. She has an interesting mix of clearly decipherable words (Mama, up, Lily), less decipherable sounds & partial words ('Da' for Papa, baba for bottle, yayaya for video, and a 'shroom' sound for down), mixed in with some sign language (milk, more, book).

Her favorite new words right now are knee & butt (said VERY clearly), and bellybutton ('baba,' said as she flashes her belly for all to see). She is really into knowing and naming body parts!

Iyla has a desire to identify those people she knows and loves. Her 9 year old friend Lily was a quick study- and now on a daily basis she will look me in the eyes and articulate "LI-LY." Her Mimi (my mom) is another she talks about all the time; she knows and loves my dad equally so, but has trouble saying "Grampy," so that comes out as an undecipherable mumble of sounds.

Two of her favorite things: Lily, and identifying facial features ('where is Lily's mouth?')

I noticed 2 months ago that Iyla started saying "galuck galuck" a lot throughout the day. I thought she was just experimenting with new sounds, and as I usually do when I don't directly understand her, would just repeat 'galuck galuck' back to her.

Meanwhile, I'd been wondering what she will choose to call her beloved nanny Veronica, who has a difficult name to pronounce for a toddler! I've heard Veronica working with Iyla on maybe saying "Ca" for her.

Then yesterday Iyla went to the window next to the front door and said "galuck galuck." This is the window she watches from as Veronica comes and goes. It hit me like a lightening bolt- she already HAD a name for her sweet nanny, we'd just never connected the dots! It was confirmed this morning when Iyla was playing and I asked her to say Veronica. She replied immediately with "Galuck Galuck."

"It stands for Veronica! Geez. You adults are so slow."

I felt badly I hadn't figured that out sooner! It is evident that Iyla understands SO much more than she is able to communicate, as shown by being able to fetch a bib, her water, or a particular toy on command. It is my job as her Mama to try to decipher this secret language while also working to reinforce the words she already says clearly.

Finding her pacis upon request

She has started asking to wear her Halloween costume by bringing it to me and saying "bee, bee!" while holding it up to her head. So cute, and VERY clear!

I'm looking forward to Iyla's continued language development. It will be so much fun when she can clearly communicate her thoughts & feelings about things, further revealing her talents, desires, fears, humor, & personality. What an exciting time this is!