15 months!

Chyler went to the doctor this week for her 15 month check-up. She had to get 2 immunizations and the flu shot. While she handled the shots fairly well, the flu shot ended up giving her a fever of 101. Thankfully, with a little medicine and 24 hours later, she's as good as new again.

Length: 30 inches (50th %ile)

Weight: 20.0 lbs (10th %ile)

Mobility: Chyler has been walking for about a month now. One day, she wasn't and then the next, she was. Since that day, she hasn't looked back to crawling at all. Walking is much faster :) She's only had one bad spill (which I previously posted about) and now walks inside and outside quite well.

Teething: This little girl still has just 4 little teeth, 2 on top and 2 on bottom. With two parents who naturally had gaps in their front teeth, it's no wonder Chyler does too.

Drinking: We're working on weaning Chyler from the bottle to only sippy cups, but Chyler doesn't make it easy. I have about 8 weeks until baby #2 comes and it would be my dream to have Chyler out of bottles when he arrives. We'll have to see how that goes.

Eating: Chyler loves to put food in her mouth herself and will often spit it out if Brian or I do it. She continues to eat whatever Brian and I are eating at meal time, which makes it nice not to fix anything special. (She's always preferred big people food to baby food anyway.) Unfortunately, she's not too big on veggies. She eats just about everything else, but no veggies (well, she will tolerate corn and potatoes). I still try to give her one a day, but whether she digests it is a different story.

Chyler after eating a cookie

Communication: As I mentioned in "My Signing Baby" post, Chyler's vocabularly in sign language has taken off. She continues to learn new signs every week. The only downside to signing is that only Brian, myself, and some family members understand what she's signing. On the up side though, I've been excited to see that signing has also helped her start saying words faster. She attempts to say quite a few of the words she signs. As for her comprehension, Chyler continues to amaze me at what she understands. Off the top of my head, some of the phrases she understands are "turn the TV off," "go get your shoes," "put that back," "give it to Daddy," and "come here." Chyler has also recently mastered where her belly button, ears, nose, teeth, and toes are, but is still working on some of the others.

Chyler signing "bath" while taking a bath

Girly-Girl: Chyler is definitely a girl. She loves playing with kitchen supplies, Mommy's make-up (which is why I can't find my mascara right now), anyone and everyone's shoes, baby dolls and stuffed animals, Mommy's blow dryer and straightener (when cooled of course), and more.

Playing with my shoes

True Joys: Chyler's true joy comes from wandering around outside. The biggest smile appears on her face when Brian and I go to a park and just let her roam around in the grass. Not much is higher on her list than getting to be outside.

Chyler at the pumpkin patch

Naps: Soon after I posted Chyler's 12 month post, Chyler weaned herself from 2 naps to strictly 1 nap per day (2 hours long). Downside: I don't get as much time to do things around the house. Upside: When running errands, I don't have to worry about getting back to the apartment for nap time.

Temper Tantrums: Yes, they've started. And truthfully, they've been making an appearance at our home for quite a while now. Chyler hates it when she doesn't get her way and knows how to effectively communicate her dislike. A few things I know that are sure to set her off is when she has to be buckled in her car seat; when someone else is going outside, but not her; when someone else is on the computer, but won't let her touch the keyboard, mouse, or screen; and when mean Mommy won't let her play in the bathroom. Life sure is tough for this 15 month old!

Socially: Chyler is still a little clingy, but is miles farther than where she used to be. From 6-12 months, she used to hate it when anyone besides Mom, Dad, and very few select others even touched her. Now, she's much more accepting and willing to go with somebody she's familiar with. When Chyler is around people she knows and loves, she pulls out the smiles and giggles and seeks for every bit of attention she can get (and of course, she always does).

I can't believe my little girl is so big! They're not lying when they say time passes fast.