15 Months!!

Laurel's understanding of life has developed so much in the last couple months, it has been so fun to watch.  She weighs in at 19lb 11oz (8%) and is 26.5 in tall (20%). 

- 9 teeth in 6 weeks... not so fun.  And they all came through so quickly, it is really odd to see her new smile.  There was no time to slowly adjust to the toothy grin, all of a sudden she looks so much older.  She is working on her last molar now, I really hope for a nice long break after this!

- Her comprehension is quickly developing.  You can ask her to get her shoes, or take something to Daddy/Mommy/Maya, or follow me and she will do it all. 

- She is starting to pick up quite a few words - mama, dada, down, hi, book, milk, night night and uh oh.  And her sign language is really taking off.  She is constantly using all done, more and please.

- She has a great love for animals; which includes the Joneses big dog Lola.  With no fear she walked right up to Lola and started petting her (a dog Maya is and always has been terrified of).  Sometimes I think she is more excited to see our cats in the morning than she is to see us.

- She watches Maya closely and mimics everything her big sister does.  Maya was rubbing lotion on her tummy after bath the other night and Laurel sat right next to her and started rubbing her tummy.  Maya puts on her shoes and Laurel gets hers and tries to put them on.  Maya was spinning in cirles, Laurel tried really hard to do the same. 

- She is obsessed with drinking water out of a regular cup.  We have to hide our water glasses at the dinner table or else Laurel will spend the entire meal ignoring her food and wanting to take sips from our glasses.

- In general, she has such a goofy personality.  Her sense of humor is fantastic and she is constantly making us laugh with all her strange ways.

- She has developed an attachment to her Sleep Sack. It is just like her to ignore all the great blankets we have and pick the Sleep Sack. When she is tired she will go to her crib, take it out and walk around with it over her shoulder or dragging behind her.  She also loves to snuggle with it in your lap, which is my favorite part of the morning and evening. She gives the greatest cuddles.

My big three year old

How in the world is she already three??? I have no idea but it is bittersweet. I am finding it incredible to discover who she is as her personality is becoming more and more defined. At the same time, I am losing my little baby!

Here are some of my favorite things about Maya:

- Her imagination is thriving. And she still does not stop talking. The nice thing about these two qualities are that she can tell herself stories for hours. She will sit in the car and have entire make believe conversations with whatever she happens to have in her hands. Her stickers have a personality and talk to each other. Toy people/animals/fish play together. She makes up entire scenarios with them and acts them out. I love to just sit back and listen to the things she comes up with.

- She loves singing and can remember the words to songs after just hearing them a couple times.

- Her obsession with dinosaurs continues. She can name them and she can tell you what each one eats. She also loves bubbles, stickers, hair clips (which she calls hair cuts) and any sort of art project.

- All of her stuffed animals and baby dolls are named either Maya or Laurel.

- Her class at school had a scavenger hunt a few weeks ago.  Since then, every time we go on a walk or drive in the car she carries around a pretend map.  Sometimes this map is invisible, sometimes she picks random pieces of paper to use.  She makes sure to check the map to see which way we should go so we don't get lost.

- She is very strong willed, which has led to quite a few stand offs between her and myself. I need to work a bit on my patience and remind myself that I am dealing with an irrational three year old. Pick your battles has become my new mantra. When she is really mad at me, she forcefully tells me I am no longer her friend.

- I have said it before, but she is an amazing big sister. She is also an incredible big cousin. She treats all the little ones in the family with such care and is a pro at getting them to smile and giggle. She has made up a song that she sings to Laurel every time Laurel is crying. It always includes the following: calm down, breathe, relax, stop crying, it will be ok.  Sometimes her song even works!

 I love you, my Maya (which is always followed by I love you, my Mommy).

Misery is...

seven new teeth in a month, with the last three following right behind. I suspect that within the next week those will pop through. Although they came in late and completely out of order, she will be fully caught up and will just have two bottom teeth, her eye teeth and two year molars remaining. I can only hope for a nice long break before those show up. We are one tired family.

As I sit here rocking her back to sleep, I look back on the less cranky times...

Birthday Week

Maya had a full week of celebrations, she will tell you she had three birthday parties.  We had a fun BBQ with family, she took cupcakes to school for a mini-celebration and we had a party with all her friends at a bouncy house.  She is one lucky girl!

She recruited some helpers to blow out her candles. 

And dug right into the present opening. 

All of her friends helping her celebrate.

This is a real Maya smile - which I am NEVER able to capture on camera.  Many thanks to Maya's teacher, Miss Amy, who joined us and took care of all the picturing taking for us.  She got some great ones.

More candles and cake - decorated with a big green dinosaur of course!

 These two have gone to daycare together since they were four months old and are pretty inseparable.