Can You Say?

Our little Toots is approaching 15 months old.  I know you're thinking, "Seriously?  Can that be right?"  It certainly is.  With each stage that we approach, I have conflicting emotions.  While I'm sad to see some of her baby-ness disappearing, I am also thrilled by how much she is growing and developing into such a sweet, fun little person!  She is learning so much and just soaking up everything around her like a little goofy, cheese-face-making sponge.  

This is the cheese-face, folks.

She runs.  She points at things she is interested in.  She plays with her kitchen, her blocks, her cook-and-play pot and plastic vegetables.  She hugs her stuffed animals and dolls.  She dances and shakes her booty.  She "reads" (i.e. pages through) her books, sometimes looking intently at each page, and sometimes just racing through to the end.  

If she wants us to read to her, she carries a book over, hands it to Mommy or Daddy, then turns around and backs up to sit down and get comfy in one of our laps.  Finally, FINALLY, she will sit still and let us read to her!  Oh, how I have been longing for that day!


Our favorite new game is a pretty simple one.  Her language is developing so quickly that we are constantly starting sentences with, "Can you say..."  Depending on Tootie's mood at the time, the results can be varied.  Sometimes, she will repeat (or try to repeat) every word. Other times, she just smiles sweetly and pretends like she doesn't hear, as only a toddler can do.  The list of words she says AND understands is getting so long!  Of course, we have the usual - uh oh, Mama, Daddy/Dada, kitty (or "titty", as she says), ball, night night, baby, hi, bye bye.  We get an occasional thank you (which is actually starting to sound much more like "thank you" than "dat doo), and an occasional "peas," which, of course, is please.   


Then we have more fun little words and phrases.  My favorites are "niiiice" and "naaah niiiice."  We've been trying to teach her to be gentle, and she picked these up SUPER fast.  When she wants to pet one of the kitties, she smiles and says, "Niiiice," like they can understand and will somehow hold still for her after that.  If she hits or pinches, which is an unfortunate phase we are in right now, she will repeat after one of us when we tell her that's not nice.  


Toots is also obsessed with her belly.  And anyone else's, to be quite honest.  She will pull up her shirt, put her finger in her belly button and say, "Beh-yee."  Then she does the same to Daddy or Mommy...whoever is closest.  She points to her nose and says, "Nooooose," then does the same to Daddy or Mommy  - often accompanied by a hard pinch of one of our noses and a resulting "naaah niiice."  She is quickly learning "toes" also.  We're still working on hair, ears and eyes, but getting there slowly but surely!


This is SUCH a fun time in all of our lives.  We are just having a blast teaching her all of these wonderful new things.  Seeing her eyes light up when she catches on to something new, or her smile when she says a new word and just KNOWS she is using it correctly, is so amazing!  We can't wait to see what the next few months will bring!