Claire at 15 months

Claire is 15 months old today!  How fun!  We have her 15 month doctor appointment on Thursday and I can't wait to see how much she's grown.  If I were a betting women, I might say that she could have reached the 5th percentile!  We'll see.

At 15 months, baby Claire:

• learns something new everyday.  Last night Josh, Dad, Claire and I were enjoying dinner at Olive Garden and out of the corner of my eye I saw Claire doing something funny with her eyes.  She did it again and all three of us saw and were laughing so hard!  It's hard to describe what it was- my Dad thought it looked like she was about to sleep; Josh thought she was acting like she was on crazy drugs.  Either way, it was pretty funny and out of nowhere.  She surprises us daily!  She is such a joy too and everyone around can see that (except for when she's crabby or tired...which everyone around can also see).  At dinner, a group of about 12-15 adults were asking her from across the room to join their party.  The manager of the restaurant stopped to say hi to her several times, as did various servers.  And a couple grandmas had to talk with her on their way out. 
• Seems to have more words every day!  I am proud of her that she's not too shy to try out new words.  I probably won't remember them all at this moment, but some of her words are:
• hi
• bye
• mama
• dada
• puh-pah (puppy)
• bro (brody)
• go
• gone
• mo (more)
• yum-yum
• ball
• gives kisses really well
• gives hugs
• understands so much of what we say, it really is amazing!
• just wants to be on the go all.the.time.  It can be hard to bring her places because she just wants to walk (run) around.  She detests the stroller and is a challenge in restaurants (although she was surprisingly good last night).  We need to start putting her in the nursery at church because she only lasts minutes in the sanctuary (even during the rock-band'ish concerts we start with). 
• Naps 2-3 times per day (still!).  She goes to bed about 7PM and had been waking up very consistently around 6:15-6:30AM but last week she made it to 7:30 or 7:45 a couple days and even 9:00AM one day!  I'm convinced a large part of the reason she wakes up is because she's hungry and/or thirsty.  The days she sleeps in often follow an extra large dinner the night before.  I think we'll try giving her a snack right before bed to see if that helps.  She wants her first nap just an hour or two after she wakes up in the morning so I know she's still tired. Her bedtime routine is ridiculously easy.  We say it's night-night time, she walks to the stairs, we do bath, put on her pajamas, cuddle for a couple minutes in her chair, read some books sometimes (but she doesn't need this step, she just likes it), lay her down, and we don't hear another peep.  Love it.
• Lives to be outside
• Eats pretty well.  She can still be picky with new tastes but we continue to introduce new tastes and textures to her so she gets accustomed to them.  I read that it can take 9 times of trying a new food before they'll actually like it.  
• Prefers milk over water
• Wears size 12 months and 12-18 month clothing.
• is just starting to wear size 3 shoes...her size 2 shoes still fit her but they're getting tight.
• has 7 teeth (3 bottom, 4 top)
• imitates people. For example, if Josh pats my leg, Claire will come over and pat it too.  As usual, we think it's pretty cute. :)
• Scowls!  She is very expressive and one of her favorite expressions is a scowl. 

Well today is a pool playdate with Everleigh, Andrew, Brody and their parents!  It's a beautiful day for it.  Better go get ready!