15 months

Today Bentlee had her 15 month well check, and for the first time ever, she's higher than 25% for weight, and she grew 3 inches in 3 months! There's a good chance that their calculations are a little off, but I believe that she grew a couple inches because she seems longer every time I cuddle her. Bentlee was having a blast when we first got to the office. Daddy was entertaining her with the most random things that he stole off the counter, such as rubber gloves and wooden sticks.

But all in all, it was a sad appointment. She panicked the second we set her down on the table. They told us that all 15 month-ers have the same reaction, and that it's the noise the paper makes, but I SWEAR she knew what was coming. Luckily daddy was there to make it easier for both of us. He held her down while I hid in the corner. We were pretending to "let" each other be the one to stay with her while they did her shots, and luckily the nurse assistants didn't wait for us to come to an agreement, so I casually snuck away to the corner since he was closest to her. I felt a teeny bit bad making him the mean guy but since she always prefers him to me, I wanted to be the favorite for once. Surely when they were done and he picked her up, she would leap into my arms.

She didn't.

Somehow I was the bad guy and she was mad at ME for a good 5 minutes. But eventually she came to me, and after daddy left for work I may or may not have spoiled her with cookies. And I took her to a pond near my friend Janett's house to look at ducks where there are supposedly 12 baby ducks right now. We didn't see any babies but Bentlee still loved it and cried when I put her back in the car.

I say this every time, but she is SO much fun right now. We took her to the rodeo on the 24th and she had a blast. She clapped not just when everyone else was cheering, but on her own at random times because she was so excited. She loved all the animals and even started saying horsie without us prompting. She's been repeating a lot of the things we say (like her cousin Lyla's name), and also surprising us with new ones. I won't be able to think of them on the spot and I haven't written many of them down.  She used to say uh-oh and then stopped for a long time, but it is now back in full-swing, complete with palms raised upward and a worried look on her face. It's actually pretty sad, especially when Kyle leaves for work, or after we stop skying with my family. One thing I love, and she has been saying this since 10 or 11 months, is "E-I-E-I-O" along with "Old McDonald had a Farm". She says "bye-bye" sometimes which is fun because she used to just wave. She has a new obsession with shoes and a couple weeks ago she brought me some to put on her. I said, "pretty!" and she repeated it right back. And she just said shoes when she saw this picture. I can't even keep up with how fast she is learning new things.

These 3-6 mon shoes that Aunt Stephie bought her finally fit!

She recently put two words together for the first time We ask her probably every day, "who loves mommy?" or "who loves daddy?", etc. and she shoots her arm up. Sometimes we'll chime in "I do" and the other day when I asked "Who loves mommy?" she raised her arm and surprised me with "I do" in a quiet little voice. It made my day!

She has become a champion bedtime staller. Every night when we ask if she's ready for bed she immediately snuggles into us because she knows we won't put her down as long as she's cuddling. The other night I wasn't purposely trying to threaten her, but she lifted her head off my shoulder and I said, "Okay let's go ni-nght." and she slammed her head back down. So of course, I said it a couple more times and got the same reaction. As far as bed though, we are still so lucky. Sometimes she cries for a few seconds, but that's usually it. She's even gone down without her binki a few times. She's been spoon-feeding herself things like yogurt and oatmeal. The messes she is capable of making are unbelievable. Not at all worth the time saved feeding her, but I guess she has to learn sometime.

It's fun to see her begin to understand things and act on them. Last week she came near me and I got a whiff of something awful. I said, "Oh Bentlee you're stinky!" She turned and headed towards her diaper basket, came back, dropped one in my lap and laid down in front of me. It was awesome. And yesterday I asked her to bring me the diapers and wipes, not expecting her to return with wipes but she totally did. When we brush our teeth she has to brush hers, when I blow on my food or on my nails after I paint them, she has to blow on hers too. When she finds a tissue on the floor she pretends to blow her nose, or she'll hand it to me with her nose scrunched up, making a blowing nose as if showing me what to do with it. We Skyped with my Grandma last week and I put the computer down on the floor so she could see Bentlee better. Yesterday we Skyped with her again and Bentlee patted the floor, wanting me to put it in the very same spot it was last week. My absolute favorite thing she does right now is pat the floor or seat next to her when she wants you to sit by her. Yesterday I was making cookies and she came in the kitchen and pointed to them. I gave her a small bite and she plopped down on the floor and patted next to her as if to say, "Here mom why don't you just have a seat and feed the rest of that to me".  I love watching her play with her cousins and seeing her motion for them to sit by her. It's adorable. However, when she's watching you make her dinner and she "pats" her high chair tray...not so much.

She seems to be developing OCD tendencies. If I tickle one leg or arm, she hits her other leg until I tickle that one also, and so on. Or sometimes when she lays her head on my shoulder, she'll switch to the other side after a few seconds. It's funny, but maybe a teeny bit concerning?

"No" is still her favorite word, and my least favorite. Don't get me wrong- it's cute as can be, but so naughty! Sometimes she says it with a little accent, like "Nah" and that's what really gets me. I can't help but scoop her up and kiss her face when she says it like that! She'll tell me no every time I take something away or want her to do something she doesn't want to do (like get out of cupboards, etc.) The other day she walked to the couch to steal my phone, and before I  had a chance to try and grab it she yanked it away from my direction saying, "No no no", turned, smiled, and walked away saying, "hehe". Oh, and the terrible two's seem to be starting about 9 months early around here-she pretty much has temper tantrums down. And she has gotten crazy fast at walking. When she's taking off with something she's not supposed to have it's more of a run. Basically, to sum it up, she is frustratingly adorable!!!


15 month stats

Weight: 22.4 lbs  45%
Height:  30.5 in    50%
Head:    18.5       75%

Have we mentioned that we LOVE her?!

She gets lots of attention from my Activity Days girls

Let's just say we planned a last-minute date night that day

First popsicle


More pictures and videos to follow-it's been a long day!