15 Months

Audrey turned 15 months on Friday.  We haven't had her 15 month checkup so I don't have her stats yet, but I wanted to jot down a few of her accomplishments at 15 months before I forget. 

Aaron's first word - Mama - was on his 15 month birthday so it is interesting to see how many words Audrey has at 15 months.  Her first word was "Hi" and her most recent word that I can recall is "mouth".  Here is list of words I have heard her use correctly more than a few times.  She often will repeat a word after I say it but won't say it again and I haven't included those here.

hi
baby
bye-bye (usually said after the person has walked away)
mama (generally repeated multiple times in increasing intensity)
papa (usually whispered as if in awe)
more (accompanied by the sign for more for added emphasis)
uppa (for up - we taught her Aaron's original version of this word)
hop-hop (for the motion as well as bunny crackers)
Babu (Aaron's early nickname for Larissa which we taught Audrey)
bear
gate
boop (what you say when you touch someone's nose)
beep (what you say when you pinch your nose between your thumb and forefinger)
cheese
milk
doggy
eye
ear
mouth
hat

I think she has a few other unintelligible words including something that is supposed to be 'brother'.  The phrase "I nee" is repeated loudly and with great emphasis to indicate she wants something to which she is pointing.  She also calls the wagon "oggy" although I have no idea why.  It's usually when she sees it and she'll yell "Oggy!  Oggy!  Oggy!" because she wants to push it around.  And although not technically a word, if you ask her what a sheep says, she'll say "Baa".  Cows say "mmmm".  And lions, tigers (including Tigger), and bears elicit a growl.  Oddly, 'no' is not a part of her vocabulary yet, although she has started to shake her head when I offer her something to eat that she doesn't want.

Oh, that's another thing.  Some time between 14 and 15 months, Audrey started to walk.  It was a gradual process and unlike when Aaron learned to walk, it is hard to pinpoint when she truly started to walk.  At first Madeleine and Larissa said she had taken a few steps on their watch.  But it was another week before I saw it.  At that point I didn't consider it walking.  But now she can take a couple of dozen steps without falling.  And when she does fall, she can push herself back up to a stand without using any objects.  She seems to walk best when she has something in each hand.

Whereas Aaron seemed content to wait and watch and try things when he could master them (like walking and talking), Audrey wants to do everything now.  Aaron would go from not doing something to doing it well in a short amount of time (like potty training which he did VERY late, but mastered within a week).  When Aaron learned a word, you understood it when he started using it.  With Audrey, she says words for awhile before I catch on because they are often garbled.  She tries to climb on anything she can and especially enjoys trying to climb into Aaron's bed.   She can't, but she won't stop trying.

Audrey is also into clothes.  When she finds her shoes (or someone else's) she wants us to put them on her.  She'll take clothes (or ribbon) and drape them on her like she is trying to put them on.  She LOVES Aaron's underwear.  When she is helping me with the laundry by handing me the clean clothes from the laundry basket, she doesn't pass on Aaron's underwear without trying to put it on her head.  And if I tell her it doesn't go on her head, she puts her arm through the leg hole and smiles at me proudly.

Overall, at 15 months, Audrey is a happy girl who adores her big brother.  She is very inquisitive, easily frustrated (when she doesn't get her way), but generally good natured.

Thanksgiving

This is one of several pictures my sister Theresa took of us on Thanksgiving.  We are going to use another one for our holiday cards.

My parents hosted Thanksgiving at their house and with all the siblings, in-laws, nieces and nephews in attendance, it was a full house!  We did potluck and all the food was delicious.  Aaron played some games with his cousins and uncles and Audrey was passed around among relatives with almost no complaint, which is pretty good for her.

Early on, Aaron was playing Orchard with his cousin Alex and Uncle Jeff.  He apparently tooted without acknowledging it (I was in the other room and found out later).  After a few seconds, Jeff asked him what that was.  He thought for a second and said "I sat on a duck!"  When Jeff was explaining this to me, I didn't understand that Aaron had tooted.  I thought Aaron had just claimed to have sat on a duck.  So I asked "Did it quack?" and Jeff and Alex quickly said "Ooooooooohh, yeah."  And that's when I understood.  I think "sat on a duck" is going to become a new euphemism in our house.

Quack Quack

Aaron make a bird feeder at preschool out of a pine cone, honey and bird seed.  It's hanging outside the kitchen window.  This morning, while sitting in her high chair, Audrey was looking out the window and pointing.  I looked and saw a bird on the pine cone having a snack.  She said "quack quack".  I guess a duck sound is the only bird sound she knows.  She proceeded to quack whenever she saw a bird on the feeder.  Once, I looked out and saw a bird so I said "quack quack" and she turned to look out the window at the bird feeder.  I wonder what all goes on inside that adorable little head that she can't yet communicate.

Cuddle time

My cuddly little monkey

I'm ready for my close up

Thom saw a photo opportunity when I was cuddling Audrey this afternoon.  But once Audrey saw the camera, she forgot all about me.

Pop goes the balloon

We went to a family oriented fund raiser event last night.  We dressed Aaron in this outfit I bought at Costco last year.  It is 4T so I've been waiting for him to grow into it (and for the weather to cool off, which it finally has).  He was so handsome.

At the event there was a balloon man making balloon animals for kids.  When he came up to us and offered to make Aaron a balloon, I thought he'd ask Aaron what he wanted.  Instead, he took out a grey balloon and made him a sword.  I'm not a big fan of giving a 3 year old make-believe weapons.  We don't even have squirt guns at our house.  But the guy was trying to be nice and I let it go.  Although Aaron has seen other kids, especially his twin cousins, playing around with swords or light sabers, he proceeded to hold his balloon sword by the blade.

A minute later, he dropped it on the floor.  When he went to pick it up, it popped.  He burst into tears.  I felt awful for him.  I remember being afraid of balloons popping when I was a kid.  And this one popped right as he was reaching for it, so it was especially traumatic.  Thom was carrying Audrey, so I picked him up and we went over to where there was a quartet playing.  He sat on my lap and I was swaying with him to the music.  He was mostly quiet, but would periodically tell me things like "I don't like skinny balloons.  I only like fat balloons."  So I could tell he was still getting over the shock.  It was his first experience with the skinny, bendable balloons and I suspect he will not be a fan any time soon.

Chore day

Sunday is chore day.  Most weeks we try to pick up the floors and vacuum.  Thom usually does the vacuuming and Aaron always loves to watch.  We had this yellow stick vacuum in the back of the closet with a telescoping handle.  But if you don't pull the handle out, it is the perfect size for Aaron.  When he asked to vacuum a year ago, I let him try this one, but invariably he just wanted to watch me do it so I stopped getting it out.  But two weekends ago he wanted to vacuum with the yellow vacuum so I tried again and this time he did it all by himself.  He does a great job, even making sure to move the cord out of his way.  This past Sunday he wanted to vacuum again even though Thom wasn't going to vacuum.  So I let him.  No sense in discouraging an interest in cleaning up.

Election Day

"Look Ma!  I voted!" 

Audrey loves stickers and when she saw mine after I voted early on election day, she pointed and said "Uh uh uh" until I gave it to her.  She later pulled it off and put it on her brother.

I love her in these hand-me-down jammies from Aaron.  The dark blue brings out the blue in her eyes.

Dr. Audrey

After Halloween, Aaron's two doctor kits were out in the play area.  Audrey took great pleasure in putting both toy stethoscopes around her neck and crawling around with them on.  Sometimes she'd come up to me and put the stethoscope up to my chest and then her chest.  She really pays attention to how Aaron's toys work and does a great job imitating him.

Halloween

Aaron was a doctor for Halloween this year.  I don't believe in buying costumes and I don't know how to sew, so I tried to come up with something I could put together easily.  Since he had a doctor's bag and a real, child-size stethoscope (from Lakeshore Learning), all I needed was a white lab coat.  Unfortunately Thom didn't have a shirt that worked, but Kim's daughter had a uniform shirt that worked perfectly.  I printed out "Dr. Aaron" on a clear mailing label and his costume was complete.

Aunt Lily, Thom's sister, had sent Audrey a Winnie-the-Pooh outfit last year that was for this Halloween and it fit perfectly.  Aaron loves Winnie-the-Pooh, so he enjoyed her costume.

I'm not a big fan of giving kids candy, but we did do some trick-or-treating.  At noon, I took him up to the local Trader Joe's shopping center where the stores were giving out candy for trick-or-treaters.  Most of the kids were in store-bought costumes of superheroes and princesses and he got a lot of attention for his doctor costume.  Several people called out "What's up, doc?" as we walked along, and one woman in the grocery store asked Aaron to check her heart.

After dinner we hit 9 neighbor's houses.  He enjoyed trick-or-treating a little more than last year.  But unlike last year, this time he knew what candy was and he knew he wanted it.  I still managed to give away most of it and the rest we put in a candy bowl on the kitchen table.  He was allowed one treat after dinner each night.  One neighbor we knew well had given out baggies of home made cookies which he wanted the first night.  In addition to candy, he also got some Goldfish and Utz pretzels (in Halloween shapes) and he enjoyed those treats just as much, choosing Goldfish over candy one night.  After a week, I put the candy in the cupboard and he forgot about it for several days. 

When he does have a sugary treat after dinner, he gets hyper.  It's a myth that sugar doesn't make kids hyper and I don't need any more of it than necessary.  So we allow him some treats, enough that it's not something forbidden and therefore more desirable.  But we keep it to a minimum and make it something special.

Babysitter

A few nights ago, Aaron was sitting at the dining room table playing preschool games.  It was getting close to dinner time and he told me he wanted Audrey to play with his castle (a series of stacking boxes painted to look like a castle) and his kitchen (the play kitchen which we constantly have to stress is everyone's kitchen, not his kitchen because he never wants her to play with it).  I was pleased to hear him sound so willing to share.  He said he would watch her while I made dinner.  He'd be the babysitter, he said. 

Wow, that warmed my heart.  It's always hard to make dinner because I can't leave them alone together.  I have to put her in her highchair where I can keep an eye on her.  And even then, if Aaron is not otherwise occupied, he keeps getting in her face and I have to try to keep a sharp eye on them while cooking so he doesn't hurt her.  So if he were willing to play nicely with her while I cooked, that would really be something!

Well, it lasted for about a minute.  She started playing with his kitchen and he got down from the table to come play with her.  Then she reached for the timer on the table next to his kitchen.  The timer for goodness sake!  His precious timer that is counting down the hours until the "soup" in his oven is done.  (It used to be my kitchen timer, but I've let go.)  Well, he couldn't have her playing with that.  Then he'd never know when the soup was done.  So he went from loving brother/babysitter, to pushing her down as she reached for his timer.  C'est la vie.

Tantrums that make me laugh

Aaron's tantrums get more sophisticated as he gets older.  Don't get me wrong, he does still scream, throw and hit when he's mad, but he is getting better about using words. 

Last weekend, I took Aaron to a Health and Safety Expo at the park.  (Sounds boring, I know, but there was a bouncy house and the various booths on health and safety had lots of fun stuff for kids.)  Aaron was in a mood.  He didn't want to do anything, especially not walk.  I carried him a little bit but then put him down.  He whined and cried.  He said he was scared.  Worried that he might be scared by the loud music or the crowd, I asked "What are you afraid of?"  He answered "Walking."  I laughed, but I did pick him up for a bit. 

Finally, he was being so obnoxious while I was trying to check out the booths, I decided it was time to go.  As we passed a police car that was parked at the event, I tried to get him out of his funk by calling his attention to it.  "Look at the police car, Aaron!"  He was uninterested.  He said "That's not a police car."  I said, "Yes it is.  It's a police car."  His grumpy response?  "No it's not!  It's not even a car!" 

Joking 101

Aaron learned his first joke at preschool last week.

How do you fix a broken pumpkin?
With a pumpkin patch!

The teacher, Elenah, didn't expect the kids to get it since they are still young, but Kim thinks Aaron did get it.  They made up jokes during bath time that day that went like this:

How do you fix a broken house?
With a house patch!

A few days later, he and his Papa made up a joke while getting ready for bed:

What do you call an antelope who can't do anything?
A cantelope!

This morning, I told him the following joke, which plays to his love of numbers:

Why was 6 afraid of 7?
Because 7 8 9.

I explained how 8 can mean ate.  He laughed, and then made up the following two jokes:

Whey was 16 afraid of 17?
Because 17 18 19.

Why was negative 6 afraid of negative 7?
Because negative 7 negative 8 negative 9!

I thought those were almost funnier than the original. 

Do you know a joke I can share with Aaron?  Post it here!

Preschool

We can't afford preschool for Aaron on top of child care, which I still need for Audrey, so we weren't planning to send Aaron to preschool.  But on Thursdays, a wonderful woman named Elenah does a sing-along at a park in the town adjacent to us.  She plays guitar, brings song lists for everyone, and a big box of instruments for the kids. 

Her younger daughter is Aaron's age and she can't afford preschool for her either.  So she organized a one hour preschool in the park and invited the kids from the sing-along.  Kim was interested in taking Aaron (it is the hour before the sing-along, on a morning that Kim works), so I signed Aaron up.  It is free and siblings are welcome, so it works great for us.  She brings all the supplies with her, including the easel, the floor mats for the kids to sit on, and art supplies (to which we all contributed).  She does lessons on numbers, letters, parts of the body and there seems to be a craft project every week. 

The first week I went with Aaron to check it out.  But Kim has taken him every week since then.  When he comes home, he runs back to my office to show me his craft project.  I'm grateful for this experience.  He's learning to participate in a group, sit still, follow directions, take turns, and all those other useful life skills that can best be taught in a group setting.

Pumpkin Patch

Kim took the kids to a pumpkin patch last Monday.  It was just before we had a big rain and it's been wet ever since, so it was good timing.  Here are some photos she took with our camera and some from her phone that Thom and I received throughout the morning via e-mail.

  

My little helper

I can't sweep up cereal off the floor without Aaron wanting to help.  He's even getting good at it and often gets started without any prompting.

Lunchtime with Audrey

Audrey wanted my quesadilla so I broke off a piece and she proceeded to suck on it for several minutes.  She then pulled it out of her mouth and picked it apart without eating any of it.  It's a start.

Later, while I was sending this picture (which is from my phone) to Kim, Audrey hammed it up to get my attention.

Driving lessons

These were taken with my phone while Aaron was playing in my friend's car with her daughter Alara.  Alara had been in the driver's seat at first and I encouraged Aaron to get in the back and be the passenger.  This was great fun for him and allowed me to talk to my friend for a few more minutes.  But when Alara got into the back seat, he wanted her to keep being the driver.  I suggested that he get in front and be the driver.  He was reluctant at first, saying very earnestly "No, I can't.  Not until I'm 16."  But we persuaded him that it was OK since it was just pretend (the key was not even in the ignition).

Audrey turns 1!

Just as we didn't for Aaron's first, we didn't have a party for Audrey's birthday.  We actually didn't even get her a birthday present since she plays with all of Aaron's baby toys, of which we have plenty.  We did celebrate with my parents on my mom's birthday and Audrey did not hesitate to open her mouth for her first bite of cake, despite being a picky eater and rarely trying anything new on the first attempt.  Somehow she knew that cake was cake and she wanted her share.

These photos were taken on Audrey's actual birthday.  13 days later, we had her 1 year checkup.  She weighed 18 lbs 12 oz (which is the 15th percentile for her age), was 29 inches long (48th percentile) and had a head circumference of 17 1/2 inches (33%).  So she is still small for her age, but she is inching up percentile-wise.  She used to be in the single-digits.

At 13 months, Audrey has 4 teeth, two on top and two on bottom.  She says a handful of words, but most are indecipherable, so we don't know how many she really knows.  This morning she was pointing to her shoes (which she is quite fascinated with) and saying "sh.  sh."  Sometimes she says something consistent that sounds vaguely like "brother" but then she won't repeat it for us.

She is a mischievous girl.  She gets into things she shouldn't and when I say "Audrey!" she knows she's in trouble and quickly tries to crawl away from whatever she was doing, with a big smile on her face.  She loves her big brother and can be happy just watching him do something.  Although more often she wants to play with whatever he's playing with and this invariable leads to Aaron getting in a time out for not sharing (and often pushing or hitting his sister).  But they also get along at times and Aaron can be very sweet.  As long as she's not touching "his" toys.

These following pictures were taken at the same time as the ones above.  Aaron just looked so pensive and serious, I had to take some photos.

Teething

You can just see the outlines of Audrey's top and bottom teeth here.  They are bulging out of the gums and have been for a couple of months, getting bigger and bigger, but never breaking through the gums.  Until finally the top right one broke through this weekend.  Just a corner at first, and a little more comes through each day.  What a slow and painful process for her.  I've taken to giving her Tylenol most nights before bed because she wakes up so often and I can only imagine it is the teething pain that is waking her.