15 1/2 Month Check-Up

Mira's 15-month Well-Baby visit was a couple of weeks late since she was sick and needed steroids to get over a bad cold right before her original appointment. Dr. Crittell didn't want to administer her vaccines so soon after the steroids, so here we are with a 15 month plus 2 week check-up/update!

Everything was perfect with her check-up - still in the 50th percentile, perfectly healthy, and doing all the things she should be. She got one shot - her last dose of the DTap/IPV/Hib. I believe she told us that there are no shots at her next check-up (18 months), so Yay!

Here's the run-down on Miss Mirabelle these days!

• You weigh 21lbs 10oz and are 30 inches tall (yay - we can start using your growth chart that I made you)! You are wearing 12-18 month clothes, size 4 shoes, and size 4 diapers.
• You've said a ton of new words in the past month and a half! You're up to over 50 words now that you have said/can say. You use about 20 often. Some new ones that you use on a regular, daily basis are: Where is it? (your first phrase!), hiney, Alli (your stuffed gator), sock, baby, No Thanks, down, water, heart, hand, Night Night, Good Job, downstairs, & wipe.
• Some new signs you've learned since the last update are: frog, music, open, change (as in 'change your diaper'), and popcorn
• You love trains and make the little hand signal along with a "whoo-whoo" sound as if you are pulling the whistle. You perk up everytime you hear a train pass our house - which is often!
• You can stack blocks - your personal record is 7 now!
• You recognize the number "2" and the letter "R" and can say them both!
• You know a lot of shapes - circle, square, rectangle, triangle, star, heart, and oval. We are going to start working on octogon, pentagon, diamond, crescent, parallelogram, and trapezoid!

This was taken a few weeks ago, so you have had time to master this skill and have these shapes down perfectly now!!

• You know these colors - red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, pink, brown, black, white, and turquoise.
• You can match colors and shapes, and you're able to put a few of your shapes into your shape sorter. You always find the right hole, but you're still working on getting them in there just right.
• You can almost do your puzzles all by yourself. Again, you still need a little help getting the pieces in exactly right, but you know that you have to keep turning the piece until it fits, and you try real hard to figure it out.
• You step out of your pants legs when taking them off and step into them and help pull them up when putting them on. You put your arms in the arm holes almost all by yourself (we just have to hold the side of the shirt out a little so you can bend your arm in there), and pull it down over your belly after we get it over your head (you try to help with this part too). When taking your shirt off, you pull your arms out of the sleeves (we working on learning how to hold the cuff with one hand and pull the other arm out) and push up on the shirt to get it off your head all by yourself! You are still trying to put your socks and shoes on your feet, but no dice just yet!  ;)
• You can throw a ball (or block or other random item) - overhanded, but not underhand.
• You can run! You are so cute when you pump your little arms to make you go faster (or at least feel faster)!
• You have learned two new body parts since the last update - shoulders and elbows.
• You love to feed your baby, brush her teeth, and anything else you can think to model. I'm sure it won't be long before you will want to undress her and re-dress her. 
• You put your finger to your mouth and say "shhhh" when you hear or see someone else do it. You copied a lady in WalMart the other day who was telling her daughter to be quiet!
• Temper tantrums are definitely making appearances more and more these days. You sure hate to hear the word "no" or any variation of it! These mostly happen when you are tired or hungry, so we try to stay on top of that!
• You are mostly taking only one afternoon nap, but every once in a while, you sneak in a morning nap as well.
• I have figured out that you will lay back down with me in the mornings after you wake at 5:30 AM. It's really nice to cuddle with you for an hour or so!!
• You enjoy "writing" and coloring with pens and markers! I know I will soon find you with a marker in your hand and a masterpiece on our wall! I try to keep a close eye on you and your medium, but I'm also keeping the MagicErasers handy because you are sneaky and fast!

Very serious - we decided you must be working on a journal entry.

• You love to dance and often demand that we turn on the music by pointing at your radio or the tv and signing "music"!
• You love to sit on your potty whenever we're in the bathroom. Usually you have all your clothes on, but you've sat on it a couple of times in the buff right before bath - you think it's so silly and fun!
• You help with some of the household chores: you help load the dishwasher by putting the utensils into the utensil compartments on the bottom rack; you help unload the dishwasher by putting all of your dishes into your drawer, the measuring spoons/cups where they belong, and the tupperware in the correct cabinet; you help with the laundry by helping to move the wet clothes from the washer into the dryer.

I just can't believe how fast you seem to be learning right now!! You are saying about 4-5 new words everyday and are learning new shapes and colors all the time!! You are also gaining more and more independence - learning to dress/undress yourself, bringing us a bowl and container of food when you are hungry, and just getting stronger and more coordinated in general. I can't wait to see all the amazing things you'll do by the time your 18 months old!! That's only 2 1/2 months away, but that's a long time in toddler days!