Spring break!!

So sad that this week is going by so fast!! We have been enjoying our spring break together so much. Monday is going to be rough for all of us! 

Avery is about 16.5 months now and I am loving this age so, so much!! Although she is throwing more and more nonsensical temper tantrums, it is so fun to watch her learn and grow so many things at once. I literally think she learns 2+ words a day. She responds well enough to yes and no questions to have simple conversations, and her vocabulary is insane! She basically asks for everything she wants and if I'm guessing the wrong thing she will say "no" and correct me! It's great because unless she's really tired or is throwing a fit because she can't have candy for dinner, or because we are out of bananas, she really doesn't cry much at all anymore. 

On my last post I bragged about how well the potty introduction had gone.. Well from that very moment up until some time last week, she basically refused to even try again. I decided not to push it if she wasn't ready, but to just keep offering her the choice when I changed her diaper or when I needed to go. After about a month of that she started using it again! She will try to go every time I ask her and can usually squeeze out a little bit and say "I teetee" so that she can flush and wash hands and of course get a little piece of candy. Haha! She has also started telling me "poyee" (potty) right before she needs to go or when she needs a new diaper. She is loving her "ups" (pull-ups) because some of them have a "mouse" (Minnie Mouse) design on them. 

Teaching George how to potty and entertaining him with books while he goes. Haha

Mouse is my little couch potato's latest obsession. She got a stuffed Minnie for Christmas but has just recently discovered it. Don't tell George, but I think Mouse is her new lovie, along with her baby doll! She still loves George, but she carries Mouse and Baby everywhere these days. She is so sweet to her baby. She gives her bottles, puts diapers on her and rocks her. She hugs, pats and sings and reads to her, kisses her and always shares her snacks and drinks with her. Thinking of how she will be such a great big sis one day totally melts my heart!

Pretending to sleep in mommy's bed

Giving Baby kisses

Another sweet thing she has started again is wanting to be rocked before bed. Before I lay her down she begs for "rocks" and we sing and read and play and it's my favorite (and pretty much only) time of day with her! She gives me lots of pats on the back as she requests song after song. Her favorites are The Wheels on the Bus, Itsy Bitsy Spider, and You Are My Sunshine. I'm such a sucker and she knows it...yes I will rock you for hours, sweet girl!! 

Needless to say, we needed this week off together. I am just soaking up every minute. Saturday we had 2 birthday parties, lunch and shopping with Aunt Connie Sunday, we went to Going Bonkers and played with friends on Monday, Tuesday afternoon we drove out to the lakehouse with Lacy and Desiree and played at the water and my girl couldn't get enough golf cart rides! Then Wednesday we drove through Fossil Rim and had a blast feeding all sorts of animals and she loved the giraffes!! Tonight she gets time with Mimi while Daddy and I enjoy date night at the Elton John concert!! Then he is going out of town for Rednecks with paychecks and Ave and I get more girl time!! 

She kept climbing into the golf cart by herself saying "pweease!!"

She loved driving!! Weeeeee :-)

Feeding the giraffes!!!

15 months

My Love!!

Thursday I took Avery for her 15 month check up. It's crazy that she remembered the doctor's office from 3 months ago. As soon as they called us back to scale, she started freaking out. She was terrified! Our tiny girl was 19.8lbs and 31 inches tall. She is in the 30th percentile for weight and 70th for height.  Almost all of her friends that are 3-6 months younger than her outweigh her by a few pounds!

She did calm down during the appointment for long enough to show off all of her tricks for the doctor, who was very impressed. :) She said her vocabulary is very advanced, and since she knows "diaper" and some other potty words that she may be ready to be introduced to the potty. She also said she has seasonal allergies which has explained her month long runny nose and cough. 

So after her appointment we got some Claritin, which has already helped her a TON, and a potty, which she has already used a few times! I really was surprised, because we thought she was too little to really understand it, but she totally gets it. Right now we are working on just putting her on it before and after bed and naps.When she goes in it we give her a small piece of candy which she gets excited about too. I bought her some Pull-ups and put one on her today, but it's more to get her to practice pulling off her pants and pulling them back up than anything. I'm keeping her in regular diapers for the most part, though. 

I am not ready for full on potty training yet! The thought of putting her in a toddler bed so she can go in the middle of the night is frightening! We won't be doing that until summer at the earliest!! Although I am about ready to say goodbye to onesies, they are still great for layering in this bipolar weather, and her zippy pajama sleepers are still my favorite thing to see her in. I just want to soak up what little bit of babyness that is left!

She is turning into such a big girl so fast!! Today she said her first two sentences.. "Daddy is not nice." while shaking her finger at him in her grumpy first-thing-in-the-morning funk, and "Mommy, I want that." while pointing to her sippy cup on the highchair. It blew us away both times! It's so sweet to hear her tiny voice speaking real words, even if she is being mean to Daddy. We couldn't stop laughing! 

We have had the laziest weekend ever, just hanging around the house during this nasty weather and daydreaming of me being a stay at home mommy while I dread another week of indoor recess with 23 kindergartners. I do however feel very blessed that my sweet room mom threw me a half-birthday party and awesome parents and students that showered me with gifts sweet cards. It's definitely nice to feel appreciated, but I am still counting down to spring break!!!

Shots are for Dum dums!

Wheeeee!!

Delaney and Avery at the park!!

Doing her eyebrows! hahah

Playdate with Olivia!!!

Our Holidays/14/15 months

How is it already mid January?? I thought I document our holidays and 14th/15th month milestones before they are irrelevant.

First of all, Avery had an amazing Christmas!! I think having her birthday a couple of months before gave her the practice she needed to understand opening gifts. She totally "got it" this year and had a blast. Growing up, my parents made Christmastime so magical. We had so many traditions that made it such a special time, but being a parent and seeing your own child experience those traditions makes it so much more magical. Since Jon proposed on Christmas Eve (5 years ago) I will always hold that as the best Christmas ever…but seeing Avery's excitement Christmas morning is just as exciting!!! It was great to spend that special time with just the 3 of us before the madness of visiting families set in.

Although she rang in the new year with a 103 temperature, Avery and I had the best time while I was out of school for 2 weeks. In true Megan fashion, I had a full on breakdown/meltdown/crying fit the Sunday night before going back. It still hurts just as bad to leave her as it did when I returned from maternity leave. Everything in my gut instinct tells me I'm wrong every time I go back after a break. She just grows so fast and is at the most fun stage, that it makes me worried about how much I am missing. I know she'll be in Kindergarten before I know it and it kills me to think about how much I am missing out on these precious early years. I just have to keep praying about it. Right now, it is what it is, though and  it makes me cherish our weekends and evenings even more. We have a 3 day weekend coming up (Thank you, Dr. King!) and I am already planning something fun for us. :)

At fourteen/almost fifteen months Avery is a hoot! She honestly blows my mind every day. Her vocabulary is insane. I try really hard to narrate everything we do in a non-baby voice and we read books constantly, and it is all paying off. She is naming everything. She knows cracker, cookie, banana, juice, blueberries, water, cup, eat, blanket ("buppy"), kitty, puppy/dog, monster, ball, up, out, George (Curious George "Geege"), bear, socks, shoes, bow, keys, bath, night night and when all else fails, "THAT!". She can point to pictures and name the familiar faces. She can follow verbal directions better than most of my Kindergarteners (pick up all the socks and put them in the basket) (go put the bowl in the cabinet) (can you hand me my phone?) ( lets pick up the balls/legos/cars) (shake your booty) (hide) (give the babydoll her paci) etc. She says "thank you" but we are still working on "please" as she can be a demanding and impatient little girl! :)

She has also become quite the helper! She loves helping Mommy and Daddy change the laundry, dishes, clean up, vacuum, put groceries in the cart, feed and play with Abby nicely, put her clothes away, wipe counters/tables, my little assistant even hands me my toilet paper! LOL I have no other choice but to take her with me when I have to go..Things you don't think about until you are a mom! ;-)

She has always had an interest in make up and when she was about 8 months, I gave her an old brush to pretend with. Well Miss Smartypants has realized it's not the real deal, so she gets MAD when I don't share my good stuff with her. I can see what our fights will one day be about! Haha. She also loves to put on lotion and chapstick, brush her hair and teeth and says "piddy" when we put in hair clips and ponytails. She's totally my girl.

At the same time she is making Daddy proud by loving her toy cars and trucks he got her for Christmas and MegaBlocks as her favorite toys right now. Seeing them play trucks together on the floor seriously melts my heart. She is the most perfect gift from God.