15 Months of Little Loquacious (aptly named)

I didn't really realize how much talking happens in our home until now, when I see Little L also yapping it up.  She'll narrate to herself as she plays, she will "read" her books aloud, and she likes screeching at us to be at her beck and call. 

Reading: Sudden shifts.  Now she likes having the same pages read to her over and over again.  Her favourite books include Pedro Orange, Corky Coconut, Ollie Onion (of Munch Bunch fame), the Little Miss/Mr. Men books, Usborne Little Book of First Experiences, her toddler Bible, the Paper Bag Princess (abridged and original versions), Hop on Pop, the Hungry Caterpillar, God Gave Us You, and all of the Little People lift-the-flap books (she currently only has 4, with a few more on order).

Eating: Her appetite isn't what it used to be, that's for sure.  And she still isn't a fan of veggies.  In fact, she has extended this dislike onto sweet potatoes as well.  But she still loves cheese, pasta, eggs, Asian noodles, bread with jam, fruit, and those toddler "Graduates" snacks.  I am trying to blend spinach into all of her smoothies to get her to eat some greens.  I'm starting to think that she's onto me, because she hasn't been finishing her smoothies anymore.  Little L also likes dark chicken thigh meat, so I do try to cook a lot of moist chicken for her.

Saying:  This list is constantly growing, but here are the highlights: leilei (tongue in Canto), book, read, out, gray, brown (/bown/), heart, tail, hot, cold, hyehye (shoe in Canto), back, up, down, wait, grape, spoon, pants, car, top, bed, bump, roof, hat, uh-oh, pig (/peeg/), cow, tall, deet deet (fall down in Canto), where, towel, stuck (/uck/), baby, girl, turtle.  Although she can clearly imitate some of our words, I don't think she has really gotten the meanings of most of them.  For example, she has said, "Switch!" before when I was talking about switching breasts during nursing, but she wouldn't necessarily know how to use that word in any other context.  She also mimicked me at breakfast today when I told her that the oranges were sweet, or teem-teem in Canto.  She said both words, but I doubt she knows what it means for something to be sweet.  That said, she totally understands "cute," because whenever I talk about something being cute, she points at herself or pats herself on the head and tries to say it back to me! LOL.

Moving: Little L is walking and running with growing proficiency, and she is also trying to figure out climbing up slides and other playground apparatuses, much to her father's dismay.  She is also increasingly able to put things on top of other things (like a Little People figurine on top of her tower of stacking cups).  She usually claps to congratulate herself when it stays without falling.

Little L is getting better at coming off of a higher surface with her feet first.  We still don't really let her go down on her own, however; we try to hold her by the armpits while she "slides" off the bed, etc.

Little L also loves sitting and standing back up on a raised surface, so we are in the market for a proper little chair/seat for her to do this on.  Right now, she is like a magnet drawn to any stair or parking barrier that is at her level, because she will want to sit on it and stand back up.  She's also attempting to sit on those yellow toy dump trucks, in the dumping bucket.  Her butt is a bit big to fit in it but she squeezes herself in anyway.  She has been known to sit on the wipes' dispenser boxes in our living room.  Thankfully, we also have a large blue stepstool that has become her favourite "seat."

Finally, Little L is now able (and willing) to go into the cardboard "house" made out of her Foonf box.  She used to want to just play around it, pointing to the quilt on the box and identifying hearts and animals sewn into the quilt.  Now, she will crawl into the house, and assume the "Child's Pose" to rest for a bit before resuming her play.

Playing: Little People farm and zoo continue to be her favourites, but she is growing fond of her little "eggs" and her B-toys Whacky Ball.  She still mostly prefers to read over playing, although she does do both in abundance over the course of the day.  She also likes rummaging through her "food" in the play kitchen, as well as taking books off the shelves and scattering them all over the floor.  Sometimes, it's also a game for her to put the books back inside boxes or back on the shelf.  Unfortunately, this game does not get played often enough! ;)

We are trying to get her outside into the sunshine as much as possible, and so Little L goes to the playground at least once a day on most days.  She adores the swings, and enjoys the slides.  Miss Bee also tells me that Little L likes the riding toys at the toddler playground nearby, although when we've gone with Little L she has not shown that much of a preference for it.

Sleeping: Still averaging 10-12h/night.  Her night sleep is usually 10-11 hours in length (with feeds at 1:00 am, 4:00 am, and 6:30 am).  She will also nap for 1-3 hours once a day, although when that actually occurs is always a surprise ;)

Wearing: 18 months - 2T.  Shoes are 21-22, or size 6.

Seriously, this kid gets to be cuter and more fun by the day. I am constantly doing everything in my power to make her laugh because when she does, it's magic and sunshine and innocence and pure joy.  She is truly my gift from Heaven. 

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