Lila @ almost 19 months

I exclaimed, "Holy Cow!" and Lila (who is obsessed with cows), in reply, exclaimed, "Cowie! Moo!"

She still loves lotion.  She calls it "she-she."  She loves to have it dabbed onto her hands and she'll rub her hands together, and often rub it on her face too.  She like to put it on my belly and will often say, "I want she-she on bewwy."

When I have the computer open, she often asks to look at pictures of her cousins, Daddy, Nemmy, and Jared.  "Want pitchoo Daddy.  Want cousins.  Want Jawed."

She calls herself "Yiya."  Replaces the L's with Y's.  ADORABLE.  "That's Yiya's cup."

She really likes music and will often ask for "moo-kick/moo-keet" or for a "shongie."  She likes Regina Spektor (upbeat sons like On the Radio and The Calculation and Ingrid, and any kind of dance music).  She especially likes this kind of music in the car, and when a song she likes is coming to an end, she whines and twists her hands like she's trying to twist the knob on the radio, because she wants us to play it again.  If we're playing one of her favorite songs, she will usually sit very quietly the whole ride without whining or complaining.

She's really gotten into singing songs with us lately.  Her very favorite is Book of Mormon Stories still and she knows all the actions.  She likes Popcorn Popping, A Child's Prayer, I Love to See the Temple, the ABC's.  I taught her Ring Around the Rosie today and she loves that.  At the end, instead of falling to the ground, she jumps into my arms and gives me a hug.  She says, "I want ashes" when she wants to sing it.

She explains to me that "daddy work."  She gets excited when "daddy home."

Peek-a-boo is "peek-a-doo."

When she's hungry she usually asks for a popsicle (pock-ooh-doo).  Her favorite snacks right now are popsicles (I'll give her half of a pop ice), string cheese, pickles (she loves pickles! I buy the mini ones. She calls them "pee-koos"), raisins (maisins), Craisins (berries), fruit snacks (she calls them candy), licorice (shee-kish), and Danimals ("monkey moonies").  She also likes Daddy's green smoothies and Ovaltine.  She also drinks Juicy Juice but only from the juice box.

Her current favorite show is the Backyardigans.  For some reason she calls it the Birdy Show (I love how she says this, "Boo-dee Showie").  She usually watches an episode when she gets up in the morning, while she's having breakfast.  She's still not much of a breakfast eater.  She'll usually only tolerate a Danimal and a pop tart.

She's getting better at saying her "r's."  It is REALLY cute.  She can identify the shapes of hearts and stars.  She'll say, "Heaaarrrrrrrt.  Staaaarrrrr."  SO cute. 

On walks she'll see a mail box and say, "Mail time."  Because of Blue's Clues.

She likes walking with me on walks now instead of sitting in her stroller.  She likes finding acorns.

Something she says a lot lately is "Whoa!"  Like Joey from Blossom.  Whenever we give her something she likes to eat, she'll say, "Whoa!"

When she wants to hold hands (which is very, very rarely), she'll say, "Holdy handy."

People are impressed with how verbal she is.  She's saying 4- and 5- word sentences.  She has a huge vocabulary and copies almost anything we ask her to say.  She acquires language very quickly.

She says, "Trick or treat."

She can kind of count to 10.  She says, "Fwee, Four, Five, Sick, Seven, Nine, Fwee!"

She likes when I count to three and then throw her onto pillows.  She loves being tickled.  She says, "Teekoo Mama! Teekoo Yiya!"

She's wearing 2T clothes and size 5 1/2 shoes.  She loves clothes.  She giggles and smiles when we pick out clothes and I tell her what she can wear.  She likes shirts with butterflies and flowers.  "Fuf-fy sheet, flower sheet."  She likes talking about mine and Jake's clothes too.  She knows her white shoes and her brown shoes, and she loves wearing her Crocs around the house.

She loves jumping on beds and mattresses (we have some laying on the floor in the basement).  She loves being chased, when we say, "I'm gonna get you!"  ("Getchoo mama!")  Before bed she likes to run around in circles and say, "I deezy! I deezy!" (I'm dizzy!) and to "touch-a-wall" and "come on back."

Her sleep schedule right now is better than it has been for a while.  She doesn't go down till 9:30 or 10 but she sleep for 5-7 hours, wakes up and nursing for a bit, and then sleeps till 8 or a little before.  She takes one nap at around noon and sleeps for 90 minutes to 2 hours.

Something she says a lot is "Kalamazoo jia you!"  We don't know why she says the two together, but she always does, and it's really adorable and funny.  She can also say California ("califono") and Cassandra (cassanna).

She really likes her friend Brig (Briggy), Quay (Kiki), and Ella (Eya).  She likes Tessa too and always says "Want Tessa water."  Because they played in the bucket of water that one time.

When we go for walks she likes to walk next to me instead of sit in her stroller.  We don't get very far and it takes a long time, but she has a lot of fun.

She thinks a lot of things are "skee-wee."  She still hates it when we sing "Rockabye Baby", even though she'll start singing it and ask us to sing it.  She's been saying "cock-a-doo-doo-doo" a lot, and whenever we say it back, she crinkles her face and says, "Don't yike it."  She also doesn't like it when I wear zip-up sweatshirts and tells me to take it "offy."

Lila @ almost 18 months

She'll actually be 18 months old in just a week, but here's what Lila's up to lately --

• She loves coloring.  Which means, she loves getting the crayons (she asks for them by name) and then telling me to draw things.  Her favorite thing for me to draw are "bwoonies" (balloons) and buggies.  She also likes socks and bikes.  And recently eye glasses.
• She has favorite songs.  She loves "Book of Mormon Stories" and can all do the hand motions with me.  She often starts singing this on her own by making a book and singing "Muck-a-mommy" which is how she says Book of Mormon.  She also loves "I Love to See the Temple."  Whenever she sees one or we say the word temple, she starts singing "want temple."  She also loves the ABC's or the "baby c's."  We have a toy that sings the ABC's and she bounces around, dancing to it.
• She tries to jump, and it's the cutest thing ever.  She only gets to her tip-toes, but she kind of throws her arms into the air too.  Very cute.
• She's pretty good at praying.  She knows to close her eyes, or she'll squint, but only for a few seconds.  Sometimes she'll kneel with us.  She can fold her arms, but first she'll often stick up her right arms into the air and then fold them.  Funny.  She still mostly squirms around while we pray, but that's okay.  A lot of times she'll say amen.
• Jake's been teaching her Chinese whenever he changes her diaper.  She says "Jia you!" while waving her arm, which literally means "Add oil!" - it's a phrase of encouragement.  She'll say it without any prompting, and then we'll all start doing it.  She won't say "I love you" when we ask her to, but she will say "Wo ai ni" (her version is "ai ni ni") which is I love you in Chinese.
• She tells me when things are "scary" - skee-wee.  Also very cute.
• When she wants to go to bed, she comes to me, and says "Bye bye Daddy!" in a kind of pouty, tired voice.
• Our nighttime routine is to play with her and have some snacks.  She'll do "airplane" with Daddy and Jake loves doing that with her.  She thinks it's fun too.  And she climbs all over him while he's laying on the floor.  And then we'll read from the Book of Mormon and have a prayer.  And then we'll brush teeth.  She likes brushing her own teeth, but doesn't do a very good job at it.  She'll stand at the sink and say "teefy" when she wants to.  She mostly likes sucking the berry-flavored toothpaste off of it.  She's sleeping in her own bed now and always sleeps with her "bankie."
• She asks for high fives by saying "high fi' Tubby!" which means "high five Toby!" because she and Toby give each other high fives.
• She really likes riding her bike.  Brody and Toby taught her to "crash" into things, so she thinks that's really funny and says "boom" when she does.  She doesn't pedal, but tries to sometimes.  Just pushes herself with her feet, and she can go pretty fast.
• I have a plastic tricycle for her in the basement for when it's cold/rainy outside and she pretends it's a motorcycle.  She calls it a motorcycle and says "vroom vroom."
• She loves bath time.  We let her have bubbles every time, and she loves that.  She likes playing with washcloths and putting them on her head, sucking on them, and washing herself.  When she's done with the bath, she says, "Bye Bye Tubby."
• Whenever we need to leave or move on, we ask her to say bye bye to whatever she's currently interested in, and she says it, and then moves on.  
• She likes going for walks after dinner in her "stwowwer" (stroller).  She likes to see the "cowies."
• Nursery isn't going so well.  She has a favorite toy there, but doesn't seem to understand that you can play with other kids too.  Maybe it will help having Brig in there.  Her first official day is Jake's birthday in a few weeks, but we've been bringing her in lately.  It doesn't help that the nursery leaders aren't usually there, so it's someone different every week.
• One of her obsessions is clothes.  She especially likes shirts and one of her most often-said phrases is "Daddy's sheet (shirt)" or "Mommy sheet."  She knows socks and towels and shoeys and jammies.  When she sees a man in a shirt and tie, she says "Daddy sheet."  She loves identifying people's shoes.  "Mommy shoeys" or "Daddy shoeys" or "Mike shoes" or "Nemmy shoeys."
• She still loves Nemmy and Mike.  Especially Nemmy.
• She still always poops in mine and Jake's closet.  It's one of her favorite places.  She walks in and closes the door by holding onto the doorknob, but leaves it open a crack.  She freaks out if she closes it all the way.  She's been really awesome lately at telling us when she's pooping.  She'll point and tell us "Pooping."  And the look on her face (the watery, red eyes) give it away too.
• When she's carrying something heavy, she says, "It heavy."
• She's very independent.  Says "no" a lot when we ask her if she wants something or wants to do something.  
• She recently started liking swings on the playground, but not baby swings, big kid swings.  She calls it "nwinging."  She'll sit on the swing for a really long time, and only likes to be pushed a very little bit, otherwise she says it's "skee-wee."
• She loves Baby Jared already.  She loves giving my belly kisses and resting her head on it.  She asks to see his ultrasound pictures now too.  She usually doesn't give me kisses when I ask for them, but she will always give him kisses.  She points to my belly (and she always has to lift my shirt up to talk to him) and says "Mommy Jee-weet."  I think she's going to be a great big sister.
• She is quite a talker.  Loves talking and loves hearing her voice, I guess.  Babbles but says a lot of real words too.  She must be able to say 70-80 or more words.  She has a very big vocabulary, and even understands abstract ideas, like feelings.  Sometimes we'll be laughing together and she'll sigh and say, "Funny."  Or she understands what "scary" is.  I think she's a very smart girl. I think she'll be an early reader and that she'll be talking quite well by the time she turns 2.
• We really, really, really love this kid.  She makes us laugh all the time and she's the best part of our day.  When she wakes up from naps and we're both home, we always race to her room so we can see her and play with her again.  We love having her as our daughter and she's become the center of our family.  I love her so much.

Lila @ 17 months

• jared = jee-wee.  She says "Baby Jee-wee."  And gives my belly hugs and kisses.  She freely and happily gives my belly kisses, but doesn't really like to kiss Jake and I's faces.


• She sometimes says she wants to touch something, or if she knows something is dangerous (like the stove), she'll tell me, "Don't touch."


• Says "vroom vroom" about motorcycles and trucks and cars.  She loves seeing motorcycles when we're driving and calls them bikes.


• She still loves American flags.  Gets excited whenever she sees one.  Calls them "fikes."


• Says George (chuch)


• church (chooch)


• "I want da money."  We have no idea what she means by this, but it cracks us up.  We say, "Me too, Lila."


• She asks for her cup or for water when she's thirsty.


• Her first official sentences were: i don't want fruit. i want a popsicle (pock-a-tee).


• "I want to watch Blue's Clues."  (Ah-wah-watch Coo's Coos.)


•  Sky.  "Bye bye sky."  "I want sky."


• "Tubby (Toby) home?  Tubby not home.  Tubby school."


• "I want Daddy.  Daddy work."


• When she goes to bed she says, "Bye bye Daddy."


• Loves to do the airplane with Jake, loves to climb on him and have him tickle her and roll around on the floor with her.  Is not very interested in doing any of that with me.


• "I want my Mike."  "I want Nemmy."


• "Mowing" for mowing the yard.  "Daddy mowing."


• Loves butterflies lately. "Fuh-fies."


• "I want food."  "I want 'nack (snack)."


• "Cwack-oo."  (Cracker.)


• When we whisper to her she'll usually whisper back.  One time last week I asked her to whisper and she leaned forward and whispered, "I want Tubby."  Cracked me up.


• "Mucka Mo-mon."  (Book of Mormon.)


• "Jee jee."  (Jesus)


• She's getting good at praying.  She'll fold her arms and close her eyes/bow her head for a second before resuming whatever she was doing... doesn't usually sit still for prayers.  But sometimes she'll say "amen."


• She likes the phone and says, "Hewwo" into it.


• "Temple.  Mowoni."


• She's started saying and understanding what "scary" means.  When she's scared she says, "Skee-wee."


• "I want tep."  (I want help.)


• She's getting better at scooting around in her play car and on her bikes.  She can steer and push herself around.


• She runs everywhere now, pumping her arms, it's so adorable.


• Yesterday at the neighborhood party, she walked up and down stairs like a big kid, without holding onto anything!!  It was amazing.  And it scared Jake and I to watch. lol.


• She LOVES shirts and shorts.  Says "Sheet" all the time for shirt, gets excited about it.


• Has gotten really good at saying a pitiful "Mommy, mommy," when she wants me.  It's hard to say no to.


• She's starting to help me with chores.  As best as a 17 month old can.  She hands me silverware and dishes one at a time when I'm unloading the dishwasher, and hands me clothes one at a time to put into the washer or dryer.  I say, "Thank you!" to her every time she hands me something.


• She'll usually say please ("peas") or thank you" (tant too) if we ask her too.  And says "we-come" after we say "you're welcome."


• She is a very smart little girl!  Learning and growing every day.  She'll be holding conversations with me before I know it.  She knows all the parts of her face, toes, fingers, belly, hands, feet.


• She's obedient.  She's pretty good at following directions and doesn't get into mischief very often.


• She does love to unfold clothes that I've just folded, but she has so much fun doing it that usually I let her.  


• Loves the ABC song.  Loves to color and "draw" the ABC's.  When she sees something written on paper she says, "Baby C!" which means ABC!  


• Loves when we sing Book of Mormon Stories or I Love to See the Temple.


• She's so much fun and I love spending every day with her.

Lila Update - 16.5 months

Lila's doing great lately.  She had 2 very bad weeks in a row--teething, diarrhea, fevers, didn't sleep well--but last week she was pretty much back to normal.  She had an off day yesterday.  For some reason, she didn't take a nap.  I tried to get her to, but she just didn't fall asleep, so it was a very long day.  She fell asleep for a while at her normal bedtime, but woke up and didn't go back to sleep again until midnight, and there was lots of screaming and crying and tears in between.  It was crazy.

But, today was awesome.  Her eating has improved A LOT these past few weeks.  Her love of popsicles has turned her onto liking watermelon and canteloupe, similar textures and tastes.  Which is awesome.  Kristen (OT) said it would be great if Lila would eat two veggies and two fruits.  I don't know if potatoes count as veggies, but she eats those and beans (black beans, baked beans) and now two fruits.  I guess she was chugging chocolate milk at our neighbor's house the other day... I'll have to try that.  And now she likes licorice, fruit snacks, Craisins, Quaker Oats granola bars, Nutella, Gatorade.  It's awesome.  Now it feels like most of my day is spent preparing her food, feeding her, and cleaning up.  But it's fun and I'm happy that she's doing so well.  At her last OT appointment, last Thursday, Kristen was so impressed with how she's doing.  Lila only needs to go in every other week now.

New words she can say (or tries to say): Jesus (Cheesy), Church, Mike, Emmy/Nemmy, popsicle (pock-ah-tee), shirt, shorts, Book of Mormon, plane, Blue's Clues (Coo Coos), banana, color (cowor -- she asks me to color when she's bored now), nose (no), button.  I wrote "ABC" on a piece of paper today when we were coloring and told her what it was, and from time to time she would point at it and say "ABC!"  She is AMAZING and incredibly smart.  She loves coloring and writing with pens, just like I did when I was little.

Uh-oh is one of her favorite things to say.  She says it whenever she drops something, or anyone drops something, or when I ask her where something is and she doesn't know, she says "uh-oh."

Knows a lot of body parts now: nose, mouth, teeth, cheeks, eyes, ears, fingers, toes, belly, belly-button.

It's fun going for walks and being outside with her because she likes to point at things and name them as we go.  She loves hearing planes and trains go by.  She'll stop dead in her tracks, make a surprised face, point, and then say either "toot toot" and "tee" for train and will try to say "plane."  She says "fah" for flowers, bumble bee (bum-bee-bee, so cute), butterfly (buy-fy), bike (even when she sees motorcycles).  She thinks horses are cows so she says moo when she sees them.  She still loves seeing doggies and says "foof foof" for woof woof.  She loves birdies too and says "teet teet" and "birdy."

She still loves Brody and Toby.  We play in the driveway with them almost every night.  They mostly like to play with our tricycles and lawn mowers and tools--they love asking Jake questions about those things--but Lila's just thrilled to have them over.  Terie is great, too and loves Lila.  They are awesome neighbors!

Lila's getting taller and losing some of her baby fat.  Lots of our friends have been commenting on that.  Sigh.  I cannot believe how big she's getting.  She's such a blondie, too.  It just makes me smile sometimes to watch her walking and running around, that little fuzzy, curly blond head of hers.  She has quite the tan for a blonde too.

She's starting to speak in two word sentences, I think.  Not very clearly, but when she wants milk (to nurse, usually when she's hungry--so then I know I need to feed her a snack or meal--or before nap/bed) she always says "mah milk."  And when she wants to go for a walk, she says "mah walk."  Today it sounded like she said something like "Walk go church."  Or sometimes she'll say "go walk."

She loves saying "Hi" and she'll always say it so cheerfully to people.

She did great at church on Sunday!  Now that she loves certain snacks--she also loves Yogurt Bites--she's easier to distract with those, and we had books and a pen and paper, we made it through the entire sacrament meeting without having to take her out!  ...Except for when she pooped at the very end, before the closing song, and I had to take her out to change her.  She's so cute in Primary.  She'll climb into the little chairs and sit with the kids so happily, and she'll yell out, "MA!  Mama!" until I look at her and wave.  So funny.

She likes to Skype with my parents still, and knows when I have Skype open, even when I'm not chatting with anyone.  She'll say "Papa" because she knows that we Skype with Papa and Granny.  She doesn't say Granny yet, but likes to see Bella the dog.  My mom sings "Bella Rose Ollero, Nanananana."  to the tune of Ring Around the Rosy, and so anytime she wants to see Bella, she says "Bella" or "nanana" and sings the song.  It's so cute.

She loves Auntie Emmy.  A few weeks ago, Emily didn't work a lot so she was over here most days.  She'd be here when Lila would wake up from her naps, so now lately when Lila wakes up from a nap, she sits up and says, "Nemmy?"

In short, Lila is amazing.  She is doing so well.  She is so smart.  I know most parents think that about their kids, but I think Lila is smarter than average. ;)  It amazes me how much she can say and understand, and that she can request things from me now.  When she wants a popsicle, she says popsicle.  When she wants to go for a walk, she'll get her shoes and ask to go for a walk.  I am so proud of her and I really am grateful that I get to be home with her every day.  It's a lot of fun, now that I'm learning how to better entertain and interest her, and now that she likes to eat food.  She is my little buddy and I'm so excited to continue to see her learn and grow.  I wish Jake got to spend more time with her.  She just loves him and he loves her too.  I'm nervous to have another baby because I don't think Lila will like it at all at first... but I think it will be really good for her.  She will love having a playmate and a best buddy.  And, though it'll be hard at first, it will be good for her to be a little less attached to me and to not have 100% of my attention.  I am so blessed to have this little girl in my life.

Lila @ 16 months

• This girl is a smarty pants!  She can say a lot of words, more than most kids her age.  She can't say them all clearly, but I'll put stars by ones that she can say clearly.
• Mommy/Mama*, Daddy/Dada*, Papa*, Birdie*, Bucket, Blanket (Bweet/Beet), Shoe*, Walk*, Baby*, Hi*, Bye*, Bubbles*, Bike, Train (tee), Tree, Sky (Kye), No*, Book* (Bock), Flower (Fah), Cow*, Moo, Meow (Now), Bella (Ba), Ball*, Doggie (Dah), Quack, Bawk Bawk (chicken), Butterfly (Bu-hee), Bath (bah), water (wa-dee), Tweet tweet, Boat, Mermaid, Brody (Bwody), Rudi (Woo-dee), Jake (Dake), Emmy
• The night we got back from the UP, Jake pointed at my belly and told her there was a baby in there.  A few days later, we were Skyping with my mom and my mom said the word baby, and Lila lifted up my shirt, pointed at my belly, and said "Baby."  She's been doing that often now.
• Body parts she knows and can point to: Ear (learned after I taught her once), toes, belly, nose.
• Doesn't like babies. Likes (little) big kids.
• Ate a bunch of raisins the other day and was chewing them.  They're now one of her favorite snacks.
• Has been introduced to the wonders of junk food: Likes donut holes, MandMs, smarties, chocolate chex, ice cream, pop ices, popsicles.
• Did pretty good in the car to and from the UP.  Loved running around when we stopped.
• Still loves to nurse.
• Loves to give mom hugs and kisses.  Has been clingy to me lately because she's teething.  Points at me and cries (tears) when Jake holds her and says, "Ma da!"  She'll usually give Jake hugs if he asks her for them.
• We live sort of near the Amtrak route, and whenever we hear the whistle blow, Lila pauses, makes her surprised face, and says "train!".
• She loves being outside, walking around.  She loves climbing on her bike and in her toy car and when we push her around.  She loves playing bubbles.  
• Enjoys bath time and showers again.
• Still waking up a few times at night to eat.  We try to feed her more before bed, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.
• She's letting me feed her now, pop snacks into her mouth.  When she doesn't want me to, she shakes her head no.
• She'll often nod her head if you ask her if she wants to do something.  
• Loves doggies and all animals, really.  Her new favorites are cows and birdies.  Likes to be kissed by dogs.
• Loves trampolines.
• Does not like sand at the beach or going swimming.
• She's usually really happy in the mornings and very smiley.  Sometimes likes to give us kisses when she wakes up.  
• Likes playing with Jake's iPad.
• She babbles a lot.  It often sounds like she's speaking a different language, she rambles on and on... sounds like French or Swedish or German.
• Her hair is getting a lot longer and she has ringlets!  So cute.  She still doesn't like having bows in her hair, but sometimes I can sneak a piggy on top of her head.
• She really likes books and when we read to her.  Her very favorite book is Lila Pirate.  Everytime she flips to the page where Teddy goes overboard, she says, "Oh no!" in a really high pitched voice.  She points out birdies and flowers in books and makes the appropriate animal noises for different animals.
• She's still a big girl, wearing 3T.  Seems lately like she's getting taller.  Wears size 5 or 5 1/2 shoes.  She still loves wearing shoes and tries to walk around in mine sometimes, just like I used to do with my mom's shoes.
• She loves my parents, and Jake's dad.  Iffy on Jake's mom, but we don't see them very often.
• Loves the neighbor boys Toby and Brody.  If she sees or hears them playing outside, she says "Brody!" and stands by the door waiting to go out.
• She often says "shoes" or "walk" and gets her shoes if she wants to go outside.
• One time, Toby stood against our garage door and banged his butt against it to make a loud noise.  Now Lila does the same thing when we're outside, it's really cute.
• She likes going for walks in her stroller.
• Likes lotion.
• Still loves her blanket.  Generally likes cuddling with blankets and pillows.
• Does well at stores when we're out shopping.  Is becoming more easily distracted by snacks and water.
• I love spending my days with this kid.  I love being her mom and still can't believe she's mine sometimes (I think it's the blond hair and blue eyes :).  I love seeing her and Jake sit side by side and seeing how much they look alike and remind me of each other.

Moments with Lila

Lila has been awesome lately.  Yesterday I was playing in the driveway with her.  She was sitting on her little tricycle and had pushed herself onto the grass and was "tuck."  She was pointing over at Toby and Brody's yard and I was explaining to her that they weren't home.  She was talking to me, not saying real words of course, but she was trying so hard to tell me that she wanted to go over there.  There was a moment when she was babbling and her eyes were so expressive and she looked right at me, and it hit me, This kid is my daughter!  She is trying to talk to me!  Sometimes I forget that she's actually mine. Maybe it's because she doesn't look like me at all, but sometimes there are moments where it's undeniable.  Looking forward to watching her learn and grow all my life.

Then last night she woke up crying an hour after we put her to bed.  Her teeth were hurting her.  She didn't want to go back to bed, so Jake and I took her to the basement with us to finish watching Harry Potter.  Most of the time, she just sat in Jake's lap, sleepy.  Before we headed back upstairs to go to bed, she was sitting there and I was just amazed that Jake and I created this little person, that she never existed before we made her.  That her chubby cheeks and her little fingers are from me and him.

Yesterday morning she and I took a shower.  I can't ever take a shower by myself now (unless Jake's home), she's always climbing in with me.  After we got out and were both wrapped in our towels, we danced around my bedroom to the music on the radio.  She was happy and laughing.  And then we sat down and looked into the mirror for a while, and she just let me hold her, and I was so happy.  I love my girl.

Lila @ 14 months

• Starting Occupational Therapy.  Has sensory problems and oral aversion.  Is on a brushing program. Was scared of therapists at first, but now that we're out in a bigger playroom instead of a smaller "exam" room, she's completely fine.  (It probably reminded her of a doctor's office, and she hates those.)  
• We have noticed a HUGE improvement with her eating.  She's still nursing, but mostly before nap-time and bed-time.  Her favorite food is mac and cheese, and she's starting to love pudding and pureed baby foods too, which is very exciting for us because she's always hated it.  Up to this point, she has tried the following foods: Cheerios, Teddy Grahams, cream cheese/peanut butter bagels, Goldfish, mac and cheese, Sacrament bread, PB&J, Spaghettios, spaghetti, Ramen noodles, bacon, pudding, pureed sweet potatoes, roasted potatoes, French fries, chicken nuggets, pizza, tortilla chips, Doritos, shredded cheesed, banana pancakes, baked/black beans, green beans, steak, mashed potatoes, ice cream, chocolate bars.
• She's starting to get messy with food and enjoy it, laughing while eating, putting 4 Cheerios in her mouth at a time.
• She's taken a few sips of milk and juice and pop, but doesn't care for them a whole lot.  She loves water.  She uses sippy cups with straws and sometimes tries to drink out of regular sippy cups.  She loves drinking out of fast food cups and likes to blow bubbles in them.  She's started to spit out water she drinks playfully.
• Likes older kids.
• Words she says: doggie, quack, "bawk bawk", mama, dada, papa, no, mommy, daddy, ball, baby, hi, shoes, door.  She babbles and "talks" a lot.
• LOVES being outside.  She likes bikes and tricycles.  She loves toys you can push or pull around.  She loves walking around outside; stepping onto the grass and back onto the sidewalk.  Loves the hanging baskets of flowers and pointing at them but doesn't like when I take them down.  Likes playing with the watering can.  Likes playing in the rain and in water outside.  Likes walks in her stroller.  Loves it when neighbors walk by our house with their dogs.  She pets them and lets them kiss her, not afraid at all, even of a HUGE hairy sheep dog.
• LOVES her pink sandals.  And now she loves all of her shoes.  Stands at closet in morning waiting for them.  Tries putting them on by herself.  She now turns around and sits in my lap and waits for me to put them on.  (She all of a sudden loves sitting in my lap and can back up and sit there on her own.)  She likes shoes in books too.
• If I ask where her toes are, she knows and points.  She loves when I play "Little Piggies" with her.  She'll take my fingers and put them on her toes when she wants me to.
• Knows where her nose is and can point to it.  Points to our noses too.
• Likes brushing our hair and her own hair.  Doesn't mind having her hair brushed, but always pulls bows out immediately and pigtails don't last very long.  She has curly blond hair.
• Eyes are blue but there's yellow around the pupils.
• Wearing mostly 3T clothes and size 5 shoes.  Size 5 diapers.
• At her 13-month (one year) check-up she was 31" tall and somewhere between 28-29 pounds.  Still above the 97th percentile for both.  Her head circumference is also above the 97 percentile.
• Does well at grocery stores.
• HATES baths and showers again.  I usually have Jake do them.
• Can back up and sit down on steps and our laps.  Sits back and relaxes.  Loves to do this.
• Starting to climb on things: beds, chairs, couches... but needs help usually.
• Loves bouncing on beds (while sitting down).
• Likes the little trampoline we got from the Andersons.
• Definitely has a favorite blanket.  Loves to snuggle with it and carry it around.  Loves playing peek-a-boo with it.
• Gives hugs when asked and sometimes kisses.
• Usually cries when I sing lullabies or when some toys play music.
• She's started liking toys that have flashing lights on them, like her laptop.  Still loves talking into microphones on toys.
• Loves iPhones and iPads.  
• Loves watching videos of herself.
• Loves car keys.
• Stands by front door and waves when she wants to go out.
• Likes merry-go-rounds.  Doesn't like swings.  Loves walking up and down hills.
• Slowly spins in circles until dizzy sometimes.
• Whiny lately.  Clingy to mom.  Wants to be held a lot.
• Sometimes doesn't want to sit and eat in high chair, cries, and fights it.  When that happens, she'll usually sit in our laps and eat.
• Likes books still.
• Likes to Skype with my parents.
• Loves Uncle Mike and Aunt Emily.
• Cries in car if we're driving around bedtime.  During the day she'll often fall asleep if she needs a nap in the car.
• Loves my glasses and hates that I won't let her play with them.  Loves sunglasses too.
• Makes it halfway through sacrament before needing to be taken out for a walk.  Loves the water fountain at church.
• Will "draw" on paper with ink pens but bites crayons.
• Hates when I'm cooking dinner and wants me to carry her.
• Plays with my makeup bag when I'm getting ready.
• Doesn't watch a lot of TV.  Does like Sesame Street and cartoons when they're on.
• Loves carrying reusable grocery bags around like a purse, with the straps over her shoulder.  So cute and funny.
• Overall a sweet and funny and happy baby.  Has a huge independent streak.  Will not allow us to feed her or brush her teeth, but she will do those things by herself.  She likes my toothbrush but not hers.  Doesn't like to hold our hands when we're walking.  Likes to do things by herself.  She adores Jake and I though and is very affectionate with us.  Loves to be tickled and kissed and snuggled.  We love having her in our family.

Lila @ 13 months

Not doing monthly letters anymore... seemed to be a right time to stop, and I plan on doing them for the first year of all my children.  Like a baby book.  But, I'd still like to record what life is like and what my baby is like every month.  And I'll write letters to Lila on all of her birthdays.  Anyway, here is what Lila is like at 13 months--

• Walking full-time now.  Doesn't crawl anymore.  As soon as she learned how to stand up on her own, it wasn't long before she was walking all over the place.  Lately she has loved to pull/carry things as she walks... large bags, particularly, lol.  Sometimes she walks with her little arms pushed back behind her and that's super cute.
• She has 8 teeth but is getting 4 molars.  She absolutely hates getting her teeth brushed.  It's impossible to do with a toothbrush so we have to use a washcloth around one of our fingers.  She happily plays with her toothbrush when we give it to her though and puts it in her mouth and kind of pretends to brush her teeth.  She also likes to "brush" our teeth.
• Still not eating!  And it's really starting to bug me, lol.  I really think something is wrong and that she'll need to see a specialist.  It's gotten worse these past few weeks... we've been busy with the move and off a schedule and she hasn't been feeling like herself, with her molars coming in and a cold.  She refuses to be fed and often say "no" or "no-no" now when we try to offer her food.  A lot of times she'll close her eyes and shake her head too with a frown, like it's offensive or something.  Sometimes she spits food out if she's taken a bite.  She's declining graham crackers, which used to be her favorite.  I'm hoping that once we're settled into our house she'll get better.  
• She still loves nursing.  Mostly, I still love it too.  But it is starting to bug me that she's not eating.  I don't think that the nursing is causing her not to eat.  Because most babies gradually learn how to love food on their own.  Today she nursed a LOT, like for maybe 2 hours just to suck.  She's not feeling well.  It completely relaxes her.  She doesn't bite at all, which is good, because it would be over if she did and she would... starve?  I don't know.  
• She can say "mama," "dada," "dodden" which means dad and dog, "no" which is one of her favorite words, "hello" which sounds like "hi-ya!", sometimes she says "baby" or "hi-ya baby" and she babbles a lot.  Sometimes she does this singing thing that sounds like yodeling.  A lot of her babbling sounds French.
• She likes to make farting noises or blow raspberries, whatever you call it.  The other day she let out some big toots and then made a farting noise with her mouth when she was done.  It was funny!  And the next day she pooped, and when she was done she clapped for herself.
• She loves clapping for herself.  She does it for herself a lot... after she rolls a ball to us, when she climbs up or down a stair, after she accomplishes just about anything.  
• She loves the Itsy Bitsy Spider song and always claps at the end.  She tries doing the spider motions with her fingers, adorable.
• She's starting to be a big snuggle-bug.  Whenever she touches anything soft, a lot of times she'll lay down on it or rest her head on it and pet it.  She even did this to my laptop when we were Skyping with my parents tonight.  I always say, "Awwww" when she does it and she likes that.  She'll sit back up and then lean back down over and over again really fast just to hear me say "aww."
• Now when I ask her for a hug, she'll walk over and give me one!  It is so sweet!!  She usually climbs into my lap, and rests her head on my shoulder too.  Sometimes she'll lean her face/cheeks to me so that I can give her kisses when I ask.
• She loves being outside!  She especially loves the porch and deck at our house.  Today she went in and out of the sliding glass door and loved it.  When I was carrying her past the front door she whined and reached toward it to go outside.  It'll be a fun summer.  
• She absolutely loves dogs.  She was trying to get a neighbor dog to chase her the other day... walking away from it and looking over her shoulder to try to lure it.
• She loves it when I "chase" her too... I usually crawl behind her and say, "I'm gonna get you!" and she smiles and walks slowly away, looking over her shoulder, and sometimes she stops so that I can grab her and tickle her.  Love it.
• On my birthday we took her to dinner with us.  She did not want to stay in the booth, but wanted to walk around the restaurant.  So now we know that if we really want to enjoy a meal, we need to get a baby sitter.
• Her hair is getting longer.  She has a little bit of a baby-mullet, but her long hair has a wave to it that's pretty.  She pulls bows out of her hair almost immediately, so we don't do bows anymore.  I did put a piggy on top of her head the other day (pointed to the side) and that was really cute and makes her look like a little girl.
• She loves making a surprised face.  She opens her mouth and her eyes wide and looks so surprised.  That always makes us laugh.  And she does it over and over again. When Mike and Cassandra were having their big divorce talk the other night, we sent Mike a picture of it while he was talking to her and we all laughed so hard.  
• She loves stuffed animals and hugs them.
• Jake noticed that she loves mechanical things.  She always tries to copy him when he's fixing something.  Loves to poke things into holes.  Loves opening and closing doors.
• Likes being around other kids.
• Tries to climb the back of the couch now to push the buttons on the thermostat.  Sometimes is able to do it successfully.
• Can slide off our (tall) queen bed now on her belly.  She knows not to go near the edge otherwise and only fell off one time (and I felt horrible) months ago.  
• Likes Emily and Mike.  One time Mike was visiting and she kept giving him hugs and cuddles and saying "dada."  I think she thought Mike was Jake.
• At the carpet store the other day, Jake was at the front of the warehouse talking to the salesman and we were at the back.  She walked across the store to him, happily saying, "Dada!  Dodden!  Dada!" the whole time.  Once she got up to him she smiled, looked up to him, and said, "Dada!  Hi-ya!"
• She hates it when I'm preparing dinner.  She whines and cries and pulls on my pants while I'm standing at the counter.  When I pick her up, she's happy, but then if I sent her back on the floor she cries like she is heartbroken.
• She likes baths now.  When I try to take a shower during the day she stands outside of the tub and tries to climb in.  She likes walking around in there while I'm showering.  Doesn't really play when she's taking a bath though... doesn't splash a lot or play with toys.  Just sits there or likes to stand up.  I think she likes showers more.
• Loves being naked.  She'll like summer.
• She still loves climbing stairs.
• Does pretty well with strangers, but sometimes gets shy/smiley and buries her head in my neck.
• Generally loves being in primary with all the kids.
• Is generally a really happy, quiet, peaceful baby.  People comment on that a lot, how well-behaved and laid-back she is.