15 months

The little bean is growing so quickly! At 15 months, she measures 31" tall and 18.5lbs. "She's a little one!" we hear from many, which is usually followed by further commentary on her eyes ("so blue!"), her attitude ("she's scrappy!"), or her abilities ("what manual dexterity!"and "she's fast!"). We have many neighbors who adorn her with affection every time they see her, repeating "I love you" over and over again or "I could just eat you up!" which frankly Andy & I both find a bit weird. She's reached the age where it takes her some time to warm up to others, so when these ladies come out of nowhere to squeeze and pet her, Juniper clings to Mommy and Daddy and scours. I don't blame her.

When she does warm up to someone, she's very chatty and charming! In the car, when she's not crying, she's taken to singing at the top of her lungs.We can't yet figure out what she is singing, but it's awesome! She recently received a book featuring babies faces and emotions, and she's spent a lot of time kissing the children in the book. She's especially fond of "happy" and "laughing" and says "oppy" (happy) over and over again. We've also heard her say "mama," "dada," "thank you," "elmo," "avocado," (which sounds like ahhhhhhh-vo-bah-dle-dah), "bye bye" and "i love you" (eye-of-ew). Of course the word she articulates best is "no."

She can now wave, shake hands, high-five, blow kisses, roar, spin, roll, climb, clap and dance. In the morning, after she wakes up, we put a sheepskin on the ground with her favorite plushy toys and pillows, and she rolls around and around, burying herself in the softness.

Juniper could eat anyone under the table in a raisin or avocado eating contest. Her other favorite foods include grapes, rice chex, raspberries, blueberries, toast, cereal bars, and yogurt. At daycare she eats like a queen (lamb stew?), and at home, we are struggling with getting her to eat meals. Instead, she snacks, smears and litters her food all over the place, and then snacks somemore. We went to a barbeque a few weeks ago where everyone felt compelled to offer her food just at the site of her! There, she ate guacamole, corn chips, hamburger, bratwurst, raspberries, blueberries, and marinated cheese. When she wants to, the girl can eat!!!

This past weekend, we had the opportunity to bring her to the pool for the very first time. It took a long time before she let us put her down, but then, she wouldn't let us leave! She was shivering and blue-lipped. We covered her in a towel and held her in the sun, and she wailed and writhed to be free so she could go back again and again.

These summer days are amazing for her, exploring the world around her. She almost never relaxes in her stroller. Instead, she demands to walk with us, and even push the stroller. If you place an umbrella above her head, she gets so excited she just swats at it over and over again and everyone ends up wet. In the bathtub, she has just learned how to splash, and gets a bit crazy. In short, she's walking dynamite, curious about everything and excited to rule the world!