15 Months

Katherine Grace, You are 15 months old and so much fun! We adore your happy, spunky, ornery personality. You make everyone smile.

At 15 months, some of your favorites are pacifiers, toothbrushes, necklaces, baby strollers, snacks, bottles, peek a boo, patty cake, baths,  Bizzy bear books, climbing and being wherever your siblings are.

You run everywhere especially when you have a wide open area or you are doing something you know you're not supposed to. You're a pro at the sideways glance/smile and then darting off when you hear your name to stop. You're a climber and have climbed to the top of Nathan's loft bed ladder. You can even climb on the big bed in your room and you love to jump and dance on it.

You're saying several words- Dada, Mama (when you're upset), Nay-Nay (Nathan), Bubba, and Sssss (Sissy). You also say please (Eeez), Hi and Bye (dye), and Roll. You say Mmmm whenever someone asks you for a kiss.  You shake your head no whenever you don't want something. You are very clear with your no! Mostly you communicate through pointing and grunting. I won't be too sad when you can start communicating better.



At your 15 month check up you weighed 21lbs 10 oz (55%) and were 31 inches long (63%). You're wearing 12-18 month clothes, a size 4 diaper and size 5 shoe- but you still don't like wearing shoes and always, always take them off in the car.

You're basically taking one long nap each day. Occasionally you'll get a morning cat nap if you wake up early and are tired, but I try to get you to hold out for a long mid day nap. It's necessary on school days and more convenient on other days too.

You go to bed about 7:30 at night and wake up around 6:30 or 7:00 in the morning. We brush teeth, read a book and sing Jesus Loves Me before bed. You always lay your head on my shoulder when I sing to you. It's one of my favorite things. It's not unusual for you to wake up in the middle of the night and want to be rocked. You'll grab your blanket and paci and point at your rocking chair. I don't hate it too much because you snuggle right in and cuddle until you fall back asleep. I know these sweet middle of the night cuddles are numbered, and I try to cherish them, but I don't mind a full night's sleep every now and then.

You're favorite toys are blocks, the toy kitchen, balls, and your dolls and baby stroller. You're also loving your new ice cream cart and pull along dog that you got for Christmas. And you always love to wear any necklace or crown you find lying around. You love to be outside playing and swinging too, and throw the biggest fit if your siblings are outside and you can't join them.

You're a happy, sweet girl, but you have a temper when you don't get your way. You scream and fight me when I pick you up if you don't get your way.

If I tell you we're going somewhere you always point and grunt toward your coat and then you stand at the door waiting. If you see someone's shoes or clothes you always take them to them too. You're such a cute helper.

Your favorite foods are grapes, cheese, banana, apples, yogurt, goldfish, cereal bars, and teddy grahams. You run into the pantry and bring me a snack to open countless times per day. You would eat snacks (and drink milk) all day long if I let you.

You recently started cheesing it up with this cute smile when we take your picture. And you always have to be in any picture I take. You'll sit right down, pose, and cheese it up when I pull out my phone to take a picture. 

You love to play ring around the rosies and peek a boo with your siblings. Really, you love to do anything with them and hate to be left out of their play.

You're such a fun toddler! We love you so much!

More December Fun

The second half of December was filled with many more fun activities!

Nathan had Grinch day at school. It was just for second graders and he has been waiting since Kindergarten to get to dress up, ha! We didn't have any face paint and he was determined to have a green face, so he colored it with a green marker.

His class got to watch the movie and make green slime. He had a great day!

Elisabeth and I baked Christmas cookies one day while the boys were at school.

And the next day we all decorated them. The kids worked really hard on their cookies.

Matt and I had a fun night at our Sunday school Christmas party. We all went out to dinner and then went on a Christmas light tour. It was so fun! I think Matt and I both had low expectations, but we enjoyed it so much. We saw some great decorated houses and enjoyed visiting with everyone.

As part of our teacher Christmas gifts, the kids and I made a Christmas popcorn snack mix (Reindeer food). They always look forward to making (and eating it).

Earlier this summer, Nathan randomly asked when he could read Harry Potter and watch the movies. I brushed him off and told him that those books were for fifth graders, so he could read them when he could read fifth grade books. I forgot about it, and I thought he did too, until I went to his parent teacher conference in October. His teacher told me that Nathan asked her weekly how many reading levels he needed to improve to get to a fifth grade reading level, so he could read Harry Potter. Apparently, he had set a goal to get to that level and guess what, by the middle of December, she tested him and he had done it. Matt and I weren't really prepared for him to read those so early, but after all his hard work (and a talk about the themes/fiction/reality in the book) we gave him the first book.

I'm really proud of his hard work and determination to achieve a goal. He finished it a few days after Christmas and got to watch the first movie. Now, he's on to the second book. I recently reread all of the books before our vacation to Universal Studios, so it's been fun to follow along with him since they're fresh in my mind.

Samuel went to a fun birthday party at a Ninja Warrior gym. It was fun watching him play with his school friends and show off all his ninja tricks.

The boys had fun at their school parties. It was a little hectic for me running back and forth between their classes, but I was glad I could attend. Samuel decorated cookies and played a game and Nathan made some ornaments.

And I loved his letter to Santa (especially the parentheses)

On the first day of break, I pulled out some perler beads I had bought, and the kids played with them for HOURS. It was awesome. They were so creative.

Samuel made all these Christmas themed creations.

Nathan's karate class had a family Christmas party that we all attended.

The kids even got to see Santa and get a fun little present.

We've been playing the Switch a lot during break. I had to document a funny thing Samuel said when he was playing Mario Kart. He said, "Mommy, I was coming out hot and everyone was trying to catch me... and they did"

Samuel has been having a great year at Kindergarten, and he's learning so much. His reading has really taken off. I'm so proud of him. He read all of Green Eggs and Ham with very minimal help from me.



Matt took off work the Friday before Christmas, and the weather was great, so we spent the day at the Gathering Place. We love that place. We tried to play at the areas that we hadn't been to before. We packed a lunch and ate it in the lodge.

This swing is everyone's favorite.

I love Kate's giggling

And this slide playground was a big hit. Even Matt and I liked the slides, ha!

We all went to Grammy and Papa Joe's church candlelight service on the 23rd.

And we went out to dinner afterward.

Our calendars are full at Christmas time, but I cherish all these fun, special memories that we make.

Preschool Christmas Program 2018

Elisabeth had her pre-k Christmas program last week at school. She was very excited about it. She practiced her line and her songs daily and even was telling me everyone else's  lines too.

This sweet program has become one of my favorite Christmas traditions. This is our fifth year to have a child (or children) in the program, and I'm grateful I still have a few more years to attend

Elisabeth was a Wiseman in the program (Their pre k classes are full of girls, ha!)

She said her line LOUD and clear, and now she gets excited whenever she sees a Wiseman in a book or on a movie. She did a great job singing all her songs too. I really love that the kids sing mostly the same songs every year. They've become very sentimental to our family

The preschool Christmas program might be my very favorite thing about her Pre-K year.