15 months

Height:  31” (little more than 50th percentile)

Weight:  22lbs 13oz (little less than 50th percentile)

Big girl!

Hair: Her hair has been growing like crazy after her haircut! I noticed today that it is already back down to her eyebrows. And it is definitely getting thicker. Still red. I am very happy that we can put it up in little ponytails and barrettes.

Teeth: She is getting teeth in totally random places. They don't seem to come in symmetrical pairs like Nate's did. One on the bottom started poking out awhile ago, but hasn't progressed much. She has one next to one of her top front teeth, the one on the other side is just starting to come in. Then she has another random one on top toward the back that has come in a good amount. So, weird. No wonder she has been cranky!

Eating: After I stopped pumping in December, I was still nursing until January when I passed my first kidney stone. I wasn't sure if the drugs I was on would be good to pass onto her. So, I just stopped. There were a couple of times when it seemed like she was trying to get into position, but I just gave her something else and she was happy. Otherwise she is a very forceful eater. I thought she was slowing down a little bit, but that was just a little blip. She loves to eat and will eat anything, as evidenced in her little Buddha belly!

She's eating, so she's happy!

Sleeping: She is sleeping through the night! She still wake up occasionally right when we're getting into bed, but for the most part she is sleeping through. Actually, she really seems to kind of like sleep in general. Unlike Nate, she is generally very happy to go down - and asks for it herself a good chunk of the time. But she's also one of those early to bed, early to rise types of kids which is not always fun for us! But, I guess I shouldn't complain because she normally doesn't wake up until at least 7 or so, so I guess it could be worse!

Talking: So far she has mommy, daddy, uh-oh, bye, hi, and, sometimes, baby. She likes to talk to us a lot, but most of it sounds like gulla-gulla-gulla. She'll get there! But she is still using her signs for more and all done, and has added bed and milk. She also loves to wave and blow kisses.

Activity: The girl likse to move (thank goodness, since she also likes to eat). She went straight from walking to running. She loves to climb and explore. She is the best cleaner you've ever met! She doesn't like to sit still long enough to listen to a whole book most of the time, usually just one or two pages (that she has to turn herself) and then she walks away. Every once in awhile she will bring a book over to me in some random spot and we have to sit , cuddle and read the whole thing. Usually Sandra Boynton! She loves to dance and "sing". She likes to color (and is almost better than Nate, I'm sure that's a school thing). She likes to pretend to talk on the phone and bring me my shoes. Actually, she seems to have a thing for shoes in general!

Hey, this moves! Weeee!

Nate: Sometimes he's nice, sometimes he's not. Now that he can move more in the car he likes to play with her a little in the car. Of course, sometimes that playing turns into hitting - by both of them. And every once in awhile Mia will throw a book at him. But he still likes to take care of her like a good big brother.

In case you need something to brighten your day...

Pajama day during yellow week!

First day of shorts! (He dressed himself.)

Goodbye California

All good things must come to an end, right? Well after 10 fun days in sunny California we had to put our coats back on and say goodbye.

Bye Nonna! We love you!

The first flight wasn't too bad. We had packed sandwiches and used them to keep the kids busy for a chunk of the flight.

Mia really fought falling sleep on that first flight.
She fell asleep in this position just as we were landing.
Natch.

As we were getting off of the plane Nate saw the pilots and asked them if he could go into the cockpit.
They let him sit in the seat, hold the steering wheel and even press a button!
I don't know what it is meant for, but it made everything start shaking. Scary fun!

Remember how on the flight out we were told we were going to have a three hour delay that ended up being only 30 minutes? Well on the second flight we were not told of any delays, but after they already started loading people on the plane they decided that we needed a new one and we ended up having that three hour delay after all! This was on top of a two hour layover. When booking the tickets I chose between a 40 minute layover and a two hour layover. If you've ever traveled with two kids you probably know that 40 minutes is kind of pushing it... So I chose the two hour option figuring it would give us all the time we needed for going to the bathroom, changing diapers, getting food and finding our gate. I should have chosen 40. : / We kept them busy with food (again) and walking, or strolling, in circles around the terminal. Nate also made some friends who were delayed with us and played a rousing game of duck-duck-goose! At least he made the best of it.

Crashing in the terminal

Poor Nate started not feeling well on Saturday night. He had a very high fever and was complaining about his throat, head and belly hurting. So he was very happy to just take naps, listen to his iPod and watch movies for both of the flights. It ended up being strep. Again.

Mia fought sleep again on the second flight, but at least it was only two hours. We got home just after one o'clock in the morning and we were all ready to crash. And since Peter and I both had to be at work bright and early the next morning (or, no, THAT morning), we had to wake them up earlier than they would have liked, so they were ready for bed at NC time that night! Yay!

Goodbye California - we'll miss you until next time!