It's time for a Brianna update!

It's been a while since I've done a big 'ol update on Brianna, and since she just turned 15 months old last week (can you believe that!?!), I thought now would be a good time.

I'm not even sure where exactly to begin. . .

Brianna has become Little Miss Independent lately. She loves to help me do chores (like the laundry), and always carries her own clothes to the hamper. She often insists on feeding herself, and would now rather lay in her crib and put herself to sleep than be rocked to sleep by Momma. This actually makes me kind of sad because that is prime cuddle time, but I also want her to learn to put herself to sleep. She also helps pick up her toys and books before nap time and bed time, but this is not a chore she necessarily enjoys :-). In the last month, Brianna's language has really exploded. She will attempt to repeat just about anything, but her favorite words to use are Bible, Baby, Me, and No. She will point at things that she knows are off limits and say, "No?". She'll also do this to things that she wants to hold, especially if she's not sure if it's okay or not. In the last week, she has started holding her finger up and saying, "No!" in a stern little voice that often gets her in trouble . . . especially when she directs it at Momma or Daddy. She LOVES to point at herself and say, "Me!". She will do this when we ask her, "Who did God make?" or "Who is Brianna?" and just randomly all the time. Other words that she uses consistently are Dada, Momma, bath, go, door, hi, hey, ya (yes), book, yum, bite, oh no, uh-oh, whoa, puppy, amen, ball, more, night-night, bye-bye, Elmo, moon, and mouse. I may have missed a few. She loves to fold her little hands and bow her head when we pray, and then of course say "amen!" when we are done :-). Although Brianna is still very easy going, she is certainly gaining a stronger sense of what she wants. She has started throwing little crying fits, mostly when I take a toy from her or make her put a toy down to do something else. She does get punished for this behavior, and she is learning that it is not acceptable. Overall though, she is a well-behaved, agreeable little thang.
Brianna is really starting to do a lot of pretend play. She LOVES her baby dolls. If she doesn't have one with her, she's asking for one. She pushes them around in her doll stroller, feeds them bottles, pretends to feed them with a spoon, wipes their faces, gives them hugs and kisses, and tries to change their diaper. It is SO cute when she holds them and pats them on the back.
One thing that really surprises me about B is that she is very outgoing. She loves to wave and say hi to people when we are out in public. In Music Class, she will walk right up to the teacher and other adults and "talk" to them. She will even blow kisses to people when we are leaving a restaurant or store. She also LOVES animals. She gets so excited if she sees a dog, cat, bunny, etc. Neither of these things are anything like her Momma, so I guess that's why they surprise me. On Monday, we went to see B's pediatrician for her 15 month check-up. She is very healthy (we've been so blessed that she hasn't been sick much at all). She weighed 20 pounds and 8 ounces, which puts her in the 30th percentile for weight. She is also 31.25 inches tall (75th percentile) and has a head circumference of 45 cm (25th percentile). This is really different from her 12 month appointment where she weighed 22 pounds 9 ounces (75th percentile), was 29.5 inches tall (63rd percentile), and had a head circumference of 45 cm (48th percentile). So yeah, she lost a pound, grew almost an inch, and head stayed the exact same. I knew she had really slimmed down! She wears size 12 to 18 month clothing, size 4 diaper, and size 4 shoe.
There are few things that B is scared of or really hates. One is getting her teeth brushed. Every single day, she cries and boo-hoos when we brush her teeth. We even have her help us, sing a song, etc, but it doesn't matter. She just hates it. She also hates going through the car wash. Random, I know, but she just cries and cries every time we go through. When it's raining, she'll also cry when we first back out of the garage . . . I guess because she thinks it's the car wash? She loves the vacuum cleaner, though!

We are so blessed with our little Brianna!