A year and a half!!!!

I’m sitting here asking myself how it is possible for Laina to already be a year and a half old. I remember running into a woman in our neighborhood while Laina and I were out for a walk one day when Laina was just a few months old (back when I carried her in the Bjorn!)–and the woman looked at me and said “Don’t blink.” She reflected back on her days of being a new mommy, all the while having a very sincere look of pure remembrance written all over her face. That look sticks with me, as I’m sure I will be able to relate to that some day. You could see in her eyes that nothing brought her more happiness than being a mother. She spoke about young motherhood with such a familiarity, almost as though she were still in that place…or maybe even wanted to go back to that place. It was just one of those moments in life that struck me. I know Laina is only 18 months old and not 18 years old, but I already understand the advice she gave me.

So, time for the monthly update!….I’m trying to reflect back on this month and remember some of the new “tricks” Laina has added to her repertoire.

-The alphabet! Laina loves listening to people sing the alphabet. She calls it “AB’s.” She is now recognizing letters pointing them out as we are out and about.
– She’s continuing to pair words, and even said her first three word sentence–“Give me dat.” So now,I suppose it is our job is to get that fourth word tagged onto the beginning or end of that sentence–please. 😉
–She started to become fixated on certain things. The goose that resides in a neighbor’s backyard (a wooden goose, mind you)….a picture of a frog (“roggy”) in one of her books…the story of Humpty Dumpty….the Penguin that is on the screensaver of our computer….the list goes on. She really does have to see each of these things on a consistent basis. Otherwise, I’m not sure if she would feel fulfilled by her day!
–She has developed a new fascination with all reptiles/amphibians. I guess this started a while back after going to a local nature center…but she now LOVES snakes, geckos, turtles, frogs, etc.. She will bypass all of the cute, fuzzy animals in her books just to find her gecko or her snake.
–Airplanes. Loves them. We have been to Gravelly Point several times, and I think her amazement increased 100x since then. Also loves school buses (“chool buses”)
–She likes to call people by their names now which I just find adorable. If she wants to see someone who isn’t around, she calls for them. Almost as though she is singing their name. Sometimes I hear her in the other room calling for Daddy, one of her grandparents, or her little pals. It makes me laugh out loud every time.
–She has started to practice running. And she actually issues a warning before she does it by enthusiastically yelling “Rrrrun!” (and she definitely rolls her “R’s”). Also loves watching people run.

Here are a few pics of Laina all grown up!!
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