15 Months!

Dear Evie,

  I cannot believe you are 15 months old! It seems like just yesterday that you were an eight pound bundle of joy. I will always remember that special Sunday that we brought you home from the hospital. We had no idea what to really expect but you have more than surpassed all of our expectations. We cannot imagine our life without you. Every day, you learn new things and continue to amaze us. We are totally head over heals in love with you sweet girl. You will never truly know how much we love you until one day - many, many years from now when you become a mother. It will all make perfect sense to you then!

Daddy and I both want to come get you out of the crib in the morning. We love to see your smile greet us as soon as the door opens. Sometimes you even jump up and down with joy! Usually, you have dropped your Raffi on the floor and need us to rescue him for you. You and Raffi are the best of friends! Sometimes, I wonder why I thought you needed to have a lovey because he goes everywhere with us and I do mean everywhere! Lately, you have been stuffing Raffi into your mouth. Maybe he tastes good to you, we are not really sure about that.

Warm and sunny days are your favorite. We spend most of the day outside playing. You love to walk up and down the stairs and quickly dart next door to see your doggies every chance that you get. Walks to the park are a daily adventure and Daddy takes you jogging several days a week. It's so wonderful to see the world through your eyes. Everything is so new and exciting to you - the birds in the air, the flowers on the trees and you love to see the airplanes flying high in the sky. Daddy loves how you clap for the soccer players at the park and point at everything that captivates your attention.

Evie, you weigh about 23 pounds and wear an 18 months in clothing. Diapers are still a size 4.You are a fabulous sleeper. Mommy is so grateful. Each night, you sleep about 12 hours and nap for about 4 hours. You love to eat and get really excited when I put you in the high chair. Blueberries and mandarin oranges seem to be your favorite. You are slowly beginning to eat veggies again. Cucumbers and sweet potatoes are high on your list. Sometimes, I give you pureed veggies in your yogurt. That works most of the time and makes me feel better about your nutrition. Milk is your beverage of choice. You drink 5 cups a day so needless to say we buy a lot of milk around here. You discovered that jelly beans are delicious around Easter. Both Daddy and I have caught you with jellybeans in your mouth. Maybe we should do a better job hiding them from you but your Daddy thinks it is really fun to hide a few jellybeans in your eggs so that when you are playing there is a surprise for you. You really like this and there is nothing cuter than seeing you with jellybean drool all over your little chin.

You are our little explorer and cover many miles on your two little feet each day. I have come to expect this from you but you always surprise the other mommies since some of them are not aware that you are part cheetah. You are very brave and love to try new things. We like to see how you analyze the situation and plan your strategy for scaling the hearth or manuevering down the hill. You are such a big girl!

 You had your first major bump this month when you were pushing the stroller and it got away from you a little more quickly than you has anticipated. Mommy was so sad to see your perfect little nose all scraped but it is only the first of many bumps and bruises. You love to rock and spend lots of time rocking your baby in your own little rocker from Ipop. I love to see you hold your baby and take care of your baby. You are really good at sharing with others and this is how you show kindness. Often, you take the strangest objects to people we see in public, it's the way you break the ice and it works rather well for you. Objects like trains from the train table at the library, shiny leaves at the park and pacifiers that you can find no matter how well we thought they were hidden. You are so sweet that you even try to share your pacifier and sippycup with Mommy and Daddy.

I left you overnight for the first time and went to see Candice's new baby in New York. Of course, I missed you so much but Daddy loved having you all to himself. He took you to the park and you spent a lot of time watching the Master's. His favorite part of the whole weekend was when you fell asleep on his lap. That never happens and he just loved it. Maybe you could try that again sometime. We love to snuggle you and are so glad you like to snuggle too! Mommy and Daddy love how you come plop yourself right on our lap. It's so sweet especially watching you back up into our lap.

We just love how you hold your little hands up to be picked up. You do this literally dozens of times per day but it still thrills my heart. I want to always remember how soft your hand is and the way it fits into my palm perfectly. We try to soak up every precious moment with you! It sure is going fast. Mommy is getting a little overwhelmed by the awesome responsibility of being a parent! There's so much that we want to teach you and there is so little time. We want you to grow up with a generous spirit, a prayerful heart and of course a beautiful smile. Daddy and I want to you to be a knowledge seeker, a kind friend to others and a good steward of the Earth. Don't worry sweet girl, we are ready to show you the ropes - one day at a time! We love you so much! Love, Mommy and Daddy