Michaela @ Fifteen Months

Okay, aside from the food flinging and bedtime battles, this is a FUN age! I am seeing so much of Michaela's personality begin to emerge in new ways. In addition to being cheerful and easy-going, she is so very affectionate. I receive many hugs every day, a few kisses, and even back rubs! If she's still awake when I roll over to go to sleep, she will rub my back. It's so sweet. If we are sitting on the couch or laying in bed, she likes to have contact with me. So we sit right next to each other, or she reaches out with a foot to touch me. Really reminds me of her daddy. He was touchy like that.

Michaela is showing more interest in books other than just pulling them off the bookcase. We bought many more board books just yesterday because I've come to a better understanding of what she really like to look at. She seems to prefer books with photography of real things like people and animals. She will sit by herself for a little while looking at those kinds of books. We are still not at the point where she will let me read a whole book to her. By the fourth or fifth page, she wants to move on to something else.

Some of her new vocabulary words are:

• show (for the shows she likes to watch)
• Doh (for Dora the Explorer)
• pree (for pretty)
• na or na, na, na (for no)
• nigh (for night)
• abpuh (for apple)

Seems like there are more new words than that, but that's all that come to mind just now.

Michaela is a great traveler! We drove up the coast to visit friends in San Francisco, and she did so well. It was a long drive, but she napped and listened to music with few complaints. Once we were there, she had such a good time playing with her friend Wren, going to a children's museum, Golden Gate Park, and walking around Union Square and all the way down to the Ferry Building (in her stroller!). On the way back, we stayed a night with friends in Los Osos and she had a great time playing with my friend's five-year old girl and seven-year old boy who were so good to her.

In about a week, we will see the pediatrician for her check-up, and I'm curious (like always) about Michaela's weight and height. It seems like her growth rate has really slowed down. She's still wearing 12 months and 12-18 months clothing, and a size three diaper. Her shoe size is still a 5. But she looks less like a baby and more like a toddler now. Sigh...

A daughter is a miracle that never ceases to be miraculous… full of beauty and forever beautiful… loving and caring and truly amazing." Deanna Beisser

A New Look

I can't afford to makeover my bedroom (actually, it would be finishing the makeover I started with Michael almost three years ago!), but I can afford to give my blog a new look!

Thanks to Faith at A Design of Faith for your efforts. I love it.

The Hardest Job There Is

Don't get me wrong. I have absolutely loved having the last eight weeks off and being home with Michaela. But, dang! It has not been easy at times.

For the most part Michaela is such an easy baby. I am truly blessed. But, there are times when her eating habits and her sleeping "issues" really test me.

Lately, she has not been drinking enough milk, and she prefers to find ways to free it from her cup or bottle (I've had to try both recently). And, I'm sure I've mentioned before, that she enjoys pitching food onto the kitchen floor. Her skills in that area are impressive. Doesn't seem to matter if she likes the food she is eating, or not. Unless I'm giving her one bite at a time, she's going to send some flying. I know it's typical for her age, but it makes me nuts sometimes.

Michaela has been so good about going to bed for most of her short life, but this past week she has been very resistant to naps and bedtime. I was really spoiled for a long time, but now I have had to adopt a bedtime routine (bath, read a book, offer milk, cuddle and say prayers). It does seem to be working for us, and I fully expected that we would need a routine like this eventually. Now is the time! However, naps are another issue. She can be rubbing her eyes and laying down on the floor, but should I pick her up and put her in her crib, she freaks out. I think she's trying to decide if she needs one or two naps, and some days she thinks she doesn't need one at all. That makes getting anything done around here impossible for me.

I have to admit that sometimes I do not take these challenges in stride. I am really working on not overreacting to her undesirable behaviors. There have been times where I am really disappointed in my attitude and my actions. All I can do is learn from the not-so-great moments, and come up with a better plan for the next go-around. That and pray for patience and wisdom. It is so important to me to model grace under pressure for Michaela. I don't want her to sweat the small stuff - and it's all small stuff.