This past month has flown by! Its hard to figure out what's new since our last post. It's also very hard to believe that our little baby is a year and a half! She seems so much like a little girl now.

At 18 months, Mollie:

• Is starting to answer "yeah" to certain questions, mostly, "Mollie, are you ready?" I usually ask her that before I take her out of her car seat, or before we leave the house. 
• Knows the sign for "happy". When the word comes up in a book, she does the motion. 
• Is picking up all sorts of new words, and is starting to say some of them unprompted. 
• Is starting to recognize colors, sometimes. She also repeats the name of colors, and can say green, blue and especially loves saying "purple!". '
• Still loves her books. She will sit in your lap happily as long as you keep the books coming. She also loves to sit by herself and look through her books. 
• Recognizes the letters of her name. We point to the letters above her bed and spell out her name and as soon as we get through all the letters she points to herself. 
• Is much happier getting dressed if she can pick out what she is wearing.
• Is becoming more adventurous at the playground and loves to climb and slide.

17 Months

at 17 Months Mollie:

• loves walking around carrying a purse. She loads it up with blocks and other important things and then walks over to the door and waves bye bye like she is heading out. Video here
• is picking up lots of new words, it seems like a new one every day, including bubble, diaper, cheese, apple, door, but her favorite word to say is still a very enthusiastic  "Daddy!" (sounds like "Dah-eee")
• likes to put her finger in front of her mouth and say "shhhhhhh". She does this if you ask her what you say if someone is sleeping. She also does it if she sees a picture of a baby sleeping and lately she has been lying down on the floor and saying "shhhhhh".
• knows how to say please in sign language and does it when she is asking for something (she also verbally says "eeee")
• continues to add animal sounds to her repertoire. we get a "moo" (which sounds more like "booo") when she sees the cow on the milk carton, but her favorite is "baaaaaah" for goat or sheep 
• doesn't love sitting in her high chair any more, so we've moved her to a booster seat at the kitchen table, which she seems to like much better

Happy New Year!

16 Months

At 16 Months, Mollie:

• Is still gaining new words all the time. One of her favorites lately is "ball". See video here. 
• Is becoming quite helpful--she is getting good at "cleaning up", but still would rather pull all of her toys out and get inside her toy bins rather than put them away. 
• Puts her milk cup in the fridge after each meal--a skill she picked up at school.
• Can sometimes identify family members in pictures. She loves to "read" the photo book documenting her first few weeks of life and will point to the family members on the page when we ask where they are. 
• Is a little obsessed with opening and closing doors. So far this has only resulted in one incident of finger smashing. 
• Had a great Hannukah visit with her Nashville cousins

Happy Hannukah!

Thanksgiving and a Visit to the Farm

Mollie's Thanksgiving kicked off with a performance at school where she and her classmates dressed up like turkeys and sang a song for all the parents (or really they stood there and looked adorable while the teachers sang)

Then Mollie got to visit a farm near Memphis where she got to meet lots of goats, chickens, ducks, horses, and one giant pig. 

She also got to spend lots of time with all of her grandparents and Aunt Shana, Uncle Justin, and Uncle Chris. 

15 Months

 at 15 Months, Mollie:

• Can use a spoon by herself, though its quite messy
• is picking up more and more words and phrases
• loves to dance. if you say sing "go Mollie, go Mollie, go Mollie", she'll bop up and down
• Will show you how to brush your teeth. If you ask her how she brushes her teeth, she will put her finger on her teeth and move her head from side to side
• Runs all over the place and is really starting to get into everything
• Has been sleeping in lately. we've had 8 AM wake up calls the past few weeks, though I'm sure as I type this she is probably planning an early morning for tomorrow

Surprise Visit to Florida

Mollie had a very nice visit with her Great-Grandpa Eddie at his house in Florida. 

We were last-minute surprise  guests (Grandma Arlene and Grandpa Ron were already there). 

Mollie loved spending time with her Great-Grandpa and meeting her Great-Uncle Howie and Great-Aunt Lois for the first time. 

Halloween Fashion Show at School

Mollie's school had a fashion show today so all the toddlers could show off their costumes to their families. Mollie was one of three lady bugs, and she did a great job walking down the red carpet!

14 Months

At 14 Months, Mollie:

• Is walking pretty much full-time. She is getting better and better on her feet and is starting to move pretty fast. She still falls a lot though.
• Can point out her nose and show you her teeth when asked (if she feels like it). 
• Knows that her shoes and socks belong on her feet. The other day, she was carrying her shoes around the house and I said "Mollie, where are you going with those shoes?" and she sat down and put one shoe next to her foot. I think she thought I meant "where do your shoes go? " Close enough.
• Loves to give "kisses" by putting her forehead on your forehead. She tries to do it to Dylan too, who doesn't like it quite as much as mommy and daddy do. 
• Told Dylan she was a "goo guh" (good girl) the other day while petting her. 
• Can identify birds when we see them. To clarify she says "buh" when we see a bird, not "oh that's a crested woodpecker". She also  learned the word goat ("goh") when we visited a new baby goat at our neighborhood chicken coop last week (see picture below)
'

A walk in the park

Up until now, Mollie has taken a step or two here or there, but today, 

she really put it all together. Here's some video of her new skills:

Pumpkin Patch

Today Mollie visited a pumpkin patch with her friends Jessel and Colin.

 Seeing her in the pumpkins brought back some memories from my own childhood:

(Mommy, age 1, with her Mommy, Grandma Arlene)

13 Months

At 13 Months, the picture-taking has slowed down considerably! And also, Mollie is: 

• A little obsessed with books (wonder where she gets that?). First thing in the morning, every day, all she wants to do is "read" her books, and be read to.
• Adjusted to her new classroom at daycare. She takes a nap on a mat and eats lunch sitting at a table with the other kids  (still not sure how they manage to get her, and 12 other kids, to do either of those things all at the same time!)
• Is picking up new words all the time and loves to "talk" in a very animated way, even if the she doesn't always use actual words.
• Has 5 teeth. She finally got the top two to come in, and she gets really excited when its time to brush them. 
• Is still cruising, and has tried to take a step here or there, but is really still crawling and cruising to get around. 
• Spent two weekends home alone with Daddy while Mommy was traveling. They did great, as expected!

Mollie's First Birthday Party

Mollie had a blast at her first birthday party! She ate her cupcake very carefully and didn't miss a single bite (video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FISnJgOld4w)
 She had so much fun playing with her family and friends.

Happy Birthday Mollie!

At 1 Year, Mollie:

• Understands a lot of words. For example, if you ask her if she wants to drink some water (without looking or pointing to her cup), she'll pick up her cup and take a drink
• Claps her hands as soon as you start singing "If you are happy and you know it clap your hands"
• Shakes her head no in response to questions such as"Mollie, do you want to drink some milk?" 
• Is continuing expanding her vocabulary, but her favorite thing to say is a very enthusiastic and southern-sounding "Hiiiiiiiii!"
• Has started drinking whole milk and is still getting used to it
• Is still cruising around holding on to furniture, push toys, and our hands, but hasn't taken those first steps just yet
• Has one more tooth poking out on the bottom, but still waiting on the top teeth to show up
• Loves to point at everything in sight