Someone is 15 Months Old...

 ...and her name is Penelope!  Look how happy she is to have her picture taken!!

 Penelope is a very enjoyable 15-month old.  She loves dogs SO much.  She barks every time she sees one be it in person, in a book, at the park or in commercials.  Her little, high-pitched "ruff ruff" is so cute to hear whenever she sees one.  She is actually starting to bark every time she sees ANY animal.  But, she still does the monkey sound for monkeys.

 Physical therapy has really helped this past month (or maybe it has been 6 weeks by now).  As you can see, she is standing at furniture, when we place her there.  She pulls up onto her knees, but hasn't quite figured out how to pull up to a standing position.  One of her favorite places to stand is at the entertainment center.  She also enjoys standing at the couch and Skyping.  Notice how both activities involve technology...

 These ASPCA commercials are seriously her favorite!!  Usually she ignores the TV--until there are commercials...with dogs.

 We're trying to teach her not to touch the screen, but it's kind of hard when she needs the practice standing, and the TV is so close.

We really do love our little girl.  She loves to walk when we hold her hands, otherwise she's scooting around the house chasing us down or exploring.  She has a full mouth of teeth.  All she has left to get is her two year molars.  She loves to cuddle with mom and dad and her baby dolls.  Here's hoping she likes her little brother.  I think she'll be quite curious as to who this new person is.  I also anticipate some poking and jabbing...after all, that is what she does to Dave and me.  She loves to jab her thumbs into Dave's eyeballs!  Oh, Penelope, you have a little bit of a violent streak. :)

We went to the pediatrician today, and she is long and skinny, just as always.  Here are her 15 month stats:

Height:  32.75 inches (98th percentile)

Weight: 25 lbs 3 oz (95th percentile)

Head: 18 1/8 cm  (60th percentile--I think)

Sometimes I'm REALLY Tired

This week is week 37 of this pregnancy.  Last week, I was really productive and getting lots of projects done before the baby came.  For example, I made this car seat cover: 

I couldn't use the pink, ruffly one I had for Penelope!  I also have a bunch of other craft projects that I wanted to finish.  The only one I have completed is the big sis and lil bro shirts for the kids.  Things like the name garland are going to have to wait.  I should technically make his blessing outfit before he's born, because I doubt it will happen post-baby.  The problem with that is I'm super tired!

Being über productive last week has made me really tired this week.  So, instead of being a crazy crafter, I'm resting up as much as possible (P is teething again--working on her canines, teeth numbers 15 & 16), and doing the essentials.  That means I'm packing hospital bags and cleaning the house in case people come visit after we're home from the hospital.

I'm also exhausted because it's hard work growing a baby!  That, and thinking about all of the scenarios of how to get to the hospital, whether or not Dave will be at work in DC when I go into labor, who is going to take care of Penelope in which scenario, and when to actually call Dave when labor starts (How long do I wait?  I know when to go to the hospital, but now how early to make Dave come home--I'll play it by ear, because the OB can't give me advice: "everyone is different").  I think I am enough of a planner and stress ball that I would prefer being induced instead of this period of unknown that I have reached.  I'm full term this week and for the next 3 to 4 weeks it's just a matter of waiting and hoping Dave can get out of the city (we're a one car family, he'll be taking a taxi) or that I go into labor on a weekend, or in the middle of the night!

Whew, just thinking through all of this makes me super tired, too!  Here's hoping I don't turn into a zombie in the next 6 months.  If I start to make less and less sense when you talk to me, you'll know why.  

Our Little Ankle Pincher

I can't remember whether or not I mentioned this, but at about 13 months Penelope started scooting around on her bum.  It's her favorite mode of transportation.  She's getting quite fast, and gets around fairly quickly. Sometimes she even catches some air, she's moving so quickly.  One of her favorite things to do is scoot up to me or Dave and pinch our ankles.  She does it when I'm doing laundry, sitting on the couch, or trying to make dinner. She's been doing it a lot today, that's why I mention it.

Because she's so old and only scooting, we have started taking her to physical therapy.  She now tries to get up on her knees, and really likes to stand (assisted, of course).  We can even force her to take a few steps if we have a toy she wants.  That requires us holding her hips and helping her along.  She seems to have no natural inclination to do this stuff.  Dave says it's his genes causing the delay.  He says he was a lazy baby/kid.  Here's hoping she catches on eventually.

Penelope's Words

Penelope has started talking a little bit.  (Keep in mind she's still only 14 mos old, so her words are only about half a syllable).  She tries to repeat whatever I say.  Of course, I make sure to use one syllable words a lot with her. It's really cute to watch her try to say what I do.

Words Penelope will repeat if I say them:

• sit
• hot
• hi 
• pool (which mostly comes out as "oo"--still working on this one)
• ta-da!, which is usually "da"
• uh-oh, which is "oh"

Words Penelope says all on her own (I'm counting them all as her first word):

• Dad, which sounds like "da"
• ball, which sounds like "bah" 
• bath, which sounds like "ba"

Besides a few words, she is also doing a few animal sounds.  We read a lot of books with animals in them, so we're always making animal sounds.  She also has a few animal toys--a tiger, a monkey, a lamb, and many beanie babies: dogs, cats, snake, lizard, etc.  Like I said, Penelope is surrounded by animal sounds!  As a result , she tries to repeat them.  She mostly repeats the monkey and lamb sounds.  Our monkey sound is "eee eee eee ah ah ah".  Hers is "ah ah".  Our lamb sound is "baaaa" (with stuttering to sound more like a lamb), hers is a long "aaaa".  Seriously, she's the cutest thing ever!  We also have a dragon ride on toy that roars, so of course, she roars, too.  Penelope loves roaring and grunting contests.  Come visit us and she'll show you all her tricks!

Penelope's Life of Late

 Penelope has become mobile (in her own right) in the last few weeks.  She now scoots on her bum to get wherever she wants.  If I ask her if she wants to take a bath, she starts scooting towards the bathroom (and flailing).  She scoots to wherever I am in the apartment.  And, of late, she loves to scoot around on  the linoleum in the entryway and kitchen.  Sorry that P looks a little ragged in these pics--she's got another double ear infection, so really we're just coping with her frustration and pain right now.

 A lot of times she just sits near the front door playing with whatever she can find. In this case it was her shoe holder and the Sam's club freezer bag that is waiting to get put back in the van.  In the above picture you can see one of her new favorite toys--a doll.  It has a binkie, which she is obsessed with taking in and out of the baby's mouth.  

 The inner lining of the Sam's bag was quite fascinating, it is silver and kind of like bubble wrap, after all.  That makes it perfect to put on your head!

 Because of Penelope's new found love of the linoleum and kitchen we finally had to break down and get a baby gate.  Yesterday she started opening cupboards and pulling stuff out, and we don't have enough cabinets to keep the unfriendly baby things out of her reach.  Hence, the gate.  She hasn't figured out that she can still access the kitchen from the other side.  She prefers sliding along the linoleum.  Up until yesterday she would just hug my legs or pinch them when I was in the kitchen doing the dishes or making dinner.  We'll get a second gate when she figures out that there is another entrance!  Look how sad she is that she's locked out.

But, then she realized I was taking pictures, so she perked up.  What you may not be able to tell from the picture is that she scoots up to the gate, grabs on, and shakes it.  Let's see if this gate lasts very long--we just bought the cheapest one to see how it goes.  We'll upgrade if we need to.  Last night after we put it up she did enjoy pulling herself up (she was sitting on my lap close to it) to a standing position.  Then she'd stand there and squeal--and shake it.  Like I said, we'll see how long it lasts, I get the feeling P will quickly learn to pull it down if she can get enough momentum!

A Short Saturday Hike

 Saturday we took a few hours to go hiking (walking) at a nearby state park, Mason Neck State Park.  We borrowed a backpack from a family in the ward and set off.   Along the way we let Penelope touch the tree trunks and leaves.

 This "moderately difficult", 2-mile trail goes through forest, over swampy sections and has a stretch along the bay (I think it's Pohick Bay).  We let Penelope put her feet in the water.  She kept watching kids who were swimming, but we weren't about to let her try that.

 Instead, we let her play in the sand.

 Which she thoroughly enjoyed.

 Dave showed her how to pick up sand and let it sift through your fingers.

I even remembered to take a family shot.  It's the awkward "I'm holding the camera" type, but hey, we're all there!

Getting Ready for Baby Boy

 We've started a few projects around the house to get ready for baby boy.  That means Penelope has re-discovered her infant toys, specifically the bouncer.  She still likes to spin her carrot and waffle-carrot (aka corn...thanks, Varinia!).

 We also went to IKEA to get a second, affordable crib.  When P gets a little bigger we'll convert the IKEA crib to a toddler bed for her.  We got rid of our desk and chair so there was space.  The crib is currently storage for P's blankets.  I may not get any boy quilts sewn before baby boy comes, but he can always borrow P's blankets and baby supplies.  We have plenty of pink and purple for him!  I also need to make curtains to block out all the light...it's nice and sunny in there, but with the 2nd crib right under the 3 windows, it has become a necessity.  Don't worry, I've got some cute IKEA fabric in mind!

You can also see the lack of storage in our apartment.  There are boxes of P's outgrown clothes, books, craft projects, etc. piled all around the kids' room, and their closet is completely full of more boxes, so much so that should we stay in this apartment another year, we are debating getting a storage unit so we can actually store the kids' toys in their bedroom.