16 months

Helping me with breakfast dishes- prior to getting her hair fixed for the day.

Sweet Lainey is a busy, busy girl!  This is a what she has been up to this month....

1-  Talking...  She has really started talking now.  I think she says 20-30 words and initiates speaking on her own, rather than only when I ask her to say something.  I love it when they start to talk.  So cute!

2-  Climbing... As displayed in the video from the park Lainey is very active and agile.  She climbs up slides unassisted, swings from any bar she can find, climbs onto chairs, couches, etc.  She goes up and down the steps without trouble now (still slides down about 1/2 the steps - walks while hanging on to the railing the rest of the way).  She is on the go every moment she is awake.

3- Health....  Not so great this month.  She came down with a fever/cold 3 weeks ago and it never really went away.  I took her in 2 weeks ago because I thought she had early stages of an ear infection.  The dr. agreed but thought it didn't need treated.  She seemed to get better on her own for a few days but then her symptoms came back and got worse.  I spent 3 hours up with her in the middle of the night on Friday and finally looked at her ears again - this time it seemed like a full blown infection.  I took her in Saturday and the Dr. confirmed.  She is now on day 3 of antibiotics.  Still very congested and coughing but sleeping at night again. 


4- Eating/growth....  She refused to eat very much the past week since she wasn't feeling well.  At her doctor's appointment this week she was still 20 pounds 14 ounces -- only up 1 ounce in the past month.   This puts her at the 14% for weight.  I was really hoping she would make 21 pounds - not quite.  I am going to work on trying to get her to eat avocado and fatty fish to see if we can bulk the baby up.  It is hard to bump her calories with no dairy.  She is at the 85-90% for height -- very tall and skinny.

5- Dairy intolerance....  She still can't have dairy.  Our sitter accidentally gave her a glass of Erik's milk.  For the next 48 hours she had diarrhea and terrible diaper rash.  No we know -- no dairy for the baby.  I do give her food with small amounts of dairy in it but no cheese, yogurt, milk, etc.  She is on rice milk as a replacement. 

6- Teeth...  She still only has 8 teeth.  A little slow in this department.

7- Personality/Learning...  Lainey is a sweet, social baby.  She loves other people and waves at every we pass when out on walks.  She also loves animals -- dogs, cats, birds, fish.  I took her to the pet store the other day and she was SO excited.  Her favorite animal was a pair of cats.  The one cat was very feisty/batting at everyone/fully clawed.  Lainey kept holding her arms out to it trying to hold it.  Little did she know it would scratch her to bits if she got too close.  Elaina seems to be really smart.  She understands EVERYTHING you say-- even if you aren't talking to her.  She is quite opinionated and independent.  She really wants to be able to get dressed on her own and gets very frustrated when I have to help.  This amuses me because Erik, although he can dress himself, would ALWAYS prefer to have someone else get him dressed. So funny!  Lainey has a great sense of humor and loves to be chased, tickled, play peek-a-boo, get airplane rides,etc.  I am excited to watch her grow!

Lainey we love you dearly!