15 months

So, I just realized today is the 10th! I must post on Gwen's monumental changes of the last couple months, I realize I did not do a 14 month milestone letter, we were out of town and didn't have internet connection. You must wonder how when I haven't posted in so long and now 2 posts in one day! Well, if you must know, I am competing with a friend of mine, no I am just kidding she has 3 kids, how does she have time to post? I just have a husband out of town and not a darn thing to watch on tv. Seriously, why is there nothing good on tv!? But, as usual, I digress. What is knew with Gwen this month you ask. I think ever so much. She has 2 more teeth now, that makes a total of 8 teeth, 2 molars in completely and 2 more molars pushing through.
This is a picture from when we went to Boyd's Bears taken with Eric's camera phone, which is why it isn't so clear.

I think most of Gwen's progress has been in the physical realm, yes she does have more 'words' now. I am pretty sure she added 'toe' to her vocabulary, but she can only say it while touching her big toe. I don't know why she has to touch her toes, but it is what she does.

She is starting to become more capable. She can listen and understand and choose whether or not she will do as you ask. Most of the time I can see her thinking about how she is not going to do as I request. She knows how the routine goes, she knows if I grab her shoes she needs to sit down so I can put them on and then she walks over to the baby gate and rather impatiently waits for me to open it for her she we can leave. Gwen knows how to use the gate, fortunately, she doesn't have dexterity to open the gate.

Gwen is also trying to lay down from a sitting position and then get back up from laying down. It is pretty funny to watch because of the look on her face of determination. Kid I don't know how long it is going to take for you to develop abs muscles, but this could cause problems when we are changing your diaper! She also wants to learn how to get up on the couch, that is not going well yet, but she is getting better about getting down. We just have to work on sitting on the couch, but I think I am going to have to talk with Daddy about that first!
She currently has an obsession with putting things in places, unusual things in unusual places. Recently she put a puzzle piece and remote for her mobile in Eric's camel back. She also collected several of Eric's shoes and put them in 'her' laundry basket. I could go on and on about weird things I find, which is why the balls are stuck in the following pictures. She also has a current obsession with taking puzzle pieces and putting them over the arm of one of our chairs and then retrieving it. Gwen is still a gibber jabber, sometimes she clearly repeats what you are saying, but it is random. She has so much to say, I have no idea what, but sometimes it is very important. She points at dogs, ducks and airplanes. She actually says dog and duck but no airplane.

We have started to wean, we have effectively cut the nursing down in half. She doesn't appear to care at this point, but I am still nursing before naptime and bedtime. I have tried to add milk to her diet, I have added chocolate and strawberry to her milk, she is trying it, she doesn't love it. Today I caught her shiver after she took a sip, but do you think in like 30 days, she might actually like the milk? I guess I should try for 8 days, and if she doesn't like it after 8 days she will probably never like to drink milk. I think it is the smell that initially bothers her, but with her limited food likes, it would be nice to figure out how to make food more to her liking. It is a pain to figure out what she wants to eat, what we do when we go out to dinner. She really still only eats fruit and garlic bread and the crust of bread, what kid eats the crust and doesn't like the rest of the bread!

Today Gwen and I went and get her blood drawn for lead and other things I was supposed to do after her 12 month appointment, oops! Hey, but I made it before her 15 month appointment. She charmed the pants off everyone we encountered. The poor kid was not happy about her blood being drawn. The lady at the front desk wanted to give her a lollipop, I said she had never had one, and she told me that it was just a lollipop and kind of treated me like I was crazy. Now, this is my first kid, but I remember when I was a girl scout leader, my girls where 7 yrs old and some of those Moms wouldn't let the girls eat hard candy. Who's the freak now!?