27 year old Mama of a 15 month old toddler

Last Sunday I became a 27 year old of a 15 month old toddler. Yep, it was my birthday, and also RaeRae turned 15 months!

It was a really nice day overall. I got an extra hour of sleep, had a family breakfast at Denny's (for my free Grand Slam), went me-time shopping for clothes (for 2.5 hours!), and just lounged around at home the rest of the day. We ended the day by going for a nice, brisk walk at a nearby creek. 

At Denny's, RaeRae was so well-behaved, smiling at the waitress, and actually enjoying her breakfast. Last year we went to Denny's on my birthday and she turned 3 months old! Look at these two pictures of us. One from last year, and one from this year.

RaeRae is 15 months old...that's a year and a fourth old! This morning we had her 15 month old check-up. She weighs 19 pounds and is 2 feet and 6 inches tall. 

She has 12 teeth now, 6 on the top and 6 on the bottom. She loves reading books, playing with her baby doll, building with blocks, riding her scooter and play car, and running all over the place. Of all of these, I think reading books is her favorite. So we keep a box of books in my bedroom so she can just pick up anytime. We also have a bookcase in her bedroom full of books and the living room has one of those 8 cube shelving floor units with two cubes full of baby books. She will grab a book, sit on the floor, turn the pages, and pretend to read it. When I say pretending to read, I mean sign-babbling because ASL is her first language. 

Speaking of language, I made a list of all the words she can say. 

In ASL, she knows:

1. Mama (goes back and forth from 1-handshape to correct sign)
2. Daddy (just started signing Daddy correctly!)
3. More (Evolving sign, now index finger to her thumb)
4. All-done (same as before)
5. Please (does it right)
6. Thank you (does it right)
7. Eat (1 handshape on mouth in right movement)
8. Drink (right handshape but in the air)
9. Water (1 handshape on mouth in right movement)
10. Bed (same as before)
11. Baby (same as before)
12. Ball (one claw handshape against 5-handshape)
13. Book (she tries)
14. Shoes (kind of looks like more, but she means shoes with the closed-O handshape)
15. Clothes (wave of hand on the chest)
16. Diaper (same as before)
17. Hat  (does it correctly)
18. Cat (5 handshape in a claw on her cheek)
19. Dog (same as before)
20. Bear (almost; right handshape and some movement on her chest, but not criss-cross)
21. Bunny (this sign she makes is absolutely adorable! Instead of U-handshape, it is a 5-handshape)
22. Elephant (arm movement)
23. Cow (5-handshape over her head)
24. Pig (almost)
25. Frog (she tries)
26. Bird (same as before)
27. Duck (goes back and forth with bird sign)
28. Caterpillar (same as before; 5-handshape movement)
29. Car/Lawnmower (she makes the same sign for both, a moving motion with both hands)
30. Uh-oh (puts her hand on my mouth when an "uh-oh" moment occurs)

In spoken English, she can say:

1. For Mama, she says "ma-ma-ma-me"
2. "Dada"
3. Uh-Oh
4. Hi
5. Moo

I am so proud. RaeRae, you are the sunshine of our lives. I love watching you grow and being your mama. Enjoy these pictures from recently.