15 Months!

My Lil Miss Thing is 15 months old now. Fifteen months of girly darlingness, accompanied by a dose of a feistiness, a smidgen of orneriness, and a heaping of independence.

For this cute Lil Miss, it's usually my way or the highway. Get on board with what I want to do or else get out of my way. Play with me now or else listen to me wail. Give my what I want to be ready to hear me yell.

There is no denying she is a force to be reckoned with and that the coming months promise a lot of tears and discipline and teaching and correcting.

But, there is also no denying that she is a bundle of joy that is forever buried in my heart and that the coming months also promise a lot of laughter and cuddles and togetherness and preciousness.

Annalyse Joy, you are doing your best to run after your brothers and keep up. This usually means holding your hands above your head and doing all you can to make your little legs go, even when it's oh-so-hard to do in socks on the slippery wood floor.

You can hold your own, that's for sure. You have no inhibitions about taking someone else's snack or toy if you want it. Laid back? Nope. Quiet? Definitely not. A leader in the making? I think so.

You are also quick to smile and quick to engage with whomever will give you attention. You are willing to go from lap to lap or hand to hand and play with everyone. I hope you always stay friendly and eager to be with people.

Now that Christmas has come, you have lots of baby dolls and accessories to play with. I love watching you give your baby a bottle or push her in the stroller. Your 15 month maturity shows a little mommy (or little boss?) in the making.

Annalyse, you've learned lots of body parts and can usually point to them and you are starting to mimic some animal sounds. You love to read books, and by reading I mean sit still for 20 seconds while you flip through pages and then get up to choose another book. Your whirlwind style of reading keeps you entertained though, since you'll sit for a good half hour just looking at books by yourself.

You are 20 pounds and still all belly with no waist. You love shoes and hair bows. All I have to do is say, "Lets get ready to go bye-bye" and you hightail it to find some shoes and a headband. Granted, you are hardly strapped into your seat and you've already taken your shoes off and thrown them at one of your brothers.

This last picture cracks me up because this is, well, this is so you! Diving into something headfirst. You get knocked around and pushed down by your brothers and you barely let out a tiny cry before you are up and at 'em again. You see something on the playground that looks fun and every other kid better move it or lose it once you set your mind to giving it a try.

Sometimes I've overwhelmed by your feistiness. Other times I'm excited for the potential your drive has. Sometimes I've tired just thinking of all the shepherding that you'll need in the coming years. Other times I'm motivated by the opportunity I have to point your energy to something that results in positive impact.

Annaylse Joy, you are 15 months old and I think that before I know it, I'll be saying you are 15 years old! For now, I'm thrilled to be your shepherd. I'm satisfied to be your provider. I'm delighted to be your teacher. And mostly, mostly I'm just proud to be your mom.