Fifteen months

Emeline hits 15 months today! Time is flying by. And so is Emeline. These days if you get to experience Emeline, it's probably watching her speed past you. She is always on the move. She's always been busy, but she's also fast and busy. The last couple months we've seen her walking get even more stable. She's very careful as she goes over thresholds, and she's getting braver when trying to go up or down stairs. Just the other day as she was speeding around the house, I thought her foot steps were looking more and more like running. Thank goodness she's starting to learn to hold our hands more when we're out of the house. It's very sweet to be out with her and have her raise her hand up to grab my fingers. Emeline is also learning to climb. She doesn't seem to be one of those kids who will climb everything, but she's definitely getting the skills.

She continues to try to say a few words, but most of the time, they are made up of the same sounds 'da' or 'doh', but she always differentiates words with intonation and a sign. For example, 'bye bye' is usually 'da doo' with a rising falling intonation and a wave good bye. 'All done' is similar, but different. I can't quite explain it....but then with the 'all done' sign. 'Water/agua' is 'ba' or 'aba' with the accent on the final syllable and a rising tone, and with her combo 'eat/water' sign. But she consistently will try to say the word 'toes' almost like she did for the first time. She's got a couple more words/signs, but those are some good examples. I know I'm a nerd, but the linguist in me loves to watch how her language develops.

One thing that we're learning as parents is that even though Emeline doesn't say a lot of words, she understands A LOT. I'm sure this is normal, but as new parents we are constantly amazed at how much she comprehends. As she gets older, she responds more an more to what we say. If we ask her to bring us a book, in English or in Spanish, she'll do it. She'll also point out dogs and cats, and perros and gatos while reading. I was doubtful that she'd learn Spanish given that I am very rusty these days, but she responds to phrases about eating, bath time, nap time, diaper changes, and lots of other daily stuff when I speak Spanish to hear. I'm pretty sure she probably will speak mostly English, but even if she understands only a little Spanish, I'll be glad to have given her that little gift of language.

Here are some photos of her after a weekend trip, at a rest stop. She still had her party dress on, and needed to run around to stretch her legs.
I know, I know, that was a lot of photos. But I can't help it. Last, but not least, Emeline loves to run and give Daddy hugs. She's such a Daddy's girl :)