Catching Up

You have changed a lot since the last time I posted.  At almost 15 months old you are a walking, talking ball of energy.  It is nearly impossible to keep up with you these days.  You are still very verbal, and communicate your thoughts, feelings, and desires clearly.  You have started putting multiple words together in the past couple of weeks.  You will now say "Hi Joka" or "Mama please" among other short sentences.  You like to say "Hi" to every random person you see, so you are constantly winning the hearts of strangers.  You greet people that we pass on the street, people you see in a store, pretty much anyone.  Despite your love of talking to random people, you are shy.  You get overwhelmed, especially when you are around other kids.  We are having a hard time attending church because it is impossible to leave you in the nursery.  You will scream the entire hour and a half if they don't page us.  We are trying to ease you into staying there by staying with you for a while, but it is a very stressful situation each week.  We hate seeing you that upset, and feel like we miss the whole service anyways.  You love to watch other kids play as long as you have a safe distance between you and Mom or Dad by your side. When you are playing on your own, you love to walk over and cuddle for a minute.  I like your little check-ins, and they make your growing independence a little bit easier.  You love food and continue to surprise me with the many different foods that you are willing to eat.  A few weeks ago we went to a Lebanese restaurant and you could not get enough of the pickled beets that were set out as an appetizer.  You LOVE asparagus, and would eat an entire bunch in one sitting if we let you.  You have become less of a carnivore than you used to be, and turn your nose up at chicken most of the time.  I hope that your exposure to a variety of healthy foods will have a long lasting effect on your eating habits but only time will tell.  You are finally a wonderful, consistent sleeper.  You nap every day for 2-3 hours, and go to bed without much trouble and sleep until the same time every morning.  You are super flexible and really don't complain even on the rare occasion that we keep you up really late.  We are constantly grateful for your easy-going nature. 
Since the weather has gotten nicer you have gotten to spend more time exploring the outdoors.  We have gone hiking a few times, camping, and sometimes just sit in the grass.  You love to get your hands dirty.  You love sand, and dirt, and grass.  I like taking you for walks and watching you look around at all of the little details that I take for granted every day.  You love to watch cars drive by, and see birds and butterflies.  It is fun to see your brain working, and learning so many new things.