Full disclosure, Littlest One’s 15 month shoot took two tries. She started walking a week before her 15 month birthday, so the first attempt, she was determined to stroll around. Which means she also had strong (negative) feelings about being stuck in her crib:

Friends, this age is just the best! With her older siblings, I was working full time, and I savored evenings and weekends and felt like I was missing out daily. So I appreciate being home with LO at this age more than I can possibly describe.

She’s our third child, but we’re still absolutely astounded at all the things she’s picking up — Trying to brush her hair with my brush. Bringing me the cat bowls to feed kitty each morning. Putting on her sister’s headband (over her eyes, but close enough). Correctly pushing the lever on the baby gate to try to open it. Emptying the clean dishwasher and putting utensils in their drawer. Bringing her siblings their coats in the morning when it’s time to go to school. Pretending to put on lotion or wash her hair. And our favorite: Going into the pantry and getting her self her own damn snack, because mom just can’t keep up 😉

I learned… for the second photo attempt, I put her stool in front of her crib. She loves sitting on her stool like a big kid, so win-win.

Littlest One wants to play with all her brother and sister’s toys, so the baby things are gathering dust while she marches Playmobile people and My Little Ponies around. She literally sits and “plays” Paw Patrol with her sibs. You realize how differently she’s being brought up than them, and especially her big brother. With him, we had baby toys that matched the manufacturers’ age recommendations. Paw Patrol? Didn’t even know it existed! And goodness, she’s seen far more TV than he ever had at this age… she doesn’t exactly ‘watch’ cartoons, but she’ll sit next to her siblings for about two seconds and look at the screen, then crawl all over them and annoy them. But if TV means getting dinner on the table or surviving the stomach bug, then it is what it is.

And I mentioned she only just started walking. She started crawling months earlier than her siblings, so we assumed she’d be an early walker, too.  I didn’t want her to walk — she’s our last, I wanted those baby crawling days to last forever. Well, by 14 months, she was so heavy to be carried around everywhere. I mean, we’d let her crawl all over the house, but when you’re walking car > door, car > store, car > school constantly (life of a third child with a stay-at-home parent), and baby hates the stroller, you get stuck carrying her a lot. Plus, she’s mobile and wanted desperately to be exploring, so she’d try to dive out of my arms. In a store, on the stairs, in the concrete garage… my back was over it.

For her 13th and 14th months, her preferred way to get from A to Z was to “walk” on her knees. It was fascinating to watch, and she was fast!! She mastered this method, and it was quite a riot to watch her knee-walk after her siblings or to the front door to greet visitors.

We, and the pediatrician, suspected that she wasn’t walking due to bowed legs, curled in feet, and high arches… We were given homework to work on her flattening her feet and forcing her to stand on them. And thank goodness, she started walking. At 15 months she’s a slow walker, but improving daily, and she’s loving her new moves.

Not only can she walk, she can sit and smile for a camera. Where did my baby go?!?! Other notables from months 13-15:

• Second Christmas, and first one with Charlie’s whole extended family! It was so fun to introduce her to cousins once removed, second cousins, and great aunts and uncles, and she was a champ in a house buzzing with 20+ people inside all day in the frigid weather.
• Traveled to Connecticut for her Great Grandmother’s memorial service. She met my dad’s whole family, and showed off her knee-walking moves and crawled all every inch of the hotel lobby we took over…
• Added just a few words (she’s got dada, mama, cheese, yay, hm-hm, and a ton of words in her own language). Probably limited due to constant ear infections.
• Screeches. And is so. freaking. loud.
• Finally weaned at 14 months. It was hard for me, hard for her, but it was time. I could get all mushy but this post is already too long.
• Weaning meant sleep training her to skip that last 4 am feeding! She did NOT need it anymore, and we had trouble cutting it because her sister wakes frequently in the night… but we finally buckled down and did it, and now Littlest One sleeps through the night (STTN) and her sister’s shenanigans. Only one child waking in the night is a big improvement (yawn…)

And on that note, one last sleepy shot. If you’ve read this far, you deserve a nap, too! 😉