I'm overdue on posting about the latest happenings with Miss Rose. She is one busy girl and keeps us all busy as well. Her personality is really starting to show and she's gotten so mobile and talkative since her first birthday.
March, April and May were very busy months for me at work. Between that, hosting guests, car shopping, being pregnant, and trying to enjoy my time with Rose, I neglected the blog and really didn't take too many pictures or videos.
Since the beginning of May, Rose has been back at school full time. She spent about 3 months before that going to story time, Pullen Park, having her Portuguese immersion lessons, and lots of undivided attention with her Avo. From those 3 months, she understands a lot in Portuguese.
The transition back to school was a little challenging, but not too bad. Rose is not a morning person and drop offs can be tough sometimes. But, the days she doesn't want me to drop her off are often the days she doesn't want to leave when I pick her up! School has been taking lots of pictures lately, which makes me glad to be able to connect with her during the day.
 |
| Creating a masterpiece |
 |
| Trying to get the color just right |
 |
| Giving directions in the class |
Here's a quick recap of what was going on at 15-months (mainly April-May):
Rose is still a great eater and eats mostly foods that we eat at home. We generally send 2 meals and 2 snacks a day for school. She usually has oatmeal (with various mix-ins) and eggs for breakfast and takes leftover eggs for her 9am snack at school. Lunch is around 11:30am and is usually whatever leftovers we have made in the house. At 2pm and 4-4:30, Rose gets her afternoon snacks. These can be fruit, cheese, fruit/nut bars, etc. And we usually wrap up with dinner around 6-6:30p. We've generally continued to avoid starchy snacks, but she will occasionally have some bread, a bagel, crackers, etc. if we are eating them or if they are in view. We never really transitioned her to regular milk, she's been drinking kefir since starting on milk, so she continues to do that at every meal and we bring a bottle to school. She seems to love it and now doesn't really want any milk. She loves beef, sausage, tomatoes, hummus, cheese, grapes, strawberries, bananas, blueberries, and bagels. She's got 8 teeth now - 4 on top and 4 on the bottom - and continues to show signs of teething on and off.
 |
| Running around the back yard in May 2015 - 15 months. |
Speaking of bed time, I can confidently say that Rose sleeps through the night. There seemed to be a switch that went off with her around 11.5 months where she just started sleeping 11-12 hours at a time. I was still nursing her, but she was going to bed around 8-8:30p and getting up around 8. Once she started back at school in May, we've tried to put her down closer to 7-7:30 so we can get her up around 6:30. There have been less than a handful of times where she's cried out in the middle of the night. A few times she settled herself and once or twice we had to go in and comfort her. I'm guessing she had a bad dream on those occasions.
 |
| Running for the camera! |
 |
| All smiles before school with her stuffed animal |
 |
| Posing for her 15-month photo |
Miss Rose loves to dance and talk. From her days of going to the library for story time, she's got a few favorite songs that the leaders would sing. She loves the hokey pokey and turning herself around. Other library story time favorites include, "open, shut them" and "zoom-zoom-zoom" (going to the moon). From her Sesame Street Pandora station, her favorites are "the wheels on the bus," "shake your sillies out," and "driving in my car." We also have a good time with the "itsy bitsy spider" and "skinarmarinky dink." Rose knows all the actions before we get to them and loves shaking, jumping, nodding, turning, clapping, and dancing along.
The music starts about 10 seconds in, but the volume might be a little low...
Some of the words that she says include: Darwin, Daddy, Mommy (usually in that order!), water, pool, dance, done, hi, bye and outside. She signs to eat, says more, and signs along with saying "done" when she's finished. Sometimes it's a little tricky though, because she'll sign done, but it means she's done with that specific food and is ready to move on to something else. Similarly, she'll sign for more, but it doesn't necessarily mean more of what she was just eating. She also uses the sign for more to keep swinging at the park, or to tell us the swing needs to be pushed again. More recently, she's started doing better at repeating the words we tell her. Check out the video below for her very clear use of the word "dance." Little Miss Rose is also a chatterbox. She has lots of incomprehensible chatter as well.
 |
| Saying "hi" to herself while taking a selfie |
The pool opened for the weekends in early May and we had a few nice weekend days where we took advantage of the pool and pavilion. Rose loves the water and checking out what the older kids are up to. With temperatures in the 90s over the past week or two, it's been nice to get some relief in the water. I'm hoping the pool will allow me to get some good exercise for the third trimester of pregnancy. While I can't swim laps when I am there alone with Rose, I can go to the pool after she goes to bed now that it is open until 9pm.
 |
| Miss Rose loves the pool and wants to wear flip flops like everyone else there! |
Rose loves having a good time and being entertained. She frequently contributes to the entertainment and is a ham herself. She must get that from her daddy. We are at the stage where we need to say no more often and Rose tests us on occasion. She's generally pretty good at knowing the major things she shouldn't do, like climb the stairs alone, or go near the firepit outside. But, other times she goes on doing what she wants even when we've said no. We've experienced some major meltdowns and tantrums sometimes, too. She's not a fan of getting her diaper changed. I swear she'd rather stay in a wet or soiled diaper than be changed. She is also very squirmy and makes getting dressed a challenge as well. We usually have to practice a lot of distraction techniques to get her changed and dressed. It's generally easier when we are out because she likes checking out new scenery.
Being silly with a water bottle
One of the best ways Rose can be distracted is by asking her to help. When I drop her off at school in the mornings, she likes to help me put her food in the refrigerator and check in. She's very good at helping to put her toys away before bed and loves helping to open and close doors. When she would go to story time, she would wait patiently in line to go in and would be happy to give the library instructor her ticket to gain entry. She is always the one to hand over our tickets when we ride the train as well. She continues to be very independent, mostly wanting to walk on her own and try things herself. Sometimes she will ask for help, or shout out in frustration if she can't get something done. When we go new places, she likes to warm up to her surroundings. She's not a fan of being greeting by too many people at once or at first arrival. She acts a bit shy for the first few minutes, but is glad to participate and join in the fun when she's ready.
Her teachers at school agree with me that she's not as much of a morning person. She likes quiet play and smaller crowds in the morning. Once she's had lunch and an afternoon nap, that's when her outgoing personality really shines. In this respect, she takes after her mama! Well...not the after a nap part, but I am not a morning person and don't function well until mid-day or later.
Check out the video below for a sample of what it is like in the evenings on a school night in the Miller house. Like I said, Rose is a busy girl...
Stay tuned for some upcoming posts on our summer happenings (probably more photo dumps than text).
