15 MONTHS TODAY!

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!

Malia turns 15 months old today! It is amazing to see how she has grown and blossomed over the past few months. She continues to jabber up a storm, but is now trying to repeat what we say. Recently, she has started to say "Dodger", which is our dog's name. And, on several occasions, she will blurt out a whole phrase of jibberish that actually sounds like a sentence. For example, at church this past Sunday she seemed to look at my nephew and sister-in-law and say,"Hi, how are you doing?" It's so funny - and adorable - and sweet.

Her favorite word by far is "da", although it's hard to know exactly what she is saying. She'll point to things and say it. Still trying to figure it out.

She's able to climb up onto furniture and attempts to climb anything else she thinks is remotely climb-able. Spencer has started teaching her how to blow kisses, and Rick is working on high-fives. We've successfully taught her to sign "more" and she will now do the sign to indicate anything she wants, whether it's actually more of something or not. And Shelby taught her "shoes", which she does. We're also working on some other basic signs, like "Mom" and "Dad" (brother is a little more complicated). She's absolutely precious to watch.

To my dismay, she has also begun to enjoy squeezing herself into tight spaces - like between chairs and between the couch and end table, where she's gotten herself "stuck" on more than one occasion.

Today was also Malia's check-up at the doctor. As you can tell from her pictures, the swelling in her jaw has gone down completely. While we were there, she had her 15 month well baby check-up. She weighs 21.7 pounds and is 31 1/2 inches tall. She also received three vaccines and will be going back for more in a month. She only cried a little, our brave little trooper.

We've been outside to play in the spring-like weather. I cannot wait for spring to really get here and stay!