Elsa is Fifteen Months

Elsa turned fifteen months old yesterday. She still seems to lack the confidence to take off walking completely on her own, but is getting slightly more brave. She loves to walk, but she really prefers to have a destination in mind, prefers that destination to be a person, and, beyond that, prefers that person be either Mommy or Daddy. That or she wants you to hold at least one of her hands as she walks around. She will occasionally walk from one stationary item to another if she is sure enough that she can do it, but those cases are few and far between. She can walk -- now it is just a matter of when she decides to take full use of that capability. She still loves to use the walking toy we are borrowing from the Roberts family, and will go until she runs into something and then signs "more" and "please" to indicate her desire to be turned around. Usually we can just turn the toy around and she will actually turn herself around and grab back onto the toy. More proof that she has the skills, but just lacks the confidence. I continue to try to remain patient, but I am ready for this!

We have a week or two left of our "Sign and Sing" class, and Elsa seems to have enjoyed it. She's polished the signing skills she had going into the class and has picked up some new ones in the past few weeks. Her new favorites include "bear" and "cat," and she's even starting to pick up on the more obscure "change" and "diaper," which I've started doing when it's that time. I think it will be great fun when she actually starts verbalizing some, but I will definitely take the sign language over shouts and shrieks. Don't get me wrong -- she still shouts and shrieks a lot, but I am at least trying to get her to communicate more via sign language to curb some of this behavior. She still chatters away in her own little language, and one of our favorite things is to eavesdrop/spy on her reading books to herself, as she very delibrately points to the images and words on the pages.

Still no more teeth have appeared. She hasn't had a new tooth since October 1, though it seems she has been teething. Apparently the next teeth to break through are just taking their sweet time in doing so.

Elsa had a doctor's appointment today, although all that really took place was a check of the ears (which looked fine), a temperature reading (also fine), and a shot in each thigh -- the last of both the pneumococcal conjugate and DTaP vaccinations. Today also marked the last appointment of which Elsa receives two shots, thank God. From here on out she will receive only one vaccination, which will coincide with her well-baby visits. The shots today were not fun. I was holding down Elsa's arms and trying to comfort her as much as possible, while Dr. Owen held onto her legs and administered the vaccines. The first shot went fine, despite Elsa's crying. The second, however, was a disaster. Elsa jerked her leg, which I guess caused the needle to come out and cut her leg a little, so she was bleeding from both the injection site and this other cut. Plus it appeared that some of the vaccine ended up on the examination table. Dr. Owen apologized profusely for not holding her leg well enough, and she didn't seem concerned about the liquid on the table, so hopefully all is well. Elsa is completely fine, but it wasn't fun to go through, for sure. Our next visit -- a well-baby visit -- is in March, when Elsa is 18 months, and she will be weighed and measured at that time. March sounds so far away, but I know it will be here before I know it.