#3 is 15...

Months, that is. Ok, so she was 15 months weeks ago but I'm slow. I'm also recovering from a good case of the flu. If you are wondering if it's the H1N1, I can't help you there. I don't feel the need to go to the doctor so they can tell me either way. What good would that do anyway? They would just tell me get plenty of liquids, use cold medicine for the symptoms and stay away from people. Done, done and done. All in all it felt like a really bad cold with a fever and some achy joints. It was short lived (thanks to my wonderful husband who gave me a priesthood blessing) and I'm on the mend.

OK, back to Piper. She is my 15 month old in a 2 year-old's body. I'm not kidding. At her check up Piper weighed 25 lbs. (80th %tile) and 33 inches tall (98th %tile). I mentioned to my doctor that people ask if Piper is almost 2 years old because as soon as she started walking you could really tell how tall she was. The doctor was curious so he looked up what an average 2 year-old height would be and she is only half an inch shorter than an average 2 year-old. I looked at the chart myself for weight and it looks like she's only a pound or two under an average 2 year-old too. So now you know how big my biceps are. She always wants to be held, unless there is something she's not supposed to get into near by.

Now that we have her size over and done with (did I mention she's huge!) we can move on to her intelligence. Mark and I have taught all our girls some sign language. Téa started out doing a few signs but when she was 17 months old she realized that speaking in sentences was a whole lot easier. Calista maybe signed five or six words and wasn't that interested. Sign language has opened a whole new world for Piper. And it's been a lifesaver as well. The whole frustration of not understanding each other isn't there. I've tried to teach her all the essential signs that she uses every day. She knows at least 25 of them now. My favorite one is 'all done'. She frantically waves her arms in the air. She does it when she's done eating and when she's done bathing. And for the record, Piper does talk. She says up, dog, book, eat, backpack, ball, Dada and ear. If you are wondering why Mama isn't on that list...it's because she doesn't say it. I still have yet to hear it. Seriously? I do everything for you Piper and you can't say that one word that would melt my heart?

So now that you all know how brilliant my child is we can move on. Just tonight in the bath I was telling Piper that we needed to wash her face. I asked her where her face was and she then made 'the face'. I laughed so hard. She can now do 'the face' on command. We are hoping Piper will turn out a little more like Calista in regards to her emotional state. We still have a few months, if not a year, to tell if she will be changing her moods like the wind or getting worked up over everything that doesn't matter. Oops, I think I was just describing my six year-old. Moving on...

We love Piper and she's been a great addition to our family. Only three months until she can go to Nursery. Woo hoo!