Nova recently hit 15 months, and she's changed so much. Since she decided to finally stand up and start walking at the beginning of August, Nova moved out of the baby world and into the realm of the toddler. It's odd, but I've heard both Dave and say "our two toddlers" in the last week or so. It never occurred to me that we'd have two toddlers, but here they are!
Nova's ability to communicate and understand has been the most profound recent change. She went from making what Dave and I called "the Frankenstein sound" and grunting and pointing at what she wants to using words and signs for everything she needs. We didn't try too hard to get Gus to learn signs, but it's been different and easier with Nova. She signs more, all-done, book, milk, hungry, eat, and others that I can't think of off hand. The number of words she knows increases every day - but her favorites remain hat, papa, momma, money (she loves playing with coins), puppy, juice, and shoes.
She can follow simple instructions (go get your shoes, let's go in the kitchen) and will answer questions with a nod or a shake of the head (do you want to go upstairs and go to bed? are you hungry?) It's fun to notice the change in how we talk to her too - she was carrying around the crust of bread from her breakfast the other day, and without looking up I asked her to eat it or go put it in the garbage. Moments later, I heard the cupboard close, and she came back empty handed. I was surprised that she understood me, but mostly I got a kick out of the fact that she did what I asked!
Nova loves cleaning up, putting things in boxes, and throwing things away. When I was sewing last week, she gathered up as much of the fabric as she could hold, and put it in the garbage for me. Trying on hats is one of her favorite games, and she loves playing dress up with her brother's clothes on laundry day.
She still adores Gus and mimics his every move. In a recent bout of two-year-oldness, Gus was telling me "No" and pointing his finger at me with the other hand on his hip. She studied him carefully, then did the exact same thing - she doesn't have the word for No yet (thankfully!) but she's got the movement down pat. She misses him while he's napping and if we don't keep a watchful eye, she'll sneak up the stairs and into his room to wake him up.
She waves bye-bye and gives hugs and kisses. She's gentle with the pets and will show her tummy to anyone who asks. She carries the phone around and says "Hi! Hi! Hi!" She hates being told no, and will bury her face in a pillow and pretend to cry (oh the drama - lord help us all!) It's impossible to imagine that she was born when Gus was this age. I think of him as so grown up when she was born, but when I look at her I still see just a wee baby!
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