she's technically still a fetus...

we read somewhere - very early on - that human babies have to venture out of their nice, cozy wombs earlier than the babies of others in the animal kingdom. this is because if we wait till we're completely "done", our giant, brain-filled heads would not actually be able to get out (and as someone who survived natural childbirth, i'm quite happy about this little evolutionary happenstance). so the book said that human babies are technically still fetuses for the first few months of life on the outside. this was a phrase that stuck around our house. and when referring to molly, we sometimes say, "she's technically still a fetus". but this is getting harder and harder as she goes from being less and less baby, to more and more little girl.

for instance, her vocabulary is blossoming. she now says things like "happy" and "bye-bye" and "up and down" and "fluoride" (okay, that was just once and it might have been a freak event, but still!). this is on top of the constant flow of molly-speak that we don't quite understand but is beautiful to the ear. oh, and the singing. yep, she sings now!

she's starting to run, really run, like kids do. and jumping is the newest thing she's attempting.

she spends most of her time trying to figure different things out. one of her favorite little puzzles is how to make the keys open different things...for instance, the stove. we have no idea where this came from, as we have never needed a key to open the stove ourselves, but she seems to think it's necessary, and spends a good 20-30 minutes a day trying to unravel that mystery.

she's getting better about telling us when she's tired (and she's sleeping more, still not quite through the night, but we're getting there - thank goodness!)



her love of books is still voracious and here's a shot of her hanging on the couch reading her current fav, Kitty Love [hi Angela and Anthony! thanks so much for those books! Puppy Love runs a close second!]




she's getting more interested in her clothes and shoes and accessories. of course, her preference is for no clothes, mom's shoes, and a whole lotta "bling"...

but more than all of this fun, new behavior is the way she looks. we just had her 15 month appointment and she is officially "off the charrts" in height and weight (33.5 inches tall, 28.2 lbs). and her face looks like the face of a little girl now.

so even though we'll probably be saying, "she's technically still a fetus" till she's in her 30's, we really can't deny our baby girl is growing up. and she is the most brilliant, kind, funny, beautiful girl this world has ever seen!