I almost forgot to post this too!!

Genna the Cover Girl (click here)

A Hot Summer like week in Spring!

This week we checked out the newly renovated Manly Lagoon Park

You liked checking out all the other kids

sometimes the birds proved more interesting though

later we made our way down to the beach

you had a nice nap in your stroller while we enjoyed the view from the shade (it was HOT!)

When you got up it was time to get straight into the sand toys

You LOOOOOOOOOOOOVE sand!

Then it was time to twinkle your toes in the ocean

AHHHHHHHHHH SO MUCH FUN!

SO SO happy

the concentration tongue

You are starting to get long lean legs - but you still have a little bit of chubby leg rolls - so cute

Look Dada - there's sand on my foot!

Time to rinse the sand off

Love that belly!! it's huge!

Later on - back at home winding down from an exciting day with blueberries & Dada

The next day was boiling again - so we decided to get dressed up for the pool!

Hi Mama!
It's just a shame they are renovating the baby pool that you loved so much last year so it was closed :(

So after a quick dip, we went back for another round at the fun new playground

The slide only works when you take your shoes off - fun!

Hello Dada!

This weekend we also made it up to Newport Beach. You loved having a bit of our fish burgers, but you did NOT like the after effects of the sand. The sand at that beach is REALLY sticky, very hard to wash off. You spent the whole car ride home looking for any spec of sand still stuck to your feet then you'd hold it out to me and yell until I picked it off.

Relaxing

This has been a VERY chatty week for you. You all of the sudden have become really good at imitating words we say. You said box, baby, toes, feet, and I'm sure there are a few more I can't remember :) Also this week at daycare they said you started to say Max's name one particular day when you were really chatty. You call him 'Muh.'

Oh and you have LOVED saying Bye Bye this week!

A fun week

You LOVE your animal sounds - you can now baaaaaa for sheep, mooooo for cows, meow, woof, buzzzzz for bees, etc. You are SO good at them! You love to read this little book with simple pictures of animals when you are in your stroller!

Yummmmm spaghetti

You are SO good at holding a pen - somehow you hold it the correct way too! Very impressive.... that is until you started drawing on your shirt!

Dangling feet :) You are such a good eater. Your favorites this week are blueberries and red seedless grapes!

Relaxing with Dada after a big day, watching Bananas in Pajamas

Yesterday we went to the zoo for a few hours with our friends Lindsay & Chloe - it was awesome!! Unfortunately my camera battery died after this one shot *sigh*. I guess we'll just have to go again soon! You loved the giraffes, the chickens in the kids zoo, we saw a few minutes of the seal show, and then we rode the cable car all the way back up to the entrance - seeing elephants from the window - so cool! You had such a great time you took a 3 hour nap when we got home - unheard of!

And MOST IMPORTANT of all - (well VERY exciting for me) this week you started saying Mama!! You started by saying 'Ma' for a few days, then it progressed to Mama, and my heart melted :)

Tonight when it was time for books (after bath) you sweetly called out 'Dada', and when you were finished you called out 'Mama'. Then you reached over to Dada and said 'bye bye' and started waving. Such a smart lady :)

Also - finally - after ages of doing baby sign language to you, you have started signing for milk - YAY! You understand when I say the word milk, but now you can tell me when you want milk too!

At daycare on Tuesday, when we arrived your carer LeAnn said 'oh look who has arrived Max' and he said 'Nena' with a huge smile on his face (meaning Genna of course) - ahhhh he knows your name! Today they said you had the best day ever at daycare. It was SO warm out that they stripped you guys down to your nappies and got the finger paints out on the big play balcony. You aren't crazy about getting your hands dirty though (you hold them out and yell for someone to clean them off), but you painted a bit anyway. Then you went into the baby pool with a bit of water & soap in it to wash off. They said you were sitting in there splashing and screaming with laughter for ages!!! Another funny thing was today when I went to pick you up I saw you running around with a ball - then you threw it at your carer Becki's back - to play I guess! I've never seen you throw a ball before - excellent!

More Month 15

You veggie bread I made - yummm!

Oh oh - the scene of the crime....... (someone wandered off with a red crayon)

typing with Dada

You new FAVORITE game - you love to put this blanket on your head and run around!

and I'm off!

This is how you brush

and now Genna's teeth!

AND back to the blanket - it's never ending fun

SO happy (and dirty from a day at daycare)!

You prefer to walk around with it OVER your face - but we only do it when you are in a 'safe' area :)

On Tuesday when I picked you up from daycare it was the best welcome ever!! You got a huge smile on your face when you saw me, then you ran up to me and kissed me on the lips. SO lovely to have such a great welcome :)

Last week when we were skyping with Grandma and Great Grandma Gigi, you found my wallet and stating taking out the cards (one of your favorite things to do). Then you started slotting the credit cards between the dvds on the shelf!! Ah NO that is not a good game - that's how we lose things ha ha - good thing I saw you doing it so I knew where they went!

Today you said bye bye (to Dada when we went to drop you off at daycare) and dog (when you picked your dog magnet out to show us) for the first time. You are loving saying shoes too (and yes, mama taught you that word)! You also starting do the 'eee eee eee' for a monkey - which is VERY cute!

Also at daycare they said you have just started this week seeking out people to play with. We saw pictures of you playing puzzles, painting, playing 'peek-a-boo' in the cubby house, and stacking things with other kids. Such fun!

Oh also we got your 15 month official weight yesterday - 9.6 kilos, which is about 21 pounds!

Month 15

Playing drums on the beer box is different - and fun!

Sometimes we just need some quiet time on the sofa in front of her Baby Genius dvds

Just a bit of giggly fun we had one night.....
we liked all 3 videos SO much we couldn't choose just one :)

Driving around looking at houses is SO exhausting!

Monday was labour day so we had the day off of work/daycare and decide to go visit the local play gym with Aunty Helen

The 'Cosy Coupe' was a BIG hit!

So fun!

We also tried to take some nice 15 month photos - you turned 15 months old yesterday!

You with your little blanket. You love to cover up your stuffed toys like you are tucking them in and then pat them - so sweet. We make sure to give you these tiny cloths to use as blankets, or you rip our big blankets off of the sofa and try to drag those around!

You have JUST started standing on your chair. We are constantly saying 'Genna sit down, no standing on your chair'

And this is what you have to say back (sticking your tongue out blowing raspberries :)

Other new things lately:

I think you are starting to really recognize yourself in front of the mirror. When you are talking (or yelling) you will often look at the mirror in surprise like 'oh, she's doing it too.' Then you go closer and touch it and step back and look hard to figure it all out.

This past week I stopping feeding you milk in the night. We waited so long because you have been sick off and on for so long, but I think the timing was JUST right and you are doing great! You are doing SO well and have adjusted by starting to drink a TON of milk with dinner to fill yourself up for the night. You have started to wake up SUPER happy as well which I love. You sit up and wave at me in the morning!

You have started waving a lot for goodbye and hello a lot, even to strangers at the grocery store:) You also have started clenching your hand with a 'come here' gesture. You go up to your bunny or other toys and you just gesture at them like 'get up here already!!'

Your words of the week are Yes and Hello. I really like that now when I ask you questions the answer isn't always 'no' or 'dada'. Now you sometimes answer 'YES' and tonight you ran around the apartment like a crazy lady saying Hello over and over :)