19 Months

At the beginning of the month Josie stood for 45 seconds on own! She has been able to stand while holding onto something since her birthday but has never let go to stand on her own. We were so excited when she started doing this but it was never for more than a few seconds. When she finally stood for 45 seconds on her own we were ecstatic. She is getting stronger and braver and I know that walking will be in her near future. Josie has been standing so much more on her own. She still isn't going from sitting to standing but she is getting there. She will often do the downward facing dog pose, which always makes us laugh. She's so close to standing up that way though. She is fine was standing if we can help her first. She will also pull up on furniture and then let go. She's even getting brave now and drinking milk while standing.

Besides being brave and standing on her own, Josie is finally starting to walk! She would take one and a half steps before falling into the couch or ottoman or our legs. On August 3rd, while watching a video of herself on Joe's phone, she decided to get brave and take three steps! A week later she was taking about five steps. Last week I was able to catch her on video taking about eight steps. She still crawls the majority of the time, but she's getting braver and braver in terms of walking. She's even starting to take steps without us trying to prompt or convince her to. When she's holding on to something like the ottoman she can even take a step and turn. I can't even describe how proud I am of Josie. She has been working hard!

Josie's lower left canine has been working its way through her gums and her upper left canine is getting close to the surface. She has been so cranky because of them. Hopefully next month they will all be completely in and we won't have to worry about teeth for a little while.

Speaking of teeth Josie is letting us brush them a little bit. I've tried multiple times in the past and she did not like it one bit. She wouldn't even let me put the toothbrush in her mouth. Now she will let me brush them and will then take it from me and suck on it to get the extra water out. It is a start at least. 

Josie has been adding more words to her vocabulary. She has about 19 words now that she has said multiple times. The issue is that while she does have these words, she doesn't always use them in the correct context. Some of them are just words that she likes to jabber. For example, she will say guppy. I'm sure it's because Sophie sometimes watches Bubble Guppies and it sounds like a fun word. It isn't in reference to anything though. Josie will say some words as she supposed to, such as more and ball. Nothing is very consistent though. I think she is realizing that we are not understanding her and it is making her angry. She often will start yelling and screeching when she doesn't get her way. It can be extremely frustrating for all of us. 

I never really realized it before but Josie doesn't really nod or shake her head.  I've seen her do that before but just a few times. She is been doing them a little more this month and I have to say it's a little awkward looking. When she nods her head it is a really big movement; she has to include her whole body with it. It's really quick and jerky as well. Shaking her head she more throws her head to either shoulder instead of just a quick nod.  This is something we will have to ask her PT about. 

I had to go back to work this month. I think this transition has been hard on Josie. She's been a little more fussy than normal, though that could be due to her new teeth. She has gone from taking multiple naps a day which total about four hours to taking only one or two naps. I like that she is limiting the number of naps she is getting, but I do want her to be well rested. Hopefully she'll just back into a schedule and this will get better for her. Until then we are trying to get used to our laid back girl being a cranky one.

Josie has made such great strides this month. I can't help but wonder if she will be walking and talking more if only we had started First Steps earlier, like when the doctor suggested it. (If only she would have explained her concerns to me instead of just offhandedly suggesting we call First Steps.) Regardless, I'm so proud of the hard work that she is doing. I just love that girl so much!

Here are some pictures from this month:

Josie loves being outdoors! I can't wait until she can run around and chase after her sister!

Josie is still Sophie's shadow (and Sophie loves it!)

Water play is still Josie's favorite. She really enjoys splashing around and running her hands through water. When she sees that we are filling up the tub or baby pool she speeds over to our sides. 

Classy family photo

I had no idea how much Josie likes apples!

Cranky

When Josie is tired she will pop a paci in her mouth and grab her blanket from her crib. 

She still doesn't know how to come down the stairs. We've worked with her on it, but she gets distracted and wants to jump into our arms or crawl back up the stairs. Oh well.