As this blog in part will one day serve as a form of a journal/ baby book for Rylie, I have been meaning to write down a few stories. This is one of those entries that is more for the baby book than for anything else.
"BE-KA-POO!"
Rylie loves peekaboo/ hide and seek. She absolutely loves it. She covers her eyes and giggles uncontrollably. She jumps up from her hiding spot and giggles. She also now screams "Bee-Kah-Poo!" It is so funny. I know it would not be cute if she was 16 and said it like that, but I don't think she'll be playing peekaboo at 16. A big part of me hopes she never stops saying it this way.
Excess Food....
Rylie does not like to have food on her tray that she does not intend on eating. I often give her something new to taste and put 3 or 4 pieces down on her tray. If she tastes it and decides she doesn't like it, she will hand me the remaining pieces one by one (including the half chewed piece as well) and say "done" repeatedly while handing me each piece. This is in contrast to when she is finished with her meal. She will also say done, but if you do not remove her tray within 1.2 milliseconds, she will begin throwing her food on the floor- again, one piece at a time. We routinely tell her, while pointing to the floor, "No, no, no. Food stays on the table."
So the good news is Rylie has learned, the bad news is Rylie now throws her food on the floor and then proceeds to shake her finger back and forth at the food on the floor saying "no, no, no." It is really just so hard not to laugh.
Sensing the Parent/ Teacher Conference
Rylie is now 15 months old. Everyday at least one thing happens that makes me realize she is not an infant anymore and she is completely a toddler. So last week when I went to pick her up from camp, Rylie was sitting at the table eating snack with the other children. Her teacher starts telling me about something that happened at camp that day involving Rylie and another child. It really wasn't the end of the world, but suffice it to say, both got put in timeout. Rylie, who is usually very patient as I gather her stuff and chat with her teachers in the afternoon, was holding my keys, squirmed to get down, began waving bye bye and blowing kisses to her teachers, and pulled me by my finger to drag me towards the door for us to leave. Rylie has never done this before. We were laughing that at such a young age, Rylie could sense when Mommy and the teacher are talking about her.
Tuesday Afternoons at Barnes & Noble
It has become somewhat of a weekly tradition now that Rylie and I spend our Tuesday afternoons at the Barnes & Noble by our house. From 3-5 a woman from the Golden Retriever Rescue Association comes with her dog Rocky, a certified therapy dog, and hangs out in the children's section. Children can read to Rocky, play with him, pet him, or basically anything else. Rocky is so good and unbelievably patient with children.
We have been a few times over the past few months, but as of about a month ago, we have started to make this a weekly Mommy and Rylie tradition. We either bring our afternoon snack with us, or splurge and split a chocolate chip cookie.
To say that Rylie loves dogs is a bit of an understatement. She goes nuts every time she sees a dog. We have to remind her that we have to ask before we pet dogs. She doesn't say the word "dog," instead she just barks every time we see one. Actually she does that with most animals. I think the only one she says by name and sound is duck. Otherwise animals are referred to by sounds only: "baaa," "mooo," "ruff ruff," "neigh," "roar," and the newest one "sssss," for a snake.
Last week, Rocky was at Barnes & Nobles with Jake, another certified therapy dog who is in the process of getting the special certification for working with children. According to the two women there, Rocky was mentoring Jake. While Rocky is more of an "old man," Jake is very much a puppy. Rylie really enjoys playing with Rocky each week, but I could tell she really loved Jake's energy. Rylie loves identifying noses, both her own and everyone else's, and Jake's was no different. She loved that when she touched Jake's nose, his tongue came out and licked her! I told her to tickle his tummy. She tickled Jake's tummy and he loved it. Rylie then proceeded to lift her dress up and put her tummy in front of Jake's paws, presumably waiting for him to tickle her back. It was pretty funny. She loves getting kisses from the dogs and kisses them back.
Dada!
Dada was one of Rylie's first understandable words. She started saying it constantly in January. For a while, she used it pretty indiscriminately for Adam, and anything else that she couldn't identify. Over the past 4 months or so, it has pretty consistently just been for Adam. So when we were watching the NBA finals last month, every time Kobe Bryant would show up on the screen, Rylie would run up to the TV, point to Kobe, and scream "Dada! Dada!" This would happen multiple times during various games, but only when Kobe was on the screen.
I kept telling her that while we cannot be 100% certain, we're fairly confident that she is not biologically related to Kobe :-)
Other stuff...
Stranger anxiety has started to set in. Rylie is not clingy by any stretch of the imagination, but she has become more apprehensive about new situations than we have ever seen before. Not a good thing or a bad thing, just a new thing.
She is also starting to throw temper tantrums every now and then. Our free-spirited little princess is starting to show her independence in mind and body. This is very enjoyable for everyone. Thus far, only once have I had to carry her out of a store sideways with her screaming and every other person in the store staring at me. Good times.
Rylie has become obsessed with Elmo lately. We think Elmo has de-throned cheese, which was Rylie's previous obsession.
And since we got some comments inquiring about Rylie's height in the last posting, yes, Rylie is very tall. At her 15 month check up she measured 32 inches, which is in the 90th percentile.
And now some pictures....
Last weekend, we went to check out one of the pools at Nana and Pa's new place. They aren't out here yet, but we figured we'd scope out the place for them. The kids' pool is amazing. It is basically like a water park.
Aside from the slides, there is a large portion of the pool that is only 18 inches deep. Rylie loved being able to wander freely through the pool. There is even a little splash fountain in part of it.
This girl LOVES the water!
First time playing with Play Doh
Love to everyone...
I love this picture of Jordyn and Rylie. 
And Micah and Auntie Bethany.
Rylie loves spending time with her two cousins. It is such a special treat that the three of them are growing up so closely and know each other so well. Rylie and Micah are in the same camp group and will be in the same class in the Fall. 
Rylie played hard, swam a lot, and ate like a champ at the BBQ. She was so tired when we got home. I couldn't resist this picture. For those of you who are concerned, I did move her legs back into her crib.
Rylie has taken a serious liking to playing with the football. 
I just think this is too cute. Rylie goes to camp in her bathing suit each day, with a change of clothes packed in her bag. This is her ballerina bathing suit courtesy of Gigi. While I don't think tutus and ballet slippers are in our future, I think this picture is adorable!
