I can’t keep up! She pulled a little sun out of a box and said SUN. SUN. SUN! Then she put a fake pancake in a little pan and I asked what she was doing and she said COOK! She’s the bees knees man.

As I write this while on the rocking chair, Xol is laying on my chest with her face on my shoulder. She’s rubbing my arm with her tiny hand. She woke up almost 30 min ago and she hasn’t wanted me to let her go since. I’ve asked twice and she says no, as she holds me tighter. These are the moments my mind takes a picture….

I’ve been meaning to recap the 15th month, but we are already in the 16th month!! I’ve been having so much fun with Xol. She’s a funny girl. She loves to sing and dance and laugh. All my faves! She says so many things. I know I’m gonna miss one or two, but I’m going to try to remember them all. She says phone, dance, ten (Spanish for here), no/nonono, poon (fart), yeauh, car, doing doing (what are you doing?), going going (where you going?), ball, cup, baby, up, down, done, grathas (gracias), come on, book, butt, booty, green or grone, mom, pop, fruit, one, two, wowow/dog, food, hat, fork, pan, hi, buh bye, uh oh, wow, and more I’m sure I will remember after I’m done. She still signs for leche, musica, “want”, mas, all done and no. She completely understands most directives in both English and Spanish. She can correctly identify body parts when asked in both english and spanish. She can identify the colors green and red. She runs like a mad woman and dances like a pro. She can shimmy her shoulders and move her feet to the beat. She understands the tempo of the music and changes her movements to match it. She can use fluid hand movements and short foot steps or twirl quickly in a circle if the music calls for it. She wakes up and asks for musica in the first 2 minutes. She likes to play her piano and guitar. She loves to pretend and her current favorite toy is her wooden kitchen. She adores books and actually shows some preference to certain ones. She is friendly and says hi to everyone we see…strangers included. Except she’s not very friendly with doctors or nurses. She can completely feed herself with a fork or a spoon. She’s getting less and less messy as the time goes on so I think I’ll let her feed herself more in public. Although I don’t think the servers will be too happy about it. She still drinks out of a straw, but I haven’t tried a cup yet. I will soon. She screams pretty loudly at times. Usually unprovoked and not in an angry tone. Sometimes she will scream momp or pop to get our attention. I’ve always selected 2 options and let her choose her clothes, but now she will pull an all together different piece and add specific shoes and accessories to the outfit. She prefers to hold a purse. She is quite girly in those ways, but very boyish when playing with toys and exploring things in general. There have been a couple of rough days going to sleep, meaning she fights me for 1.5hours before going down. She even asks for water to stall me out! However, most times she goes to sleep without problems. Usually between 7:30-8ish. She wakes up between 7-8a. In between she wakes up to nurse 1-2 per night (never fully opening her eyes). She loves to look at pictures of herself and even says her name when you ask her who that is! She’s very loving and often grabs my faces and snuggles me. She gives great hugs too. She pretends to put on lipstick with anything she can find. She’s flexible like her mama and tries to kick me in the face when she nurses sometimes just to prove that point. She likes to be on the move and is particular about the music she listens to. She has a strange obsession with Mariah Carey’s Christmas album. She flirts with boys she fancies. She likes babies, but is less interested in kids her age. She is my best friend in the whole world. Sometimes I wonder if I have an unhealthy obsession with her, but my mom assures me it comes with the territory. I gotta believe her.

Last night I got home and turned the car off. I sat and tried to gather my things before getting out. Just then, a soft voice rang out from the backseat…”Mom, come on!”. I started laughing hysterically. She’s been saying it all day. If she thinks I’m not responding fast enough she strings a few together, “Come onCome onCome on!” Its my new favorite thing to listen to. I LOVE BEING XOL’s MOM!