15 Months: Who's Counting?

This week Kariana had her 15 month visit with her pediatrician. It is hard for me to believe Kariana is already 15 months old. The trip to the pediatrician was uneventful. We measured her weight and height. It was a relief to hear that we are on the downside of all of her vaccinations. She'll have to go back for her last round at 18 months but after that she will not get any more vaccinations until she is 4 years old. Dr. Koush asked a lot of developmental questions and Kariana seems to be on track. At 15 months, Dr. Koush said we should expect at least 3 words. The only concerns I expressed are that I keep wondering when Kariana is going to get more teeth (she still only has 6 teeth) and my obsession with trying to make Kariana brush her teeth twice a day. Dr. Koush assured me not to worry and told me not to obsess; imagine that!

Here is Kariana's 15 month recap for the record:

Weight: 21 lbs (20th percentile)

Height: 31 1/2 inches (50th percentile)

Head circumference: 18 1/2 inches (80th percentile) Yes, my child has a big head!

First sounds: Kariana's first words weren't real words but imitations of silly sounds that we hear in our activities everyday.

Woof . . . woof (referring to any animal such as dogs, cats, squirrels, birds, etc.)

Woo . . . woo . . . woo (the sound the rotation of the ceiling fan makes)

Ho . . . ho (referring to Santa Claus)

Sniffing sound whenever we say the word "flowers."

First real words:

Mama (melts my heart)

Dada (melts dad's heart)

Shoes

Boots (not sure where that one came from)

Poo Poo

Raccoon (It sounds more like cocoon and we can't stop giggling every time we get her to say it. What child says raccoon as one of his/her first words?)

Big feet! Little feet!

The pile of shoes by our back door used to drive me crazy, but ever since we added a third set of shoes I think this pile of shoes is so adorable. Its funny how your perspective can change so quickly. I think children's shoes are so cute. If I knew I wasn't going to be buying Kariana new shoes every 2 to 3 months, I'd buy her even more. Yes, you heard that right. Apparently at Kariana's age, toddlers grow out of their shoes every 2 1/2 to 3 months. This fits perfectly with my shoe buying addiction! I love to buy shoes! Tennis shoes . . . flats . . . heals . . . loafers . . . boots . . . sandals . . . slippers . . . little mary janes . . . . flip flops . . . all kinds of shoes. In fact, I have my eye on the cutest pair of pink Keds for Kariana next.

Independent Play

Tobin and I have been remarking lately how fun it is to watch Kariana become more and more independent when she is playing. We can actually sit and watch t.v. while Kariana plays with her toys by herself. Of course, mom and dad can't help it and we jump into the fun to play with her but it's nice not to have to constantly entertain. Don't get me wrong, I still feel like we are constantly entertaining but I am seeing progress towards independent playtime. Plus, I couldn't help myself and I had to take some pictures of Kariana in this adorable outfit!

Poached Pears with Raspberry Sauce

This desert is so easy I have to share because it is delicious, looks elegant and will easily impress guests. I've tried several variations depending on what I have in the house. I've used apple juice or apple cider instead of cran-raspberry jucie and I've omitted the raspberry sauce and served the pears a la mode with a drizzle of caramel instead. Yummy!

Poached Pears with Raspberry Sauce

4 cups cran-raspberry juice

2 cups Rhine or Riesling wine

1/4 cup sugar

2 cinnamon sticks, broken into halves

4 to 5 firm Bosc or Anjou pears, peeled, cored and seeded

1 package frozen raspberries in syrup, thawed

Fresh berries

Combine juice, wine, sugar and cinnamon stick halves in slow cooker. Submerge pears in mixture. Cover and cook on low 3 1/2 to 4 hours or until pears are tender.

Process raspberries in food processor or blender until smooth; strain out seeds. Spoon raspberry sauce onto serving plates and place a pear on top of sauce. Garnish with fresh berries.

Blowing Kisses

For a few weeks leaving in the morning had become a bit of a production. Kariana has caught on that when I put my shoes on and get my jacket I'm leaving for work. She started picking up her shoes and bringing them to me to put on her as if to tell me that she wants to go too. There also had been some tears as I was leaving. I can't begin to explain how much this breaks my heart. So each morning I spend a few minutes holding Kariana and saying good-bye to her. I explain to her that after she wakes up from her nap I will be home and I describe the activity we have planned together for that afternoon. I have no idea if she understands me, but it seems to be helping because we haven't had any tears lately. Lou brings her to the side door as I back out of the driveway and Kariana is waving bye-bye and blowing kisses to me!! Talk about melting mom's heart! I can't get enough kisses. I think even Kariana is tired of me asking her to blow kisses.

Did you eat your black-eyed peas?

I have to admit the Carlson's did not eat black-eyed peas on New Year's Day this year. I'm not sure if this is only a Southern tradition or the Carlson's are just flat out-of-luck in 2010. But I promise we have a legitimate reason for not eating our black-eyed peas yesterday. The reason is that we are all beaned out. Beans are all that Kariana wants to eat lately and we have been eating loads of beans! I should be thrilled that Kariana loves beans, right? Beans are a great source of protein. They are high in the good kind of fiber that protects your heart and are full of the B group of vitiamins.

I'm not sure how Kariana's love for beans began. Our ritual on Friday night is to go out to eat. We started going to Terglinua for Mexican because it's so convenient and sometimes we go to Edloe Street Cafe where we get their yummy enchiladas. We quickly discovered Kariana loves the beans and we were scooping up the left over beans to bring home for her to have the rest of the week.

So I asked Lou to show me how she makes beans in her crock pot at home. It's quite simple and even I can do it. Wash and separate the beans taking out any bad ones --apparently there are always a few bad beans just like there are always a few bad apples in the bunch. Cover the beans in the crock pot with a few inches of water. Lou doesn't believe in soaking the beans overnight -- she says this just makes them gassy!?!? Dice up some green peppers and onions to throw in the crock pot with the beans and set the crock pot on high for 3 to 4 hours. Voilà! We've made red beans, black beans, pinto beans, navy beans and even black-eyed peas. Plus, I have to say with all of this fiber the Carlson household has been getting lately, we are all very regular! Who would have guessed such stinky ones can come from such a tiny little girl.

Who cut the cheese? Thbbbbt!