13 months.

My DIY 13-month sign. I had to make it work
since I don't even have a marker in Singapore:)

Linna Jane turned 13 months in Singapore! This week, we finished a "teething battle", and I am happy to report that Linna is back to her normal, happy self:)

She's still crawling everywhere, and hasn't taken any steps. However, she is getting pretty good at trying to stand for a few seconds on her own. Linna can bend down to pick something up off the floor using just one hand for balance. She cruises around on the furniture, and can walk in the pool with water-wings on, but she's taking her sweet time learning to walk.

Linna also LOVES picking clothes and shoes up off the floor or out of her closet, and trying to dress herself. One day she crawled out of the bedroom with my tank top almost completely on her body! It's amazing how much she picks up on by just watching people.

Getting dressed.

Linna can say "mama", "dada", "papa", "hi", "wuh" (I think that means water), and can make the sound of a duck, cat, cow, and dog. She can point to her hair, nose, belly, ears, etc. She's also doing sing language. She can make the sign for "more" and "all done". However, she does this weird nose "grunt" when she's trying to tell us something.

Snacking by the pool.

Playing like a "big kid".

I've also learned that Linna will survive without food:) If Linna isn't feeling well, or isn't hungry, she doesn't eat. I'm really trying to not "freak out" if she doesn't eat a whole meal. If she's hungry, she will eat! She's not wasting away, and is such a happy little girl. We've also let her have a few of the foods that I NEVER thought I'd let her eat at one year. Nothing like pop, or candy or anything, but she's had Sun Chips, donuts, and even some french fries! This isn't an everyday thing, and she still eats pretty healthy, but I've really started to relax when it comes to her food. I'm still a "stickler" on her not having chicken nuggets, mac n' cheese from a box, or ordering off the kid's menu, because I do want her to actually like foods that are good for her. I'm not saying that parents are "bad" if they let their kids eat these types of things, but we are really trying to "limit" these types of foods. She has her whole life to eat "naughty" foods, if she chooses to do so:)

I love her face here.

Linna loves watching "Super Why", and she will dance to any music that she hears. I fall over laughing watching her dance (see video below).

Her hair is growing so fast, that it's actually starting to look like a mullet:)

Every morning when Linna wakes up, she stands up in her crib (pack n' play in Singapore) waiting for us to come get her, then greets us with a HUGE smile and says "hiiiiii". I actually look forward to waking up in the morning so I can see her happy face.

She's still taking two naps a day, each lasting about an hour and a half (some days she'll take one long nap), and she's still sleeping through the night (minus the few days of jet-lag and teething). Linna loves her pink blanket from Auntie Julie (Mr. Snuggles) and her new owl blanket from Auntie Sara (Mr. Owl). Both of these blankets were given to her as gift, and both came from the maids of honor in my wedding (weird huh?!) She could snuggle with the blankets all day, and HAS to have them during naps and bedtime.

We're also still letting Linna have a pacifier (we call it her "wah") at sleep time, and she's still having an eight-ounce bottle of whole milk at night. She won't drink milk out of a sippy cup, so if she'll take the milk out of her bottle... so be it! Plus, her nighttime bottle gives me a chance to cuddle with her before she goes to bed:)

We're very excited to celebrate Linna turning 14 and 15 months in Singapore!