My girl.

Matine John Howell - 15.5 months

My girl loves to be naked.  She loves jewelry, particularly large plastic beads.  Anything with handle she loves to wear as a purse.  She loves to feed the dogs their food, piece by piece, by hand.  She loves to wake up snuggling and then immediately go to the back porch, sit on her mini-Adirondack chair and drink her milk - each morning.  She loves baby dolls, real babies and small stuffed animals (all called "baby.")  She does NOT like any vegetable of any kind.  Toast is by far her favorite food (breakfast, lunch or dinner).  She loves to sit in Jim-Pa's lap.  She enjoys wearing her "sunnies" (sunglasses) and hats.  Head first down the slides is MUCH more fun than on her hiney.  She loves her friends and is very sweet with them all.  My girl cannot stay clean to save her life.  Mud is best enjoyed smeared all over her body, head and face.  She looks like a perfect blend of every single family member we have.  She has her daddy's expressions, my nose, her grandpa Johns general look right now, legs like her Nana Jo, pretty hazel eyes like uncle Clark or Nana, the Cottongim nose scrunch, and so many cute features that it's really hard to even name them all.  Our gal is so very generous.  She loves to be happy and rarely cries or fusses about anything.  She loves to look pretty and notices when she has on pretty dresses or clothes.  She loves her pacifier these days, but will hand it to me if I ask for it.  She has about 10 different kinds of walks - many resembling the Hunchback of Notre Dame or someone with a wooden leg.  When she is in a new place she likes to check it out by laying in the middle of the floor and looking up.   Everything is "mom" right now... this means "I want that, "look" and many other things.  "Momma" means mommy and daddy.  "Up" means up and down.  She generally narrates most things she does.  She loves to fake laugh and pretends to be talking with the grown-ups when there is good conversation going on.  She now calls out for "Gauch" and "Bru-ee" (Brutus) in the mornings when it's breakfast time.  She loves to bring you books, but most of the time just flips through the pages really fast.  She pretend reads magazines and books without words.  She loves to cuddle most anytime of day.  The backyard at our house and Nona and Jim Pa's might be her favorite places on Earth.  When we go to the River, our gal rolls naked in the sand and mud and loves to cover herself in as much "muck" as she can.  She loves to squeal and run across the room into her mom and dad's arms. She takes her time with breakfast each morning - her favorite meal of the day.  When she didn't want to eat her beans the other day she pushed them away and said "bye bye beans."   The sound of her saying "bye bye" and "baby" melts my heart and turns me into complete mush.  She lifts up the sheets in our bed in the mornings to look for "daddy."  She loves hiding and peek-a-boo with anyone.  Anytime she hears music she starts to boogie and bounce.  Bath time can last well over an hour.  The girl now has 4 teeth - 2 on top (barely) and 2 on the bottom.  I love you more than anything.  You make my world so wonderful.