You are 16 months old today. I can honestly say that I barely remember life before you. How crazy that 29 years of my life seems meaningless compared to the last 16 months. You are the sweetest and funniest little boy ever. You have really developed quite the personality as a lovable entertainer.
You love to make people laugh. You make crazy faces when people say something similar to "face" to get a reaction. You love to play hard to get... chasing or teasing with a toy. You get very "slap-happy" when you are sleepy. It is one of my favorite parts of the day. The tiniest look or tickle gets you laughing hysterically... the song of my heart.
You are really starting to try new words and you know we are loving it!
"ball!"
"Dada"/"Gaga"
"Mama" with a lot of encouragement
"ah ah" (like a bark)
"hey"
"bye-bye"
"ite!" (light)
"oop" (soup)
letters - can identify most of them and can say "o, a, b (buh), s, x, i, f, h, d (duh)"
You love to spell your name and will respond with a strong "H" when asked if you want to spell your name.
"muh" (more, with the sign)
You still sign "all done", "more" and "bye" more than you say them but you're starting to figure it out. You use your whole body to shake left to right for "no" - I'm glad you haven't learned that word yet :)
You recently started holding your hands out palms up and saying "uh?" when you are looking for something.
You are still a pretty good eater and will go through phases of not wanting to eat well-known favorite foods. You start everyday with a banana, cheerios and soy milk. You usually eat a snack (something carby like a peanut butter sandwich, goldfish, or a kashi cereal bar) mid-morning before your first nap (around 10am). At lunch and dinner you will eat a meat (usually chicken), an orange/yellow vegetable (carrots, sweet potatoes, corn, squash... ), a green vegetable (peas, green beans, broccoli, edamame... ), and a fruit (grapes, applesauce... ). You love love love soup. It's amazing how well you will eat soup! You usually eat a snack before your afternoon nap around 3 and then you're ready for dinner by 6.
You have been going to bed a little later - 8 pm at the latest - and I LOVE IT! I get to spend so much more quality time with you on my work days. You are back to sleeping in a better pattern now. The recent "fall back" time change really threw us for a loop! Your bedtime routine is usually bath, pjs, brush teeth, read Jesus Storybook Bible (you love this book and will sit as long as I will read it), bedtime prayers, you turn off the lamp, I put you in your bed, you go to sleep within about 5 minutes.
Play time
You love dress-up stuff - hats, glasses, Halloween costume (monkey). You are so funny when you wear something new (to you). You look up one arm and down the other studying the colors.
You love to play with kids your age. You are moving more toward cooperative play than parallel play. (awesome milestone :)
You love to greet with knuckles/fist bump/high 5/shaking hands. You generally greet men this way and women with a hug, wave, or shy smile.
Balls, cars/anything with wheels, puzzles and books are your favorite toys right now... and probably will be for awhile.
You love to make faces in the mirror and
Your favorite places are fat-man squeeze (finding the smallest passage and trying to get through), being up high, being upside down, or sitting in small chairs.
Music owns you. You will dance at the first beat and fuss as soon as the song is over. You request a song by waving your right arm up and down like a conductor. You love your Kindermusik class and your teacher, Mrs. Kelly.
You do really amazing things like following directions and answering questions.
"Find your milk."- will go to the fridge or actually find it if it's not in the fridge.
"You need a new diaper, let's change it" - will run to the changing table and wait.
"Do you want to spell your name?" - "H!"
"Time to turn off the light and go to bed" - pull lamp cord and snuggle in for a hug.
We can't really say "bye" around you without you going to the door, or "banana" without a meltdown to have one.
There are so many more but I could go on and on all day :)
You do not like to be confined in a stroller or restaurant high chair but don't mind the car seat. You still won't eat eggs but I really haven't tried lately. The only egg you've eaten without spitting out was in your pasta - that's my boy :) You hate when Mama has to go somewhere without you. Since Dede (is amazing) picks you up in the mornings, you really get upset when I have to leave you somewhere (even familiar places).
In order to lessen your separation anxiety, we enrolled you in our church's "day care" one day per week. It's really more like a "mom's day out" program because it's only for 4 hours. You are getting better each time about separating but it still breaks our hearts to hear you cry. Mrs. Tracie sends me pictures and texts to reassure me that you're ok throughout the day. We love Mrs. Tracie for that!! She says you are becoming more comfortable with your teacher, Mrs. Hope and will often go to her over any of the other teachers. You started napping and eating your lunch there a couple of weeks ago (both things you would not do at first!). It has really been a blessing to have you enrolled at Harvestfield and I know it will continue to help you grow and learn that we will always come back... no matter what.
