16 Months Old

Nathan,

We've had another great month with you. You constantly keep us smiling and giggling at your sweet personality and fun new tricks.

You have eight teeth now. You have been a bizarre teether. You took a break after you got your front four middle teeth, and then decided to go ahead and get your molars. So now you have four front teeth, and four molars and a big gap in between. You had a rough go with some of you molars. We had about a week of not sleeping well combined with awful diaper rash and diarrhea. As soon as that last molar popped through, all your symptoms cleared right up and you were back to normal.

Your new molars have improved your eating. You eat faster and more efficiently now that you actually have some molars to chew with. I don't have to cut your food up in as small of pieces anymore, so it's great for both of us.

If we ask you where something is, you shrug your shoulders and hold up your hands in an "I don't know" expression. It's one of my favorite things you do right now. You'll point to the people you know and Rhapsody. If I ask you "Where's Nathan?" you will point to yourself. I'm trying to get you to point to my belly when I ask "Where's the baby?" You are starting to figure it out, but for the longest time if I asked you "Where's baby?" you would point to yourself. Sweet boy, you will always be Mommy's baby.

You are figuring out how to communicate with us more and more. You stand by the refrigerator and point when you want a drink, and will grab one of your toy bowls and stand by the pantry when you want a snack. I think we are just around the corner from your vocabulary taking off and being able to use words to communicate your needs. Your new words this month are shoes, up, hat, cat, eye, and car.

You are definitely all toddler now, the good and the bad. Your fit throwing has increased this month. You'll cry and stomp your feet when you don't get your way. It's cute now, but I'm sure the cuteness will wear off quickly.

 You are still sleeping great, usually about 11 hours a night. You take an afternoon nap from 1:00 to 3:00 or 4:00. You are totally exhausted when I put you down for your nap. I'll put you in your crib without any sort of fight and you are asleep almost instantly. I rarely rock you very long anymore. You seem to prefer to be put down so you can get comfortable. You will cuddle on my shoulder for a couple of minutes when I give you your paci and stuffed animal. So sweet! You are also getting sneaky with your paci. When I tell you to put it in your bed, you are strategic in where you put it, so you can reach in later and have it within your reach. You sneaky boy!

Your favorite toys right now are toy food and dishes. You dump out your basket of dishes, and set the table. You even stir with your utensils. I was baking a cake the other day and gave you an empty bowl and a whisk while I was mixing the batter. You played with that bowl and whisk for the longest time. You still like your other toys too, but dishes are definitely your go to toys right now.

You still love to be outside. If we tell you we are going for a walk, you'll run and climb into your stroller by yourself and then wait impatiently for us to join you. You also love to be on the go. If I tell you we are going "bye bye" you grab my hand and rush off to the garage door. We try and always get out of the house at least once a day so you don't get too bored being at home.

You are wearing 18 month clothes and a size 5 diaper. I went to a consignment sale a couple of weeks ago and got you some new winter clothes and I bought size 24 month in all of them. They look so big. You are growing so fast!

You started school this month, and lucky for you, you have the same teachers as last year. Our schedule is a little different this year, and I only have you enrolled in one day this year. I think it's good for both of us to get a little break from each other during the week and for you to get to explore and play in a different context. You seem to be thriving. I'm glad you're getting some socialization with other kids your age, and I can get things done about 3.2 times faster when I get some time by myself, which means when we're together we have more time to play and do fun things.

You're growing so fast little one. We love getting to experience it.