Kate Update - 16 Months

Every parent of a newborn gets told at least 100 times, "Enjoy them while they're little, because they grow too fast!"  And never has a truer phrase been spoken!  I can't believe Baby Kate, as we nicknamed her before she was born, is now a toddler.  This is truly a precious stage, as she is happy most of the time, and (almost) everything she says and does is so cute, and she knows it!  She will cock her head to the side and smile, and I can just tell she is thinking, "I'm so cute!"  Three words I would use to describe her are observant, curious, and independent.  Here are a few highlights from this month:

 Talking:

• Her vocabulary has really taken off in the last 2-3 months, and she will now try to imitate almost any word we say to her.  Some words that she says regularly:  Mama, Daddy (Da - DEE), tries to say Granna, G, Pop, Mimi, ruff-ruff (for dog), kitty, moo (for cow), wa-wa (for water), thank you (da-u), hi, hey, hey-ya, bye-bye, apple, na-na (for banana), p (for peach), more (mostly does sign but sometimes says), go, happy, up, diaper, snack, bath, bird, baby, ball, bubble, balloon, uh-oh, set (Jeff lets her "help" set the alarm sometimes).
• She says a few 2-word phrases: Hey mama, hey daddy, all done, oh no... and a lot of multi-word strands that we can't understand!
• She is very social and loves to say hi and smile/wave to everyone we meet.  Going to the grocery store or out to eat are big events for her!

 

Playing & Learning:

• She loves her books, and current favorites are Goodnight Moon, the children's prayer book (Thank you, Aunt Rachel and Aunt Sarah!), My First Colors (Thank you, Aunt Ginny!), The Very Hungry Caterpillar (Thanks, Granna!) and nursery rhymes.

• She can identify many body parts (hands, feet, head, tummy, nose, eyes, mouth, ears), and has done this since about 13 mos.  She can identify several animals and can match animals on her puzzles and Noah's ark set.

• She loves music and songs and will dance and sometimes sing along to music on TV or the radio.  She will sometimes do the motions to Itsy Bitsy Spider and Wheels on the Bus.  I think we are going to do Kindermusik this fall.
• She likes coloring with crayons for short periods of time. At preschool, she sometimes uses paint (her teachers are very brave!).
• She enjoys putting things in and taking things out of any sort of container.  She will pretend cook with plastic bowls/spoons as I cook supper and loves to carry little purses or makeup bags around the house.

"Cooking" with ice :)

• She loves to play in water, especially the bath or her little plastic pool in our backyard.  She doesn't like the big pool as much, because she is not content to stay in her float - She thinks she can swim like the big kids!

 

At UA Rec Pool for Daddy's softball team party

• She is very affectionate and loves to "love" (hug/kiss) us, the grandparents, and her doll and stuffed animals.  Something really sweet she started doing this week is putting both of her hands on my face, pulling it to her, and giving me a kiss.  Melts my heart!

Eating & Sleeping:

• She is very independent and wants to do everything herself, especially at mealtimes.  She does really well getting a spoon/fork into her mouth but not as well with getting the food on it, so we usually help her with this part, or just let her pick up pieces with her fingers... and of course, we do sometimes still feed her.

• She is a great eater, and the only food she really doesn't love is meat, although she will eat some meats.  She eats almost all fruits and veggies, and favorites this summer have been watermelon, blueberries, and strawberries!  She is bad about trying to cram food into her mouth too fast, though, so we have to constantly remind her to take "small bites."  She is not very patient while waiting for her food, and we are really working hard on this!

• She knows what she wants and will often walk over to the highchair and say "Up" for meals/snacks, or go bring us her blanket or point to her bedroom if tired.  She started saying "No" this month (has been shaking head no for awhile), and she likes to use this one often!  We'd better get ready for the terrible two's! :)
• Her bedtime is around 7:30-8:00, and she will sleep about 11.5-12 hours.  She takes one nap a day for about 2-3 hours.  Sleep mates are blankie, lambie, and paci.  

If I could freeze this age, I think I would!  But we are looking very forward to the joys that the future ages and stages will bring as well!