16 Months

Mary Ella one year ago at 4 months.

I'm 16 months old!

Mary Ella,

Wow! Sixteen months! That is 2 away from 18 which is halfway through your 2nd year! I can't believe how time is flying by! You have been so much fun this month! You crack us up you are so funny, and we are amazed by how much you can learn and already know. Our life has been pretty crazy this month. We haven't been home for more than a few days at a time. I would probably be stressing and be really dreading the upcoming move if you weren't around every day to keep me busy and my mind occupied. Everyday with you is the best day. We love you so! Here's what you've been up to:

• You weigh 27 lbs. 13.5 oz. and are 31 3/4 inches tall (I know because I took you to the doctor last week because you had a runny nose, which has turned into an ear infection twice, but they were all clear this time. Thank goodnes it was just a cold)!
• You will be wearing 24 months clothes soon I think! Eighteen months fit great, but your 12-18 month stuff is getting snug.
• You still love your food (obviously), but you are picky at times. We're having a hard time getting you to eat your vegetables. Well, we're all having a hard time eating healthy these days because we haven't been home and eat out so much. I'm afraid you're going to be spoiled to chicken fingers and french fries, and I so don't want you to be that kid.
• You say "Mama" and "Daddy" so clearly now. You walk around calling us all the time, and you want a response! One of your favorite words is "no." You say it like it has two syllables, "no-wa." It is too funny! Thankfully, you're not telling us "no" yet, but most of your answers to questions are, "no." You also love to say "uh oh" and whoa!" I have heard you say "Jesus," "ho, ho, ho," and you have tried to say "Pa" and "Super Uncle Cole." I know that last one sounds crazy, but you said the same thing three times when we were around him. We also think you said your first sentence, "Super Uncle Cole play with blocks," when you wanted him to get down in the floor with you. It was hilarious! I'm sure you didn't say that, but it sounded like it! I told Brad the other day, I will miss this age when you can talk more because it sure is fun guessing what you're saying. We laugh about things we think we hear. You just walk around jabbering all the time.
• You are loving all the Christmas decorations and stuff! You can point out Santa, reindeer, snowmen, stockings, angels, cookies, lights, ornaments, candy canes, Christmas trees, and you love watching "Frosty the Snowman." You have been SO good about staying out of the tree. We told you to just look and not touch, and you have.
• You stil love books, cooking, and babies, probably in that order. You're favorite books now are "No, No, Yes, Yes" and "Counting Tickles." You like to taste what you're cooking, and you now give your baby bites, drinks from her bottle, and her paci.
• You love to throw trash away! One day you picked up a piece of trash off Gigi's floor and took it in the kitchen and threw it in the trash can. I'm going to have to watch you closely! But it's nice to hand you your diaper and say, "Throw it in the trash." And you do it! Ha!
• You got your first real spanking this month. I was putting up dishes at Joe and Rita's, and I can normally hear your feet or mouth running, but it got quiet. I called you and didn't hear anything, so I started looking. You weren't anywhere downstairs, so I looked up, and you had climbed all the way to the top of the stairs! Scared me to death! I thought that deserved more than a swat!
• You try to wink and snap your fingers. One day we were driving, and Brad was singing and snapping. We looked in the back and you were moving your arm up and down trying to snap like Daddy. You tap your fingers together over and over.
• You also tried your hand at song leading. You were watching the song leader at church on Sunday and saw that he was moving his arm up and down. You started moving your arm up and down too!
• You love going to Bible class, and I'm so glad you never cry. You wave and say "bye," and jump right into whatever is going on.
• You really loved on Molly dog the last time we were at my mom's. You put your arms around her and put your head down on her.
• You are sooo sweet when you love on us. Sometimes you grab my face or hair or neck and just pull me to you. We really enjoy snuggles and kisses when you get in the bed with us in the mornings.
• You are liking your blanket now before you go to sleep. You used to HATE to be covered up, but maybe we're onto something...a paci replacement? I'm not sure when to try to get rid of that thing!
• You are really great at stacking blocks! Until recently you were only interested in knocking down towers, but I watched you start building one day and not tearing down. I literally watched you discover geometry before my very eyes. You learned how to carefully stack 6-7 blocks high. You learned how to turn cylinders upright, and you learned you can't build on triangular prisms, they go on top. I mean you're not just using the cube blocks. I was amazed you sat there for 30 minutes just stacking and discovering how to build.
• You can sign "drink" and "thank you."
• Your hair is getting so long it gets in your eyes. Bows are a necessity now!
• What else? I'm sure there's more, but that's all I can think of for now. Happy 16 months!