16 Months Old

Where do I begin?! My baby is 16 months old and isn't a baby anymore. Every day she does something new and proves to me that some day she will, indeed, go off to college and leave me heartbroken.

Although she's still clingy and needy at times, the last half of this month has been all about independence. The other day I fussed at her for the first time because she was ignoring me as I was trying to ask her a question! This same scenario will happen a gazillion times between us, but the first time happened at 16 months old. Sigh.

She is very interested in toys at this age and is extremely distractable. She'll sign that she wants to eat, but on the way to the kitchen a toy will catch her eye and she will lose interest in our destination. I've learned that when she signs "potty" to me I really need to pick her up and carry her to the bathroom because otherwise she'll lose interest on the way there. It's nice in one way that I have more freedom to do dishes and sort laundry without her clinging to my legs or "helping," but it's also sad to feel that I've become irrelevant unless she needs something from me.

Here are the latest brag-worthy Evie details:

*she now can identify things that are "bue." (blue)

*she is starting to use 2 word phrases...we've had 3 so far: "more Daddy" (awwwww), "down Mama" (go down the stairs) and "Mama bubbles" (blow more bubbles in the water).

*yesterday (twice!) she signed potty to me on her own initiative and then went poop on the potty. Yay!!! Potty learning is going very slowly, at Evie's pace, but she seems to understand what it feels like to need to go, and how to make the magic happen, so to speak. These are very important skills, no?

*she has a few new ASL signs: "potty," "play," and "beautiful."

And for the big finale:

*we are transitioning to a toddler bed! She's slept the past couple of nights and naps on her crib mattress on the floor, and she is doing great with it. Yes, just a few minutes ago I heard a THUMP and a cry as she rolled out onto the carpet, but overall she has been sleeping just as much as normal and actually going to bed with less fuss. I think she might have decided it wasn't fair that she had to sleep in a crib since she has come to understand that Mama and Dada's bed does NOT have bars on it. In any case, she was becoming more and more resistant to bedtime and naps in her crib, and this transition has eased some of the angst. At least for now. (Knock on wood.) When she stops rolling out, we'll find a toddler bed frame and get the mattress up off of the floor. But it looks like her crib will be ready for Zeph to use in a few months!

Next, here are a few pics from this month (most of the pics were from Christmas and have already been posted).

This is Evie's new pal, Violet. She was a gift from Evie's Uncle D and Aunt A, and Evie LOVES Violet. Some of you might not have heard of these toys yet, but Violet plugs into the computer via a USB cord and can be programmed with Evie's name, favorite color, favorite food, etc. and then sings songs about those things. J and I can't help but grin whenever we hear Violet say "I love you, Evelyn." It's precious and creepy at the same time. Because we're dorks we want to program Violet to say "My favorite color is....gray!" and "My favorite animal is...a weasel!" and "My favorite food is...lima beans!" :)

Here is a picture that we will print out and keep for posterity so that we can embarrass Evie in front of her friends some day. Every kid has to have a potty pic, right?

We had a lot of snow in the Midwest this month, and here is Evie enjoying sledding in our back yard. I picked up this infant sled (it has a lap belt to keep her in) at a yard sale this summer for $2. Go me! The only problem was that the snow was so deep; the sled kept tipping over. But Evie seemed to enjoy it anyhow.


Finally, here is a fun pic of Evie roughhousing with her Dada. Good times:

And finally, a few (I mean several) short videos. First, Evie saying a few of her words:

Next, playing the piano:

Sledding, earlier this month:

Watching Dada shovel the driveway and practicing our "ho ho ho":

Playing peekaboo with her newly attached blankie (yay for transitional objects!):

Feeding herself oatmeal (and notice the gasps of delight when she comes up with oatmeal on the spoon!):

And, finally, a funny video we caught accidentally while celebrating Christmas in Minnesota. Here Evie and her Papa are playing a silly game while the movie A Christmas Story provides the background audio. Strangely appropriate audio?