16 months!

Our Pea is 16 months old today...man the time goes by more quickly each month!

Some notes....
-She usually wakes at 7a, and is in the process of getting to bed at 7p...usually asleep by 8p.
-She takes one nap, usually between 12p & 1p. It lasts anywhere from 1 1/2 hours to 3 hours on the crazy long side indicating she's probably not feeling well.
-She is in size 5 diapers, size 18month pants, and 24mo or 2T shirts! She is a very long girl, and shirts that would fit her little torso width wise are getting too short. Shoes are size 6. Socks are 12-24 months, as are tights.
-In addition to loving Elmo, she likes Cookie Monster, and now cannot get enough of her Choo Choo Soul music DVD. She comes up to me and asks, "Choo? Choo?" She also carries around a little train saying choo, choo. Very cute.
-Coloring...drives me CRAZY but she loves it. Interestingly enough I couldn't wait for her to want to color & craft...and now I just dread when she points to her coloring table & says cuu. It is great fun for about 10 minutes...then she wants to throw her coloring table & crayons everywhere. I find myself saying these gems over & over...."Luci, coloring is a sit still activity... Luci, we can only play with our crayons at our coloring table. Luci, crayons are not for throwing... Luci, we do not put crayons in our mouth. Luci, we only color on paper. Luci, we do not [insert unacceptable behavior here]." She does it again. "Luci, Mama asked you not to [insert same unacceptable behavior here]. Luci, if you [x] again Mama is going to take away the crayons..." And then 9 times out of ten she does the same unacceptable behavior again while looking at me, possibly shaking her head no. And then I say, "Luci, now Mama has to put away the crayons. Mama asked you not to [x], and you didn't listen. So now we have to put away the crayons." Then she cries & screams & stomps her feet & flails her arms. Sounds like fun, right?
-Climbing...it seems like overnight she has mastered our little play structure at the park. She can climb up the stairs and go down all three slides, all on her own. Sometimes she goes down feet first on her tummy...something she discovered completely on her own!
-She's started to take outside stairs like she does inside stairs...rarely turning around backwards & climbing down, but rather taking them as though she's a grown person.
-She's got the "more" sign down completely. Except instead of two pinched like hands, one is open & the other pinched like hand touches the other open flat hand. Pretty cute. She also knows "all done", but usually prefers just to push the plate away from her to indicate she is done eating. She uses more in the context of a few things, but all done is only used with regard to meals at this point.
-The baa. I mean paci. She's named the paci "baaa." We were doing a great job with limiting it to her bedroom & the car...until this month. When she's sick & whiny I am such a sucker for the baaa. I take full responsibility for this...I need her to have the baa more than she does. I vow to work on this.
-Baby....the girl loves her baby! She has two that she really likes, but with one being a clear favorite. The Lawrences gave her this baby along with a baby doll stroller, baby doll blanket & 2 baby doll bottles for her first birthday. This is far & away her favorite toy these days. We now take baby doll for walks in its little stroller around the block. Sometimes we even walk baby doll to the park. It takes a LONG TIME.
-Words...she's got lots of words, although they don't sound like yours or mine. Cuu can mean cup or color. It also means potty for some reason. Caa is cat, and meow is a high pitched hmmmmm. Caaa can also mean car. Dog is just a goofy barking sound...and cow is the same sound. Baa is paci. ahsigh is outside. shoes are a very distinct shhhhh. grandparents are guh. Clara is sort of caahaaa. Baaa is also baby doll or ball or balloon. If I ask her to say hi she waves. If I ask her to use her sounds she whispers hi. If I ask her to say bye she waves. If I ask her to say goodnight she waves & blows a kiss. If I ask her if she wants breakfast, lunch, dinner or snack she says mmmmm. Pigs say "kkkk, kkk", ducks say "kaa, kaaa", bears say "rraaahhhhhhr", monkeys say "oo, ooo, ooo".
-Other communication...she goes to the pantry & points if she wants a snack. She's very good at pointing to what she wants. She understands nearly everything. She knows when I ask if she's ready for nap or bed or bath. When I ask her for a hug she now really hugs me with two arms instead of doing her little head only hug. She fully understands how to blow a kiss. She doesn't quite seem to get some if x then y statements. She usually gets it when we use it in discipline, but doesn't seem to get if you eat more peas i'll give you more blueberries.
-She puts her finger on her nose & says shhhh and knows that means soft/quiet. She knows you hear things with your ears...if a dog starts to bark & I ask her if she can hear the dog she points to her ear. She has EXCELLENT hearing...she often points to her ear as if she hears something and when I really concentrate & listen then I hear it too (dogs, sirens, etc).
-She can identify her eyes, ears nose, tongue, teeth, head, toes, fingers, knees, and hands. and belly.
-She is ALL about shutting things...drawers, doors, the dishwasher, the refrigerator...
-She has graduated from the high chair to the booster seat at the kitchen table. She does pretty well with keeping plates & bowls on the table. Her silverware progress continues, although not at rapid pace. And I'm kind of lazy about the silverware now that we are in the booster....much greater potential for mess!
-The girl LOVES her some books!
-She's started to hang out more in her crib before & after sleep...just chatting...often she'll start to cry after 20 minutes or so of hanging out. Sometimes we go in & she's on her back with her feet up on the sides of the crib. Cracks me up.
-Usually I give her a choice in shirts or outfits. Most days she picks one without hesitation. Other days she wants nothing to do with either of them...like today.
-Her hair is getting kind of bonkers and I am wondering if I should break down & get it cut. Her three long strands in the front are ALWAYS getting in her eyes, and she will NOT leave a bow, barrette or pony in to save her life. She literally will tear it & all of her hair out with it every time. She also has a bit of a mullet like look going on because of the little bald spot she had on the back of her head for so long. She has these long, fine hairs on the top and then this sort of thicker under coat of hair...it really is sort of strange!
-In the morning when our coffee maker beeps to let me know coffee is ready she makes an alarmed sort of noise, then claps :)
-This last month has been tough health wise...seems like she's had a cold since late October...yes, as a matter of fact, it all started on Halloween. I called the nurse line at our pedi's office this morning because I'm worried about her cough & the rattling sound coming from her...she sounds like a very happy cat when she breathes. I expected the nurse to tell me she was fine & just to keep an eye on her, but the nurse wanted us to come in this afternoon to rule out an upper respiratory infection. Normally I would have waited a few more days, but with the holiday coming up I knew it was today or next Monday. So we'll head in this afternoon...I guess kids aren't supposed to sound like cats...***UPDATE***Just got home...sweet baby was diagnosed with her first ear infection today at 16 months...so she just had her very first dose of an antibiotic. mmm...bubble gum! No upper respiratory infection though thank goodness.