Liam Michael you are
SIXTEEN MONTHS OLD!
Summer vacation is officially over and Mama is back in school (and so are you...more on that in a bit!).
What are your stats and what does the doctor say?
We are guessing you are right around 32 pounds now and I swear you grow out of clothes every day. We go back to see Dr. G. in November.
What are you eating?
You are still an excellent eater most of the time. You do go through phases of not loving certain foods that seemed to be your favorite just days before, but most days you eat very well. You still love fruit of all kinds, macaroni, cheese, eggs, and hummus. You are still drinking whole milk and are only drinking that with your meals. You have water in between meals and are no longer drinking anything before bed.
When do you sleep and eat?
As the summer was winding down and Mama was getting ready to go back to work, we tried to keep you on a consistent schedule most days. You are awake between 6:00 and 6:30 and you explore around the house for a bit while Mommy and Daddy get ready for work. On the days you go to school, you eat breakfast around 6:45. On the days you are home with Nana, you usually don't have anything until closer to 7:30 (you usually sleep a little later on those days as well). At school, you have another "breakfast" around 9:00 and eat lunch at 11:30. You take a nap at school (on a good day) from 12:30-2:30. When you are home with Nana or on the weekends, you still sometimes need a morning nap. If you take a morning nap, you will do another nap around 3:00. We do dinner around 5:45 and you are asleep by 7:30 on most nights.
What size clothes and diapers are you wearing?
You are still in 18 month and 18-24 month clothes, but you are wearing 24 month pajamas and some 24 month summer clothes before it gets too chilly for them. You are still in size 4 Pampers Cruisers during the day and size 5 Huggies Overnites with a liner at night. You wear a size 6 shoe, but those are starting to get a little tight.
What are some things you love?
You are so into big trucks, buses, and anything that moves lately. During our walks, you love to point out mail trucks, diggers, and dump trucks. You are all boy! You still love going outside to play and we are soaking up every last minute of nice weather. You love looking at books and will bring them over to us to read with you. You still love Max's water and food dishes and have managed to dump several bowls of water all over the place in recent days. You still love walks in your stroller and going to the library to play with all the toys there. You like to play with all the kitchen tools and will make noise with anything you can (including banging bowls and spoons on the glass slider doors!). You also love to roll around, jump and play on Mommy and Daddy's bed.
What are your favorite books and toys?
You would have us read Little Blue Truck Leads the Way to you over and over again! You also love The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Tumble Bumble, and Moo, Baa, La La La. Right now, your favorite toys are kitchen spoons and bowls, Nana's plastic cup, and Mommy's brushes. You still love your lawn mower too! Everything still goes in your mouth so there are a lot of things that are still off limits to you.
What are some things you don't love?
Diaper changes are a battle lately and you just don't like to sit still for that long. You don't like being in your high chair for too long and will get mighty cranky if we don't clean you up fast enough. You are getting frustrated with your inability to talk when we can't understand what you want and it has certainly been difficult for everyone.
What is your behavior like?
Despite your moments of true toddler-style split personality, you really are a great little boy. You get so animated when you are excited and flash that amazing smile to anyone who is looking. However, you are exerting your independence and making it known that you are here and want to make decisions. We are working on setting limits, giving you consequences, and helping you to understand right and wrong as much as is possible at your age.
What can you do?
This month, you learned how to "knock" on a door when you want to go in and Daddy taught you how to do a fist bump. Nana taught you how to do Ring Around the Rosey and you think it's hysterical to fall down at the end. You have also been using a spoon and fork with more accuracy (although it's still quite a mess with the spoon!). You learned to climb on things this month and get so excited when you climb on top of the slide or your rocking chair and then "jump" into our arms.
All boy loves dirt, huh?
What are you saying?
Still no real words little man. This is getting harder and harder for you and us, but we know it will happen when you are ready. You have definitely starting being even more verbal since school started.
How many teeth do you have?
You officially have 16 teeth but we have a sneaking suspicion that those 2 year molars are going to make an appearance sooner rather than later.
What are some firsts from this month?
This month, you went to the zoo for the first time with Mommy and Daddy. You really enjoyed watching the elephants and giraffes. You had a playdate with all three of your girlfriends and were very sweet to the babies. The biggest thing this month was that you started school two days a week. You also played at the beach with some friends and actually enjoyed it!
How is school going?
You started school during the last week in August. We did a trial run before Mommy actually went back to school and you did one short day and one longer day that week. Now that Mommy is back in school full time, you are going on Thursday and Friday from 7:45-3:45. So far, you have been doing well and seem to enjoy going there (Mommy on the other hand cries about it regularly). You love to play outside and have even gone to the playground on a little "field trip." You have painted and played in sensory bins. Your eating and napping have been going well while you are at school on most days. Just this week (which is technically part of your 17 month post), you have started to get more clingy and cry when I leave you there in the morning. It completely breaks my heart to see you sad and upset, but you have recovered and done well for the rest of the day (I obviously called to check in on you!).
How is school going?
You started school during the last week in August. We did a trial run before Mommy actually went back to school and you did one short day and one longer day that week. Now that Mommy is back in school full time, you are going on Thursday and Friday from 7:45-3:45. So far, you have been doing well and seem to enjoy going there (Mommy on the other hand cries about it regularly). You love to play outside and have even gone to the playground on a little "field trip." You have painted and played in sensory bins. Your eating and napping have been going well while you are at school on most days. Just this week (which is technically part of your 17 month post), you have started to get more clingy and cry when I leave you there in the morning. It completely breaks my heart to see you sad and upset, but you have recovered and done well for the rest of the day (I obviously called to check in on you!).
Your first piece of artwork from school.
What are we looking forward to in the next month?
This month, we will do some fall activities (apple picking, playing with leaves) and spend a weekend in Connecticut to celebrate some special birthdays. We will also celebrate Daddy's birthday toward the end of the month. You will also get your first haircut...Mommy isn't thrilled about this, but the hair is in your eyes and driving you crazy! We are also going to soak up the nice weather with lots of outside time.
This month has certainly been a lot of fun, Mr. Man. We are looking forward to seeing how you change and grow in the coming weeks.
