16 Months!!

Dear Evelina,

You are 16 months old!! What can I say? There are no words that can describe our love for you. You are the light of our lives and we can’t imagine a day without you. Papa and I still ask ourselves how we could have created such a beautiful little girl with such a goofy personality. Often times we will look at each other and all we have to say is “Beb?”, and we both know we’re thinking about your cuteness and how much we adore you. We miss you when your sleeping and are sometimes tempted to go wake you up so we can shower you with hugs and kisses, Papa can’t wait to scoop you up on weekday mornings, and I can’t wait to leave work everyday so I can pick you up at school and watch you barrel over to me while you smile and giggle. Oooooweeee….we love you!!

Here’s what you’ve been up to this month:

• Your canines are s.l.o.w.l.y appearing. Two have officially cut through your gums but the others are taking their sweet time. This has not been pleasant for you, poor thing. You are well on your way to having a full set of baby teeth and I’m not sure who is more excited. You or me and Papa.
• You love saying “Hieeee” to strangers or into your play telephone. You don’t like to be put on the spot though so if we ask you to say hi to one of us or to someone on the phone, you just smile.
• Babbling, babbling, and more babbling. You are rarely quiet. I’m not sure what to expect once you start speaking using actual words and sentences. You have always been chatty but this is a new level of babbling with lots of new consonants.
• In terms of actual words, you are working on it.  Some new words I've heard this month are "Baby" and "Bubble".  Many times we think you are saying a word but we can't figure out what it actually is.  I think I need to take a baby language interpretation course. 
• You’ve started to say “Mimi” but not actually to Mimi. We’ll keep working on it.
• Coloring is one of your favorite activities. This includes coloring with crayons, markers or sidewalk chalk. We must keep working on keeping the writing utensil on the paper or driveway.
• Playing outside (with chalk and bubbles), walking around the yard and driveway, pushing or riding in your car, pointing to the sky, sun, grass, trees, birds, landscapers. When we ask you if you want to go outside, you shake your head yes, walk over to the basement door and just wait for us to bring you downstairs. You just LOVE being outside.
• You find great joy in brushing your teeth and hair, and using the lint roller on me, Papa or yourself (yes, we are starting you off early in the OCD department).
• You fill each day with lots of gross motor and fine motor activities and you are becoming more precise each day. You can put crayons back into your crayon box, pick up cheerios with a fork, walk (and attempt to run) anywhere we ask you too, get up on your play table chairs all by yourself (not very safely I might add, but we are working on it), get off the beds, couches, and chairs safely.
• Many spills come along with walking and you have taken a few rough ones this month. You fell and hit your eye, you tumbled into your play table and hit your nose and upper lip which resulted in A LOT of bleeding, and you fell at school and gave yourself a fat lower lip. This is all part of toddlerhood. Overall, you are very coordinated and stable on your feet, partly because of your general cautiousness.  
• You have successfully used the potty on two occasions and I couldn’t have been more excited!! You are so interested in watching us use the potty as well. You like to watch the bowl flush and even attempt to flush it yourself. You’ve also become aware that we like to keep the lid down so you will always walk over to it and look at me to put it down, if it isn’t already. If we ask you to go to your potty, you will walk into your bathroom and sit down carefully, albeit in your clothes. If we smell a dirty diaper, we'll ask if you've taken a poop and you will shake your head yes.  These are all great skills for you to have and will come in handy once we officially start potty training.
• You enjoy using a spoon and fork when eating but you still prefer your hands since they are much more efficient. We can finally give you plates and bowls, and you no longer throw them immediately.  You will eat what's on them first and then try to throw them. 
• You are great at following directions of any kind. It is amazing what you comprehend!! This includes helping us clean up your toys. It can be a lengthy process but it is fun to do together when you cooperate.
• You love to point out things in books and point to family members in photo albums.
• You had the opportunity to go into your first bouncy house this month and you just loved it!!  I went in with you and Mitchell, one of your neighbor friends, and we had a great time bouncing and giggling.  You like to recreate the experience on our big bed as often as you can.  
• You have really begun to enjoy the playground.  Previously, you weren't really interested in swinging but you are learning to love it....but not as much as the sandbox.  You LOVE the sandbox.  
• A couple of things you doing love?  Diaper changes!!  Oh my goodness, how painful they are.  It’s as if you think we are going to stab your eyes out.  You arch your back before we even put you down on the changing table, and then you proceed to kick, scream and roll over trying to get away from us.  Potty training can’t come fast enough!!  Another thing you hate?  Eating at home.  You eat like a dream at school and always clean your plate, but as soon as it is meal time at home, you refuse almost everything.  I often tell your teachers that it is a good thing you are at school 4 days a week because if you weren’t, you would whither away to nothing.There are some aspects of toddlerhood that are tough and this is one of them.

We have a busy month ahead filled with birthday parties, watching the leaves change color, pumpkin carving, and your 2nd Halloween!! Yay!! 

You are the sunshine of my life,

Mommy