What's new at 16 months?

So I realize it's been an incredibly long time since I've posted, but better late than never, right? Today my sweet Chloe is 16 months old. She is certainly no longer a baby, and has been an official Toddler for quite a few months now. She is a busy little bee that spends her days walking, talking, climbing, singing, exploring, and being an all around cheeseball. Here are some of the new and fun things that she has been up to:

Sleeping: 7:30pm - 7:30am (we are soooo lucky!)

Eating: She's very into "dip" right now and has been doing great with drinking her "miwk" from a sippy cup. She has a 5oz sippy mid-morning, 5oz sippy mid-afternoon, and we are still giving her a nighttime bottle.

Screaming: She's picked up a high-pitch scream that is worse than fingernails on a chalkboard. When her buddy Ana is over they have little screaming contests.

Walking: Like a champ! She rarely ever crawls anymore. As you can imagine this results in quite a few mini-injuries throughout the day. The girl is fast and fearless!

Interests: She LOVES her babydoll. She loves to hold her, feed her, and carry her from room to room. Whenever Chloe starts getting whiny I just ask "Where's your baby? I think she needs a nap" and she immediately stops what she's doing and is off to find her baby and put it in her old infant swing. She also really loves to watch the birds and squirrels in the backyard, and dogs and children that walk by in the frontyard.

Talking: Mamma, Dadda, May (Mary), Ana, Pop Pop (Grandpa) up, off (light switches), miwk (milk), dip, animo (animal), bucku (bug), picka (Piglet), cone (corn), apple, onio (onion), nack (snack), teat (treat), cookie, num num (food), book, baby, Whee! (swing), wawa (water), pwee (please), cuse you (excuse you), Atoo! (sneeze), eye, nooo (nose), mout (mouth), mout (mouse), chiwp chiwp (bird), mooo! (cow), hop hop (bunny), bawk bawk (chicken), chee (cheese), wawk (walk), poop, teet (teeth), bat (bath), peet (peach), shoe, and feet.

Favorite song: Old MacDonald

Favorite rhymes: 10 Little Monkeys and This Little Piggy

Favorite daily activities: coloring, reading books, running when mamma chases her, tea parties, swinging at the park, watching the openning song of "Cinderella" (she loves the mice and birds).

Here are some recent pics...

Spitting image?

Here new favorite game is to hide in the cupboard. It's great fun until she inevitably sticks her fingers in the door hinge.

Chloe loves her accessories!

Whee!

She's lovin' her new playclothes from Uncle Ben.

Chloe's "Home Alone" face is one of our alltime favorites!

Chloe's new friend...

We recently started sharing Chloe's wonderful nanny, Mary, with a family we met through my Mommy&Me group. Initially we were curious to see if 1) Mary would be comfortable caring for two babies at once, and 2) whether Chloe would be comfortable interacting and sharing Mary's attention with another baby. Well, after more than a few weeks now we have determined that the arrangement is working out beautifully. Chloe loves her new friend, Ana, and they are busy little bees playing throughout the day. Chloe gets so excited in the mornings when Ana arrives and Mary says they frequently bond at the window.


Since I started back to work in November and am now working 20 hours a week (T/W/TH), I have been so thankful that we were able to find such a wonderful fit with Mary, and now with Ana. It makes all the difference knowing that Chloe is happy and safe while Evan and I are away at work. Going back to work on a part-time basis has been wonderful and I definitely feel like I have gotten some balance back in my life.


Here are some pictures that Evan took while he was home for lunch one day...