16 Months Old!!

Barrett is 16 months old - who can believe that!?! 

So, because of the holidays, we are a *little* behind on things...  So, we don't have official stats from the doctor, but Barrett has learned how to use the scale in the bathroom, so we have an unofficial weight for him this month:

16 months: Weight: 27 pounds

To compare:

12 months: Weight: 23 pounds, 14 ounces

(I didn't bother trying a head circumference and height this month...I can hardly get him to stay still long enough to even try to use a ruler around him!! We'll wait for the doctor to do those.)

He has FINALLY started looking at the camera again!! I have to act fast and pray that I can get the shot on the first try, because he only looks and smiles once, but I am thrilled that he is engaging with the camera again!  Here is one of my favorites from this month:

I pulled out the camera and said, "Smile, Barrett!"

...and this was the face I got :)

Some updates on Barrett at 16 months:

- he LOVES to clean - vacuum, dust, sweep, wipe the tables, pick up specs of dirt off the floor and put them in the trashcan, etc. He loves helping me clean up his toys or do chores!!

- he likes things to be in their places, doors closed, towels hung in the right place, toys put away after he plays with them, etc. - a kid after my own heart!!

- his words include only "mama" and "uh-oh" but he definitely understands everything we say to him and can follow simple commands and multistep directions

- he loves to point at things and ask questions and will look you in the eye when you answer

- he will pat the floor or chair next to him and ask you to join him

- at 15 months, we turned his carseat to forward facing (his legs were just too long, even with the seat reclined as far back as possible), and he just loves it!

- he LOVES watching the airplanes that fly over the house, park, and general Destin area all the time!

- he sleeps through the night (7:30pm - 6:45-7am) and takes one 2-3 hour nap a day (12ish-3ish)

- he loves to play outside and go to the park to swing, play on the slides, and climb on the jungle gyms. He also loves to go down to the pier to look for fish and feed cheerios to the seagulls

- he loves to go on walks with the puppies, and he (without fail) points out EVERY. SINGLE. trashcan on our routes and doesn't relax until I acknowledge that I see it too. Tuesdays and Fridays (trash days) are his favorite days to take walks :)

- he continues to be obsessed with ceiling fans

- he is starting to be more picky about the food he will eat, but if we give him a fork to use, he will eat just about anything. His favorite foods now are asparagus, apples, bananas, shredded cheese, lima beans, and grapes. His newest obsession is using any kind of dipping sauce - ketchup, ranch dressing, syrup, bbq sauce, anything that Mommy and Daddy are using, etc.

- he plays peek-a-boo with his hands now!

- he can point to his head, tummy, belly button, nose, ears (always one at a time), eyes, mouth, and feet. He will also point to other people's (mommy, daddy, random kid at the library...) body parts. He loves to color and play with blocks and cars. He can put together his shapes puzzle all by himself.  He can sort shapes by their shape, and he recognizes red, green, blue, and yellow pretty consistently. He can show you where his socks and shoes are supposed to go on his body. He knows where his legs go for pants, and he can almost put a shirt on by himself. 

- he will give kisses on command, and he waves bye-bye really well! He is also starting to understand how to blow kisses, although all he does right now is put his hand to his mouth. We are working on the whole "blow the kiss" idea! :)

- he loves his Kindermusik class that we are going to! He has started to dance more often when he hears music and loves to use my tupperware as drums. He recognizes songs like "happy and you know it" and "itsy bitsy spider" and will do some of the corresponding motions as well.

- his newest thing, though, is not so charming... When asked to do things (like come over to me so we can put on his shoes), he turns around and just stares at me, like he's daring me to make him do something. Then, he has started collapsing to the floor instead of doing what we ask him to do and then crying like a banshee (or giggling like crazy) when we try to make him stand up and walk... *sigh* 

Fun times ahead!! :-/

- he also had started sitting in his big boy chair at the table, instead of sitting in his high chair! We have had the chair in the room for months, but never used it until one day he just started asking to sit in it. Now, we keep it at the table, and he sits there for meals and snacks on a regular basis now! (We still use the high chair for extremely messy meals or snacks where I can't sit down with him, but he prefers the big boy chair!)

- he loves to read books, and his favorites right now are Pat the Bunny, Rainbow Colors Peek-a-boo, Baby Faces, Ocean Wonders, and his collection of Mother Goose nursery rhymes

And finally, here are some pictures of him from the past few months:

He loves to dust, especially under couches and in the corners

Here, Barrett is vacuuming. Apparently, he was too exhausted to stand up, so he brought Big Puppy into the room, laid down on him, and then vacuumed his carpet!

Here he is checking out the fan Daddy took off the ceiling in the den!

He was absolutely fascinated and kept walking around it, looking at and under it, shaking it, spinning the blades, pulling the chains, etc.

He loves sitting in his big boy chair at the table!

I laid out some "roads" on the floor for him to roll his cars around in!

The dogs are just chairs that move these days...

(and he loves those beads!!)

We have started talking about the new baby, but I'm not really sure how much he understands. He can point to the baby in my belly, and he is eager to give my belly kisses, but beyond that, I'm not sure he really knows what is about to happen!

Happy 16 months, Barrett!! We love you!