16 Months

Liam... 16 months, 2 days!

Liam turned 16 months old last week, Thursday. I uploaded a bunch of photos to commemorate the day, but it looks as if blogger ate them :( Unfortunately, I left my memory card (where the photos are) at my in-laws house during our visit this weekend, so I'll have to wait until it arrives via snail mail to upload 16 mo. photos and our photos from visiting family this past weekend! Luckily, my mom snapped a couple photos with her camera this weekend, so I have a few to share of this big 16 mo. old!

Playing drums with his cousin

Cousins!

Milk, his favorite thing in the world!

Dancing!

Back to the 16 month post. Liam wears size 4 diapers, 12-18mo and sometimes 24mo/2T shirts (all depends on the make) and 12-18 month pants (he's a shorty). He's at least a solid 24lbs and is approx. 30'' tall. He has about 10 teeth (I think). He's been cutting one tooth after another lately (and I think a set of molars just came in) but he's not big on us looking at them, so I can only count them when his mouth is open for tickle time. It may be more, but I'm almost positive there are 10 (2 of which are molars). Lots of drool, a bit of fussiness, but overall he does great handling the teething pain (they never even wake him at night).

Speaking of nights, he sleeps from about 8-8:30pm until 7:30am. He plays in his crib for about 30 min. and we get him at 8am. This has been like clock work for about a month now, so I guess that's the schedule he's set for himself :)

Looking at the milestone chart, he's right on track. He has mastered turning pages of a book quite some time ago (books are his favorite activity), he has plenty of temper tantrums (some have involved hitting or head butting, which is rare but definitely something we're working on eliminating!) and he's recently become attached to a particular blanket he has (Aunt Michelle made it for him). So, as far as "mastered skill sets" I think he's met them all!

As far as "emerging" skills, yes Liam LOVES to climb. After enrolling him in gymnastics, he started climbing things the following week. So, it's been several weeks of climbing and we're even on to bigger and better things (he can now climb the couch/recliner without any assistance from the ottoman! So much for moving that away to keep him off the furniture!). He does stack blocks, but has much more fun knocking them over, so yes he has the ability to stack blocks, but not the patience! He can use both a spoon and a fork on his own (a bit messy, but he gets the job done) and he absolutely understands how to use common objects (like a telephone) correctly (and has for some time now). The phone and tv remotes continue to be his favorites, although alarm clocks are starting to run a close second!

And "advanced" skills... we long ago moved from two naps to one, so we're ahead of the game there. He has become VERY finicky about food (sometimes he refuses to eat any of the 15 things I've offered him!) so I am glad to see this is normal for some at this age. I'm pretty sure he is surviving off of grapes, milk and the occasional chicken nugget these days! Finally, he did once help daddy with getting him dressed, but so far he doesn't take off any articles of clothing other than his socks (exception--the video I posted months ago where his pants ended up on the floor after a nap and he INSISTED someone else did it). That is the only time he's ever undressed himself!

Other things he is doing: daddy taught him to catch a ball the other day, it's hit or miss but he sure enjoys the game of catch and throw (he's got a really good arm on him!). He enjoys kicking and bouncing a ball too! He LOVES music. He dances and does the movements to the songs in music class and will dance anytime he hears music (radio, commercial, weddings, etc). He continues to love "reading" we find him in his room regularly in a pile of books babbling as he flips the pages. He has started "coloring" in his color books, but still likes to "sample" crayons from time to time. And he LOVES to brush his teeth!

He still is and I think always will be a socialite! He loves people, attention and being the life of the party. He is my sweet boy, such an easy going temperament and happy little guy. I adore him and hope he'll always know just how special he is to me, his daddy and family. He consistently reminds me of what a blessing life is :)