16 Month Update

* He is continually more mobile. some parks have small enough play structures that he can play by himself - he can climb up and slide down. He is pretty sturdy even on uneven surfaces and stepping up/down changes in pavement level.

* He signs like a mad man. I think if he could only sign he could - he is limited by our ability, not his capacity. So far we have:
hi /bye (waving)
cat
dog
more (can also mean I am hungry)
poo (he does this just before/while..)
drink
milk
cow
elephant
thunder
rain
flower
airplane
bird
shoe
bath
help
fan
light
thank you

* "Help" is a favorite - whenever he wants to cross the street, go outside, have me open the garage (where his toy car and tricycle are), have something opened or is just generally too lazy to do something hard for him he signs "help." The street crossing bit is pretty amazing - still not sure how I got him that well trained! I think I have him confused into thinking he can't physically walk in the street and needs to be carried.

* He also says "truck" though only Steve and I would be able to identify it. Well you may be able to by context, but like lots of toddlers, he needs parental translation. He also has a noise for cheese and I think he is saying "house" now too. According to our pediatrician neighbor - his first real word is "fan" as indicated by his long-term use of "FFFF" when seeing one. She said any consistent noise/sound counts. Well he has down that for awhile so I guess that is that...

* His current favorite toys/activities are:

~ toy piano
~ little people Noah's Ark - opening and closing, putting the little animals in and out
~ magna doodle
~ old wallet with old insurance cards, business cards etc
~ small size rake
~ walking down the sidewalk to play with a neighbor's half dead cozy coupe (little car)
~ walking up and down neighbor's driveways (only the hilly ones)
~ playing under a big sheet
~ trying to ride on a mini-tricyle (no pedals) -he only goes backward
~ splashing at bath time - probably his favorite time of day

* Last but certainly not least, I finally am willing to type this, but he actually sleeps just fine now at night. He is down at about 8:30 up at like 6 for milk and then down again until about 8. Thank heaven...

* He gives us no trouble with eating either. He pretty much eats what we give him - some days more than others, but he never refuses to eat at all (like some of his friends) and has yet to develop the picky-streak (often occurs in slightly older toddlers).



I am super tired tonight, so I apologize for the many typos I am sure exist in this post. I wanted to get this posted on his actual "monthday" for once!