16 Month Update!

So here is my long overdue Julia update. (Mostly, I just want to share the non-outtakes from our photo sessions yesterday.)

Basics: She's sleeping from about 8:00-7:00, and napping from around 12:30-2:00. Those are rough estimates because she goes through weeks where she seems to think 11 hours of sleep a day are plenty for a little baby, and other weeks where she sleeps great and it's 7:45 in the morning and I've showered and eaten breakfast and read the internet and I'm wondering if she's still alive in her bedroom. But, I've noticed she's MUCH better at rolling with slight changes in schedule; it's nice to not have to be so rigid any more.

The big news around here lately is the Taking Away of the Bottles. I just did this about a week ago. She drinks milk from a cup just fine so the change had to do with her bedtime ritual and her need for closeness and sucking as part of relaxing for bed. The first two days went great, then it was like she realized we were being serious, and she was pretty upset about the process for days 3-6 or so. She's mellowed out by now, and we seem to be over the hump. She's drinking a decent amount of dairy now, although I'd like to see her drinking a little more overall. And she's asking to nurse during the day, which was not rare, but unheard of, before. I'm letting her for the moment although I'm not sure how much longer I'm going to tolerate it. Crossing my fingers that she drops it on her own if I just don't make a big deal of it.

No attempts at potty training but she does sit on her toilet before her bath, and she's been on quite a streak lately - peeing in the toilet almost every time these past few weeks. We're not making a big deal about it but I'm happy she's at least aware of what the toilet is for and what it feels like to use it.

She's also gotten her bottom two eye teeth. I'm sure the top two are close behind but I'm happy to check another set off our list! Bring on those two-year molars so we can be done with this process!

Talking: She's slowly (slowwwly) adding words to her vocabulary. She'll say: Mum, Dada, Mama (her doll, Emma, not me), ham, alala (umbrella), duh-duh (duck), ba-ba (school bus or cookbook (??)), and buh-buh (bye bye). She's starting to imitate sounds better, and she'll make an attempt to repeat a word back to us now, even if she's usually pretty far off. ("Can you say 'apple,' Julia?" "Uh." "Good job! Apple!") But: She signs like a maniac and knows pretty much every animal sound ever. I totaled it up and she can use a combo of signs and sounds to tell us over 70 different words. It's not like I don't have the moments when I have NO IDEA what she's trying to tell me, but she can actually communicate pretty effectively with me now. 

Other development: She does all sorts of stuff now. She still can't run around a playground without me right next to her but she's getting much more adept at steps, slides, and other things like that. (I'm just waiting for the day when I can take her to the playground and sit on a bench and watch her play!)

Right now she likes:

• books and reading (LOVES this. it makes my heart so happy.)
• the doggie
• actually, all doggies
• actually, all animals
• pushing her dolls around in her stroller (but her blanket MUST be draped JUST SO over the handle)
• riding things and going for rides in the stroller
• being outside
• throwing things in the trash can
• snapping buckles

And dislikes:

• diaper changes
• strangers
• getting her teeth brushed
• when she doesn't get her way

And here are my favorite photos of her for the moment:

I know the color's off. Get over it and look at those eyes.

Conducting. Or doing the sign for "bunny."

I think we already saw this pic but I think it's just adorable.
Wish I had framed it better but she caught me off guard.

Baby, bunny, and blanket. What more could you ask for?

Want to just squish her.
(I need to find a better backdrop for these indoor photos. Or maybe I need a studio. Robert?)