16 Months Old

Dear Hailey,

You are 16 months old!  You are as sweet and silly as ever, and your daddy and I just can't get enough of you.  You are growing like crazy and getting smarter by the day.  Here are the fun things you did this month!

New words you say are:

• Mama :)
• Cheese ("Cheesh") - You like to find my camera (or my phone or daddys phone) and hold it up like you're taking a picture and say "CHEEESH!" 
• You love to lift up your shirt and say "Booh!?"  We assume this means belly/belly button.
• Shoes ("Shoosh") - I love when you bring my shoes to me and try to put them on my feet.
• Hot ("Hah") - Every morning you carefully place your hand on my coffee cup and say "Hah!"
• Many new things about this world must amaze you these days because you frequently say "Wow!!!"
• Instead of the ever-popular response to all my questions with "no" a couple months ago, now you respond to every question with "yeah!"  It goes a little something like this:

• You love to walk around doing the sign for "all done" while saying "No Mah" (no more)
• You also started saying "Up" and "Down" this month

Other fun facts about our little blondie at 16 months:

• You LOVE the book "The Wheels on the Bus".  Your favorite part is when the parents on the bus go "Shh! Shh! Shh!"

• You can find your head, hair, belly, belly button, ears, teeth, hands, and nose.  On a good day you can find your eyes and your toes, too!  Here you are showing mommy where her teeth are:
• You are starting to point out things in books when mommy or daddy asks you to find them.  You are the best at pointing out the birdies, cats, dogs, cows, pigs, and ducks.  Sometimes you find the trees and flowers, too. 
• You can make the animal sounds for a cow, sheep, horse, and cat
• You are {usually} very well behaved in restaurants and out in stores.
• You are so curious about the world around you and can't wait to touch every single thing you see.  You are bold and independant, that is for sure!  Last month you may have walked past Bucky's food dish, looking down at it like "hmmmm I probably shouldn't touch that".... but now you just crouch on down without hestitation and put handfuls of his food straight into his water dish.  Mommy does not like this very much, young lady! 
• Speaking of doing what you want, your strong will has certainly emerged this month.  You just love to throw tantrums when mommy takes away things you shouldn't be playing with or when its time to get out of the bath.  So dramatic!
• You LOVE to play on the couch! 
• When you decide you are finished with a meal, you rip off your bib and say "No Mah!"
• You love to imitate everything you see mommy and daddy do.  You are also a very good listener and {most of the time..} respond promptly and correctly to the things we ask you to do.  This would be an excellent trait for you to carry on into the coming months!

New Foods.  Oy.

• Little Missey, you make mommy and daddy's life so difficult at meal time!  You absolutely hate trying new foods!  Here I was thinking you were getting bored of the same 'ol same 'ol, but when I try to offer new and different things, you won't even touch them!  It is frustraing to say the least.  I even tried putting cheese on some broccoli and cauliflower and you still wouldn't touch it.  The only new food you have taken to is fresh mango.  And that was after a 20 minute-long battle of sippy-cup-throwing-bib-tossing-raspberry-blowing refusal to do anything with it but squish the pieces onto your tray.  Finally I put it in some yogurt and you scarfed it down.  Guess we'll continue sticking to your favorites:  oatmeal, bread, fruit, yogurt, cheese, applesauce, PBJ, peas, pasta, black beans.  Bor-ing!  However I did get a little clever and made you some carrot/zucchini muffins that you just love.  HaHA!  Mommy wins.

You have gone lots of fun places and done lots of fun things this past month.  We have had some beautiful fall weather! 

• A day at the Augusta wineries with mom & dad.  You were such a good girl, as usual, just eating your snacks and taking in the sights!

 
• Took your first trip to Laurie's Shoes to get your first pair of big girl tennis shoes

 
• You helped Grandma Peggy celebrate her 59th birthday.  You drew her such a pretty picture!

 
• You and I took a trip to Jefferson City to visit your Aunt Melissa and cousins Keaton and Collin

 
• Fingerpainted with your BFF Kenzie



MESS.

• You helped your Grandma Marge celebrate her 65th Birthday!

 
• You helped mommy and daddy celebrate their 3rd wedding anniversary with another trip to the wineries.  This time we went to Hermann, MO.  We also went to a fall gathering at your daddy's Uncle Cliff's house that day.  You rode your first horse!

 




 

 
• You helped mommy do lots of cooking and baking.  You love to look and see what's cookin'!

• On a random warm day last week, you and Kenzie played at Suson Park.  You love to show people your belly!




 
• Here is a cute video from later that day.  You have totally mastered climbing up and sliding down all by yourself!

 

•  The Cardinals made it to the NLDS!  You love wearing your Cardinals hat!

• 

 

 
• I know this sounds silly, but Mondays are one of my very favorite days to spend with you.  We run all our errands, do our weekly grocery shopping, and sometimes even go out to lunch.  You love to ride in the shopping cart and hold things for me.  I love when you reach out to give me big hugs while we walk around.

 

 
 
• Your daddy has a wonderful job that allows him to work from home sometimes.  So we are lucky to be able to enjoy some beautiful weekday afternoons in our backyard playing as a family.













 
• And last, but not least, on the day you turned 16 months, your Great Grandma Helen turned 94 years old!  She was so excited to see you at the nursing home and loved the pretty picture you drew!  You loved sitting on her lap pulling all the tissues out of her tissue box :) 
• 

Until next month!

 

Love you always,

Mommy