16 Months!

Beanie is 16 months today and thank goodness for blogging because at least I get to record her development here. Her baby book got left by the wayside at about 6 months!

This month has been all about understand her surroundings.

She is really smart and understands everything now which makes communication a LOT easier. I can ask her are you hungry/thirsty, go get her socks/shoes, put her hairbrush back where it belongs etc and she follows instructions perfectly. And she loves "helping" which is great!

She now has an understanding of daily activities - as in she knows that a  vacuum cleans the floor and how it moves (makes the motions), she recalls how I got her pacifier off the hedge when she chucked it there, she knows where the car is parked, or where to check the mail, etc

Funny story, the other day she picked something off the floor and handed it to me. I thought it was a "dirty", turns out it was a small bug! Eeek. I involuntarily screamed and grabbed a book of hers that was lying nearby and banged it on the poor bug. Luckily it did not die but got into the seams of the book so I rushed to the front door and dropped it outside.  When I came back and put the book back, Beanie picks it up, bangs the floor then runs to the door. So cute!  Even now about two weeks later if I ask her "what did Mommy do to the creature? (we call bugs "creatures"), she will find the book (the exact one I used) and bang the floor! :-)

Which brings me to the fact that she recalls things now from weeks earlier. Its really cool to see that and have her remember things.

She love the outdoors and we spend time outside every evening running around the front yard in the grass. We check the mail together and then she helps me water the grass and the flowers. She is really good and looks like a miniature fire fighter holding the hose.

She loves music too. A couple of weeks back we went shopping and while I was paying up my Mom took her outside. The shopping center has outdoor speakers that play music, so Beanie planted herself in front of one of the speakers and was swaying to the music. Many folks passing by where so amused. She did it for almost 10 minutes completely oblivious of people, just standing and swaying and moving to the music!

Her new words this month have been "house", "door" "eyes". She now knows all body parts and can even recognize colors, namely red, blue and green.

I think the best part is just the communication - between signing, shaking her head yes/no and pointing at things its very rare that I don't understand her. Today my Dad was over and he said she was trying to communicate something to him. I saw what she was doing -- she pointed outside and then touched the floor. I asked her "do you want to go on the grass?"...she grinned!


Oh and she does not like TV!

 I swear she understands everything. We were at her 15 mos visit and I asked her pediatrician about watching TV. She would watch some cartoons in the morning before school. She was never planting herself in front of the TV, but it was on in the background and I would point out a puppy or animal. The pediatrician said they do not recommend any TV before 2 years old since there are studies that say it causes the brain to develop differently.  I too had read that hence for the 14 months I never turned on the TV in her presence. But he said that if I was interacting with her and pointing things to her it was okay in very small doses. Anyway, the very next day when I switched on the TV, she promptly tuned it off and vehemently shook her head "No".  Since then she refuses to watch anything. Good for her!

She is getting her independence which means we are now having some situations of defiance so I am having to lay down some rules. There are meltdowns when things don't go her way or if she is not allowed to do something, but that its part of toddlerhood.

She can play games and understands "turns" as in its now your turn or Mommy's turn. She can stand on a  stool and wash her hands (they teach that in school) and can almost remove her shoes.

She is now using the spoon to eat her yogurt and applesauce and a fork to eat other things. She is not always successful but she tries. She can eat a banana holding it in her hand and crackers - under watchful supervision.

Sleep is still a hit/miss. I do get longer stretches but she wakes every couple of sleep cycles and has to be hushed back to sleep. Usually a "Beanie, go back to sleep" works. We are still co-sleeping and I have abandoned any idea of getting her to the crib. I think she will just go from my bed to her own bed when the  time comes.

Time is moving fast and she is growing. Today I was playng with her and cradled her in my arms like a baby....she was so big...I recall her fitting in the crook of my arm.

I love her laugh and adore her sweet head that I cannot help but kiss a 100 times a day!

Love you baby girl!