16 months: when irish eyes are smiling

Celia Rose is 16 months old today. Here are her stats: 19 lb 8 oz lightweight (we're still waiting to turn her car seat around!); still wearing size 12 and (mostly) 18 month clothes, size 4 shoes.

Pita's sleep at night has become a little erratic in the past week. She's been waking up more often and doesn't go back to sleep easily. Hopefully it will be a short phase because I've had a couple of rough nights! The best ones are when I'm up early, exhausted, and getting ready for work as usual while Pita sleeps in nice and late after her 2-3:00 am awake time... Naps are still twice a day at home, but they've pushed her to one nap at daycare. I think we're seeing a pattern in which Celia sleeps poorly at night on days when she's only had one nap- overtired, maybe? We have to address this.

Tiny Pepita continues to be a sweet, happy girl with a great temperament. She does have her typical toddler moments, of course. She also has a fabulous sense of humor, which is funny to see in such a small person.

Developmental Updates:

Language- Vocabulary continues to grow. Celia understands everything. There's no putting anything past her. We've been spelling certain words for a while now, but the other night I quizzed her and she actually knows some of what we're spelling! In addition to the vocabulary growth, Pita is also using 2-word phrases more frequently. A few of her most recent were "Mama down" (wanting me to come downstairs), "Dada home", "Matt, where?" and my all time favorite (a comment made during dinner last night) "Delicious, no". She doesn't always appreciate my cooking...

Cognitive/Play- Celia's pretend play has become more advanced. She uses items for a wide variety of things, and performs pretend play with multiple steps (e.g. holding her baby, then changing the baby, giving it a bottle, putting it to sleep). She is very into playing with her doll now. Oh, and also very interested in playing with the cats. And giving them bottles. And playing "I'm gonna get you" (which she does by yelling "Get you! Get you!", then running at the poor creatures with ear piercing squeals of delight). Our cats are not having the peaceful, relaxed lifestyle we had hoped for in their old age...

Motor Skills- Celia is getting better at running and climbing. She throws and kicks a ball (sometimes successfully). She's more aware of what's around her on the floor when she's walking, and is able to step over things rather than plow into them. She can pick up tiny objects (a hair, a crumb from the floor). She's getting better at bringing eating utensils to her mouth, and this week she started using a fork to pick up pieces of food all by herself.

Pita continues to be more and more fun. She has such spark, intelligence, and personality and we're so proud of her. A stranger she flirted with the other day said that she smiles with her eyes. I thought that was the nicest thing.

And we're on to month 17. Wow! She is going to be a two-year-old before we know it.