16 months: The sweet spot and a long overdue update

It’s been a long time since I’ve recorded an update on Beck and all the new and funny things he’s doing. He’s just over 16 months and is turning into a little boy. He’s not yet walking but stands on his own and walks if we hold his hands. I think he still has awhile before he’s there but we’ll see. He says lots of words and seems to be adding to his vocabulary each day.

Beck and I have found ourselves in a sweet spot of one nap, mornings that start around 7:30-8:00 and much more flexibility. I’ve been longing for the days of one nap and it’s all I hoped it would be. No more stressing about getting in all the naps so he’s not up screaming 2-4 times a night and then up between 5:30-6:30am. I know better than to think there will never be sleep issues again but I’m enjoying this time. We go on adventures together, hit up play group, stay out late and hang out with friends without the unpleasant consequences of restless cranky short sleep. Yay!

Here are some things about Beck – his loves, mad skills and funny things that make him…him.

• Although all of these words are not yet crystal clear, many of them are and I’m counting them if I know what he’s saying. :) Beck’s Vocabulary: Mama, Daddy (emphasis on the last syllable), off, water, cracker, waffle, dog, truck, car, duck, donkey, cat, hi, yeah, bye, eyes, ow, uh oh, beep, hair, ball, shoe, fish, ice, keys.
• If requested he can point to his head (he’ll respond to “head” or “noggin”), his belly button, eyes, hair, toes.
• It’s all about daddy. If he sees anything that belongs to Stephen he excitedly yells “Daddy, Daddy!”. I’ve never counted but my guess he says it more that 20 times a day while Stephen’s gone.
• He. loves. dogs. I’ve said never a number of times, but I’m starting to think I’ll have to cave on a dog someday. Multiple times a day he requests that I sit him in his rocker so he can look out the window and hug his two (stuffed) dogs. (See above pictures. I swear those clothes actually fit.)
• He loves our bed…and stairs. He’s recently learned to climb up and down and I will often find him in our room burrowing himself in our pillows.
• He loves to crawl into empty rooms, shut the door and play by himself…sometimes a dark room…sometimes the bathroom which locks from the inside. Luckily it’s easy to break into.
• He loves books. He spends a good portion of the day looking through his pile of books in his room. He has started bringing me some of his favorites to read at random times during the day. We usually read 2-4 times a day and he usually wants me to read one book 3 times or more. I’ve had to set a 3 time limit otherwise I start to go a little crazy.
• He loves trucks. A truck is really anything bigger than a car – vans, buses, trains. Well, really cars are sometimes trucks as well.
• He loves to sit by the kitchen sink and play with the water – turning it on and off, flipping the switch for the disposal, etc.
• He’s a gentle giant – my mom calls him Ferdinand. He rarely protests when another child takes his toys. He’s often content playing on his own. It will be interesting to see how or if this changes with age but for now he seems to be pretty mellow and independent socially.
• He likes to gather little treasures from around the house. I’m not really sure why we have any toys. Treasures might include one of my earrings, a jump drive, a quarter, the battery cover from a remote, the toilet paper roll holder, Stephen’s camera, if he can get his hands on it, Stephen’s wallet, watch, phone – really anything that makes him feel more like his dad.
• He loves to find clothes or my scarves, drape them over his shoulders and crawl around the house.
• His favorite foods right now are TLC crackers, omelets, oranges, apples, yogurt parfaits with plain Greek yogurt, frozen berries and granola, Chipotle and really anything else spicy - and waffles. He knows where I keep the waffle maker and will go open the cupboard and say “Waff, Waff?”.

Ok, that’s probably more than enough for now. I just feel like so much is passing by that I’m not recording so I’ll try to add to this more often.