16 months

It seriously amazes me how much Emily has learned this month. She probably knows at least 40-50 word uses them consistently. She is still itty bitty. She was not feeling good last week so I took her in for a check up and she gained almost a pound (20 lbs. 15 oz) in a month, so that is good. Here is what else she is up to

In the last month she has:
*Learned all the parts of her body (eyes, nose, ears, mouth, tongue, fingers, toes, hair, knees and elbows) and will point them out if you ask.
*Started learning animals and their sounds. She can mimic a dog, cat, cow, chicken and elephant (this one is her favorite and she has hand motions to it)
*She finally will refer to Bodhi by his name and not call him Abby. She also talks about Kiki constantly
*New words this month are -thank you, apple (can also sign), banana (bana), Papa, Bodhi, Lamby (mammy), Auntie, blanket (banket), bubble, mine (my), outside (ou-si), book (can also sign), cheerio (more like shherio and she can sign it), shoes, milk, pig, hot-dog (Mickey Mouse) and Elmo. Her vocabulary seriously is amazing. I know she knows more but I keep forgetting to write them down.
*She consistently signs more, milk, please, apple, cheerio, dog, eat, water, book and all done.
*She calls Zig and I Daddy and Mommy consistently. If she sees a picture of her self, she says baby.
*Speaking of babies. She loves them. Doll and real life. She likes to push her dolls in a stroller and she will rock them and give them kisses.
*She calls the grandpas Papa and my mom Nonnie. We are working on Grandma.
*She runs everywhere and has started tippy toeing.
*She has a stool that she uses to get on the couch, and she can lift and move it to where ever she wants to climb.
*She laughs constantly about silly little things.
*She holds hands with her friends at school.
*She is really starting to love reading books, especially before bed.
*She gives kisses and hugs.
*She is still rear facing and we are sticking to it as long as possible. I was really excited this month when the AAP released a press release updating their recommendation of rear facing for a year and bumping it up to 2. Again, it's not a milestone I am rushing and Emily seems just fine rear facing.
*Says cheese and will give you a big cheesy toothy grin.
*She likes to help get ready in the morning by helping put on her socks and shoes and brushing her hair.
*My favorite, if we tell her shhh, she will put her finger to her mouth and shhh us back. She also tries to blow the bubbles by herself and has a toy pinwheel that she will try and blow on too.

The biggest thing we worked on this week was breaking the pacifier. She was never "dependant" on it and hasn't napped with one at school for at least the last 5 or months. She really only used it at bed or nap time at home and if she was not feeling well. The first night she whined and cried for about 20 mins off and on and we checked on her every 10 mins. The second night, it was more like 15, and then we dropped to 5. Now she is totally fine. It's weird because she seemed to have a harder time with the naps than bed time. We started last Thursday night and tonight she talked to her self for a little bit before falling asleep but she never cried. Woot! It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be.

I love this little girl more and more each day and I never even thought that could be possible. I am just so proud of the little lady she is becoming. She truly warms my heart!

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