16 months old!

1 year, 4 months, 4 days old



Sleep: It has been perfect this month. The first week of this month was touch and go but, of course, another trip to the doctor showed an ear infection. I don't know why I don't take him in right away when he starts waking in the middle of the night because his ears are always the culprit. A round of antibiotics later and he's a new person. Now that he's healthy, he wakes about 7am and goes to bed at 6:30pm. He usually rolls around and talks to himself until 7pm so he's consistently sleeping 7 to 7 every day. Other than a few days of nap strikes, Barrett is still taking 2 naps a day on weekends. At school, he sleeps 11:45-1:30ish just once a day but on weekends he gets a morning nap from 10-11 and an afternoon nap from 2-3 on average. Some days he gets crazy and takes a 2 hour afternoon nap or like on last Sunday when he slept from 1:45-4:30 after an hour morning nap. He is a champion sleeper (except those first 6 months) which makes this mama incredibly thankful.



Food: Comparing to the sleep category, food would be a big fail. It's the one area that I would say is a struggle. Vegetables are not happening. Barrett picks around them and barely takes a bite. I've started getting the squeeze packs again because it's the only way to get some veggies in his diet. Fruit is a no brainer. He still eats whole packages of blackberries, raspberries or blueberries in one sitting. He'd probably also live off greek yogurt if we let him. He will usually eat most of what we give him but not after picking around and playing with it for a while. I don't make substitutions though so he eats or he doesn't. Favorites this month? Anything in sandwich form and anything sugary (which is inevitable based on who his parents are).



TMI alert but I should probably include it anyway. Bubs had a bit of a constipation issue this month, thanks to his refusal to eat veggies. Stool softener is our friend now but I still think he has a little post traumatic stress. Poor kid.



Size: 24 lbs, 4 oz is where he currently stands for weight. This is in the 68th percentile. He's also 31.5 inches tall which is exactly 50th%. He's gotta get growing so he can reach the ride height restrictions for Disney. It's been nice that his growing has slowed because he's been consistently in 18 month clothes for about 4 months and should be able to stay there for a while. He's in size 5 diapers as well and will be in them for quite a while.



The big thing this month has been reading and talking. I already posted on all of his words and I don't think we consistently have any new ones since. He does, however, have his animal sounds down. He says Moo, Ba, Oink, Ruff Ruff, Meow, Quack, Rawr as well as a noise for a horse. It's not Neigh, it's more like the sound a horse makes when it shakes it's lips. It's so funny to watch. I'm not sure which came first but in addition to this, Barrett loves all things farm animals. He is borderline obsessed with the book, "The Big Red Barn." We've read it every night this week and I caught him reading it by himself when I picked him up from daycare. I've also memorized "Moo, Ba, La La La" because we read it so much.



I haven't mentioned much update on daycare but Mister loves it. We pull into the parking lot and he gets so excited. He now must be a big kid and walk himself so when we get to the locked door, he watches me put the code in as he reaches for the handle. He then runs to see Gina and Toni in the office while I log him into the computer. "Hiiiii" is a constant from him until we get to his class. I really need to get it on video because the whole thing is a trip. He thinks he's the top dog. He doesn't even say goodbye to me anymore.



This past month brought a new treat for B at daycare, music class. He was too young in the fall so this was his first chance to join in. For an hour, every Thursday, a teacher comes to sing songs, play with instruments, teach about rhythm and beat, etc. The girls say that B is a big fan. We just got a cd of the songs that he's learned but we haven't gotten it out yet. Of course, the 12 week class costs extra but Buddy is such a music lover that it's worth it.



A funny development this month has been Barrett's attachment to the men in his life. He doesn't get to see Joe in the mornings (he's still sleeping when Joe leaves for work) so he is more partial to him in the evenings it seems. Also, he is very attached to Grandpa Bob, Uncle Eric, Uncle Andy and Joe's coworker/boyfriend, Jason. If we are in Pontiac at my parents and one of the boys leaves the room, it is not uncommon for him to have a meltdown. He does not like them to be out of his sight. He had a rather funny breakdown when we were out to dinner with friends last weekend and Eric got up to go to the bathroom.



Speaking of dinners out, restaurants have been touch and go this month. B is "mostly" fantastic in public. He just loves to be out with people so any chance is a great thing for him, but now he's not so okay with just sitting at a table. Unless he has everyones undivided attention, he gets bored easier and then wants to explore, not so conducive at most restaurants.



Lastly, and maybe my favorite, Buddy is very liberal with giving kisses. They are still the open mouth/tongue variety but he will give a kiss to anyone who asks. He also kisses every mirror that he see himself in. He's just gotten into real hugs. In the past, he would let you pick him up and hug him but it was mostly one-sided. He didn't really wrap his arms around and hug back. Well he does now. It's adorable.



1/3 of the way to TWO! He just gets better every day.