William at 16 Months

As of this morning, William now weighs 23lbs 15oz, has a head circumference of 18.75" and is 33" long.
 
Mentally William has made some big strides this month. He is now able to understand better and just recently has been able to follow more and more simple directions. Yesterday I threw a Frisbee and told Will to go get it and he did! After his nap I always give him a snack. And the moment I say "snack," he walks right over to the cabinet where we keep the snacks, and stands under it, expectantly. Or when I ask him if he wants food or wants to get out of his highchair, he will say the name of the food (if he knows the name, otherwise he just calls it "apple"), or he will say "up" and raise his arms. Yesterday Will was on Michael's back in our child carrier, and Michael said, "oh wow!" And William parroted him perfectly in a tiny voice, "oh wow!" LOL The other new phrase lately is "I did it!"

 He also says the 'B' sound for a variety of things, and it depends of context, what he means. For example, "baa" can mean: ball, blueberry, bath, or book. At least hes trying to make the right sounds, even if he doesn't exactly have the whole word down. He has been working on his physical skills so much lately, that verbal skills have taken a backseat. I am looking forward to him being able to communicate and understand more in the coming months. He does at least use 'mama' and 'dada' appropriately now! It makes my heart sing when he tugs on my shirt and says 'mama'! I bet I wont find that so cute a few months from now though ;)

Other new skills include handing things to me and saying "open." He wants me to open everything lately: phones, books, jars, lids of all kinds, etc. I have become a professional opener of sundry items. Any time he gets his hands on a tissue, he "blows" his nose into it. It makes me laugh so much! He will also bring me a book and say "ba" (book), which means he wants me to read to him. I am so glad that he loves to read, and often. Even if I get sick of reading the same things over and over. I guess that is just motivation to get more books!

He LOVES the water and baths and will excitedly say "bath" (sounds more like "baa") when I ask him if he wants one. Once hes in, he splashes and dives underwater, submerging his head repeatedly. Its a little unusual. So I have signed him up for swimming lessons to capitalize on his love of water. The other night, Michael asked him if he wanted to come back. Will misunderstood 'back' for 'bath' and excitedly ran to the baby gate that separates the front room from the hallway bathroom, and exclaimed 'ba!' 'ba!'. He was so sure he was getting a bath. Sadly he had already had one earlier in the day and he did not get a second one. Luckily he took the disappointment well. 

He doesn't always take disappointment well though. Unlike some kids, Will is not one to get angry about things. He has never hit or tried to bite me. Instead he just gets really sad and cries. This is true whether he hurts himself, is teething, or just doesn't get his way. Lately hes been doing this cute and somewhat dramatic thing, where he plops his butt down, burrows his face in his hands, and starts to cry. It is heartrendingly sad! Often a gentle word and maybe a cuddle or hug is all that is required to put his world back to right though. I wish some of our adult problems were so easily fixed :) Occasionally his tantrums are less cute however, and involve him throwing things. This drives me bananas and I grab his arm and tell him 'no' sternly, and I also say, 'we don't throw things!' Another similar trick is when Will pretends to be interested in whatever it is I am offering him, THEN throws it to the ground (usually this happens when he is already upset over something)! I would never offer it to him in the first place if he didn't reach for it! For such a cute boy he can be a little turd at times too lol!

Will's top canines and first year molars are emerging. They are HUGE and have been coming in for two months now. Poor Will, usually so sweet and calm, has been a whiny, snotty terror. The first points on both the canines and molars have finally poked through but the rest of the full teeth likely have weeks to go before they fully emerge. These teeth can not come in too soon! Hopefully by the end of the month they will be through the gum. Poor guy :\ I hope the worst of the pain is over for the moment though!After this he will have 16 teeth!

Will is also really into mimicry, especially when it comes to what older kids are doing. We go to a community center once or twice a week where there are a ton of fun toys and a mix of ages under 4. Any time he sees an older kid doing something, or playing with a certain toy, he feels like he has to do the same thing or play with the same toy, even if he is too small. Today some kids were running by, pushing these big toy cars you can ride in. Will can't run yet, but he got behind that toy car and sure tried! He also desperately wanted to get into the bouncy house that all of the big kids were jumping in, but I didn't want him to get hurt. He was devastated! Someone is in a hurry to grow up and play with the big boys :)

His favorite foods include grapes, mandarin oranges (I cut each section into small bites and he will eat a whole mandarin in like 5 minutes!), apples, blueberries, raisins, noodles, peas, squash (cooked and cut into small cubes), corn (sometimes), crackers of all kinds, rice, sausage, cheese, eggs and any bread. 

He is still my good little sleeper, and now sleeps in until 8:30 or 9am now, ever since we switched to one nap. The naps themselves have also gotten longer. I always put him down at 1pm and up until recently, he was waking up at around 2:30. For the past week or so though, he has been sleeping in until 4 (I wake him at 4 so that he will go to bed somewhat on time). I have noticed that very often when I go in there to wake him up, he is sleeping in the exact same position that Michael does every night: on his belly with one leg bent out. How cute that my two men sleep the same! There is also a cute new change to our bedtime routine as well. I always sing the same bedtime lullaby to Will each night. For the last few weeks, he will lay his head on my shoulder and "sing along." It melts my heart!




So all in all, things are going really well, and I am so blessed to able to enjoy the daily cuteness (as well as the tantrums and poop) of having a 16 month old, busy little man.


P.S. We went to visit Santa a few weeks ago and William was less than enthused this year, haha!