I’m offically starting to understand why people love the toddler stage so much! It’s so much fun watching their little brains growing as they learn new words and actions. Miss H has been enjoying experimenting with walking sideways and backwards, “dancing,” and her walking is getting so fast she is practically running! She is also learning to sing her ABC’s – she’s up to “A-B-C-D” right now. She also can identify her colors – pink, blue, yellow, green, white, black, purple, and red. Her favorite color is blue, so she regularly requests a blue diaper! It’s so cute (but sad when all of the blue diapers are dirty and we have to settle for yellow or green!). While she still wears us out quite a bit, we have a lot of fun with her while in the process of becoming exhausted!

This was one of our most fun photoshoots to date. Miss H actually sat still for multiple photos in front of the chair, and enjoyed posing for the camera and saying “cheese!”

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Our “state of the family” right now is this:

What we’ve learned: To be polite! Miss H knows if she wants something, she has to say and sign “please.” (Now any time I ask the question “What do you say?” she answers with “Please.” Too cute.) But it’s definitely a two way street! We’ve started making sure we say “please” when we want something from Miss H – like, when she has run away with my iPhone and doesn’t want to let it go, or when we want Miss H to stop playing so we can change her diaper. A little “please” goes a long way!

What we’re enjoying right now: Beyond all of her silly singing and talking, we’re enjoying the flexibility and freedom that this age allows for. Miss H is solidly on one nap a day (napping from around 12:30pm-2/2:30pm). Which means we have a full morning and most of the afternoon to fill with activities. She generally enjoys being in her stroller and we can easily fill a morning with a trip to the store, farmer’s market, park, etc. I can’t even explain how much better this is over having to rush home for a morning nap!

What our biggest struggles are: Figuring out ourselves more as a couple. Our world is centered on Miss H and making sure she is happy and healthy. I feel like so far we’ve done a pretty good job at this! But now it’s time to focus some on “us.” We’re trying to make more of an effort of scheduling some date nights and finding our place as both parents and a couple.

What has been Miss H’s most exciting milestone: 16 months I have no clue what qualifies as a “milestone” anymore! It has been pretty exciting hearing Miss H string more and more words together. She recently started figuring out possessives and saying things like “Dada’s shoes” and “Mama’s shirt.” She also started using her own (nick)name and talking about herself! It is so cute!

What we’re looking forward to: I know I can’t wait for Miss H to get more interested in arts and crafts projects! We have art supplies but she doesn’t have a big interest in coloring yet, finger painting is incredibly messy (she also loses interest in it quickly and/or licks the paint), and she has no interest in holding a paintbrush and using watercolors. I hope that by the fall/winter when the weather turns colder she will enjoy creating some art for us!