Ruby Red Slippers: 16 Months

16 Months Old: 12/19/13

This monthly update is two weeks and one day belated.
And if you know me at all, you know that this fact practically has me in the corner breathing slowly in-and-out into a paper bag.

I like things in order, and I like things done on time.
{Said the girl who will not peek ahead nor turn the page in a magazine until every word on that page has been read.}

It even drives me crazy that the pictures in this post seem "outdated" because your hair is presently about 2 inches longer than it was one month ago.

Needless to say, Mama's been busy.

But last month's post couldn't be skipped.
We had some big happenings.

Someone took her first STEPS.
On November 30, 2013 to be exact.
At 15 months old.

Yes. Your first steps were taken *ahem* over a month ago, and I'm just now blogging about it.

*Don't deny the fact that you are incredibly jealous of my mommy going-for-a-walk gear. Woof.*

Your dad witnessed the first couple of solo steps taken.
Of course when I rushed into the room, you refused to try it again.
But then you did it for Miss Diana at daycare several times.
But still not for me.
Until finally, I caught you. When you didn't know I was looking, of course.
I've learned to be sneaky to catch you in the act of...anything.

You were so cautious at first, needing lots of praise to boost your confidence.
Now, you are all over the place.
And we're still not used to it.

I lose track of you at least twice a day.

But it's so amazing to see how far you've come!
I was fully prepared to have a "toddler" who didn't yet toddle until a good 18 months.
That was the "cut-off" given to us by the physical therapist, and anything after that would signify a potential developmental delay.
But after working with you and giving you lots of praise to boost your confidence, you finally did it.

And although you may take dozens of tumbles a day, you are now *proudly* walking.
Everywhere.
And it's SO MUCH FUN.

Some other notable happenings in month 16...

You LOVE pointing to and naming body parts. But you particularly find delight in your belly button. And actually, you don't discriminate. You love all belly buttons and can be found pulling up people's shirts to look for their belly button. You still get a kick out of your "tooooes" and have added "nose" and "ear" to your body part vernacular. And although you don't even try to say the word, you point to your mouth and start making "blub-blub-blub" sounds with your finger and lips to signify "mouth". Oh, and lately, you've been quite interested and have began pointing to your private parts asking me "thiiis???" You're a curious little bean.

You are in, what I like to call, the little engineer phase. You like to observe, be explained how things work, and then imitate what you've seen. Any toys that make noise or music, you try to find out where the sound is coming from. And your favorite activities include stacking blocks, attempting to work on puzzles, and putting your wooden rings on their pole. And you already show signs of liking to organize - A daughter after her mother's heart *pitter-pat*! You feel like such a big girl with your special drawer in our kitchen and Gigi's kitchen, and you organize your "dishes" for hours.

I got nervous for a minute this month because you went through a short-lived phase of refusing to wear a bow. You would take it out the moment I put it in. But more than anything, you just liked hiding your bows, finding them, and trying to put them back in your hair. One day, you actually amazed me with your cognitive understanding. You had lost one of your bows, and I could not find it for the life of me. So, I just asked you Lyla, where is your hair bow? while pointing to the bow on your head. And you led me right to it - bent down, looked under the coffee table and pointed.

A few loves this month: playing with toys that makes noise (like your new Russian stuffed animals from Uncle Jeff or your baby doll that giggles), peanut butter toast, being tickled, giving high-fives, going to your room to read books, sneaking food to the dogs, playing with older kids, pushing your baby on your car, and reading Modern Reformation (a bi-monthly magazine dealing with theology) issues at Gigi's - not kidding, you're obsessed.

One of my favorite things *ever* is your sweet little voice. It's so fun to hear you talk. Lately, when you don't know the name of an object, you simply call it a dog. Seriously. We hear it all day long. But in addition to dog and your other favorite words, you have added a few more to your vocabulary. My favorites are when you're trying to describe the temperature. You say hottt while sitting next to the fireplace, when you hear the tea kettle whistle, when we're drinking coffee, or when we blow on your food. And you say brr when we go outside and it's chilly. You also started saying no (especially to Samson), Lyla (pronounced Yah-Yah), toast, apple, ear, pillow, Jesus, uh-oh spaghetti-o (I kid you not. But your version is pronounced uh-oh puh-dedd-io), and hoo-hoo (for owl). You have these little owl pj's, and you always start hooting like an owl when you wear them - adorable.