Sweet Sixteen

Baby girl is sixteen months old, and she loves it! She is becoming more independent and able. She can get into the pantry...

open the box of Cheerios...

and enjoy! All by herself!

Of course, this means sometimes we end up with a bit of a mess...

She's also understanding what we say when we tell her she can do something after we do something else. Example: One night, she was asking for milk. We told her she could have some after her bath. Then she started asking for a bath. Good one, kid. We told her that Kyler had to finish cleaning up the kitchen first. The result:

Please, Dad, let me help you!

She's not really speaking words yet, but she is most definitely communicating. She has a sign language vocabulary of about 10 signs, and understands basically everything we ask of her. Calista also is starting to learn the parts of the body and can point to some of them when asked. Or she's try and poke your ears or nose, which isn't quite as good...
The two words she has really gotten down are "Daddy," which she's been doing a while now, and new this month, "ball."

Because the Babe loves to play with balls!

Ready for church on a Sunday.

Calista is getting pretty good at folding her arms at least at the start of the prayer. Now, keeping the folded, staying still and quiet... that she's still working on. Still, we're pleased she even tries. In fact, after a prayer is done, we often praise her for doing a good job and being a good girl. When Calista does something worth praising, Kyler often claps his hands. As a result, the Babe claps her hands at the end of every prayer. It's adorable... and a habit I want to break her of. Oh well.

At church, when she hears the organ start playing, she frantically reaches for a hymn book, even when, say, it's a choir number instead of congregational hymn. Ah, well. We let her hold the hymn book anyway, and she's happy.

We've been meaning to put her old carseat out in the garage, but she simply loves to crawl up in it and sit.

For my birthday, we made a fort in the front room, ordered Chinese take-out, and watched a movie. It was great.

And Calista loved the fort. I think she wishes there would always be pillows and blankets to climb all over in the front room.

We've posted about Calista liking the piano before, so all I'll say is it's still true.


She will actually stop and smile for the camera when I pull it out, which means I can get really cute pictures.

It also means if she's not in the mood to have her picture taken, she waves her arms, pushing away the camera and then turns and runs away.

She's starting to have her preferences.

Neurotic? My daughter? Only slightly. Calista gets very used to routine. She's decided that bibs are definitely a good thing, and so will go and get a bib when it's time to eat. And then, often, a second and third. She will insist that we put them all on her, and why not humor her? At least she's wearing a bib!

Also, whenever we leave the house, she needs to have her boots on, and tries to insist we put them on her even if she already has shoes on. Her hat is something else that she needs. We often bring a blanket into the car to help keep her warm until the car is heated up... she will grab it in the entry way and hand it to me to make sure I don't forget it. All of these things she does even if it's warm enough she doesn't need them, and again, we humor her. Why fight over wearing her warm hat to church or not? I'm picking my battles, and this isn't one of them.

A battle I do pick is Calista biting me. Sometimes Kyler, but mostly me. My sister says Calista is a little Sunny Baudelaire, which is cute... but not when she bites me and it hurts. She gets in trouble when she does.

Still the cook's helper, with honey and a measuring cup. Good thing the lid is tightly on and she can't get it off yet...

Sleep! Blessed sleep! I haven't mentioned earlier, but Calista is actually really easy to get to go down to sleep now! She nurses, I sing a song, I rock her for a minute (more because I want to than anything. I like cuddly sleepy baby!), I put her in her crib and pat her back a little bit (because she is totally a tummy sleeper), and I leave. She turns her head to see me walk out and shut the door, sometimes babbles a bit to herself, and then goes to sleep. Hallelujah!

Happy 16 months, Baby Girl! Do you have a book out for every month you've been alive? Or even more?