And so, the adventures continue...
Annie's completed her sixteenth month seeming so much bigger, communicative, independent, and personable than it seems possible. She keeps us on our toes, delighted, and quite reflective.
Social Skills: Annie is quite friendly, every where we go she wants to wave "hello" and "good-bye" at passerby's. She is quick to blow kisses and make silly faces. She likes hugging other little ones (sometimes with enough enthusiasm to bowl them over). She is quite social with her stuffed animals/dolls, and continues to include them in her daily activities. In the last few days, she's begun to offer them turns at seeing the outside world, holding them up to the windows to join in her delights (watching rain, cars, squirrels, trees, etc.).
Eating: She is grasping (literally) use of the fork and spoon much more adeptly, though often finds that her fingers are quicker. She wants to do everything like Mommy and Daddy--this weekend eating corn right off the cob (it is much tastier that way). Drinking from a glass (sans lid) is our new big challenge. Little sips work here and there, but the joy she finds in blowing bubbles often makes for quite a mess. She basically will eat just about anything now, depending on her mood, and--like us--has been enjoying the wider range of produce that summer has to offer.
Motor Skills: Her love of dance continues, and she continually amazes us with her rhythm as she often is exactly in time to the music. She loves walking and running, and is starting to attempt to jump, while her upper body is quite enthusiastic, her feet don't yet leave the ground. We generally have far less bruises/cuts/scrapes then we had earlier in the summer, while I would not call her graceful yet, she is much closer than she was before.
Language Skills: Annie's receptive language is amazing to us, and had challenged us to become better listeners as we are always having to spell things to each other. She continues to pick up new signs and uses them quite appropriately, and more of her babbling is beginning to sound like English. Her "mama" has always been quite clear, in the last few days "dada" has been regularly used (as she tells Daddy exactly where she wants him to be--in that chair, on that pillow, over there). Her "uh-oh" and "no" have very pronounced "o" sounds that make "no" a much cuter word than it should be. She loves saying "bye-bye" and "baby" (and to hear "Rock-a-bye" baby whenever she sees a picture of a baby). Both of us swore she said "trash" the other day, as she is forever being told to say "bye-bye" to the trash cans, it seems that word is stuck. Animal sounds often stand in for their names, and gestures/facial expressions fill-out her language to the point where most of the time we're pretty certain what she would like to be communicating.
In any given day, Annie spends a good amount of time playing outside--in our backyard, at one of the neighborhood parks--she loves playing in water, smelling flowers, still hugging trees, walking, walking, exploring. She loves when we see motorcycles and dogs, trains and planes, buses and bicyclists. She loves scribbling with crayons and pens, sorting and organizing toys and dishes.
Over the past few weeks, Annie has enjoyed visiting with some friends from out-of-town, playing outside a lot, trying out her baby pool, riding the light rail for the first time (she was QUITE wide-eyed the whole time!), taking in all the color/activity/smells at a nearby farmer's market, and discovering more and more about her world. We are in awe that summer is heading towards its end, and are looking forward to making the most of our time outside.
