Our Journey: Caleb: 16 Months

So much has changed since I began this post 2 or 3 weeks ago. While I'm sorely tempted to update all the exciting new things Caleb has started doing in the mean time, I'll save it for the 17 month update. This is such a great age and I feel so blessed to be his mom! Happy belated 16 months little guy : )

The second year of life seems to be 1 part acquiring new skills and 2 parts fine-tuning them. While last month was a huge acquisition month, this month has been lots of practicing those fun new skills. I think I say this every month, but I love watching his personality unfold a little bit more each day. This time in his life seems to be full of big swings between wanting to be fully independent (thank you very much) and wanting the comfort and closeness of mommy and daddy.

Last month, Caleb learned to sign "all done". This month he also added "more" and waves "bye bye". So basically, he has 3 signs to communicate everything he wants (and doesn't want) in the world. No wonder the poor kid gets frustrated. In the high chair, these new signs are great. They've really made feeding time a lot less challenging. When he tries to apply them to other situations however, things get a bit more interesting.

As near as I can figure, "all done" roughly translated means "Stop doing that mommy!". As in, "Stop wiping my nose, changing my diaper, brushing my teeth, etc."

"More" roughly translated means "Do what I want." AS in, "Open that door, take me outside, pick me up again, give me back to daddy, etc."

So far, no creative uses for bye-bye : )

He also has a few more words. Earlier this month, he started picking up random objects (blocks, dirty socks, cheerios, etc.), holding them to his ear and saying "Eh-Ya!" (Hello!) very enthusiastically. Now he's even refined it to, "Ay-Yo". I don't talk on the phone very often so it cracks me up. He is obsessed with our phones though, so maybe he's just paying extra close attention during those times. Our babysitter also taught him "Uh-oh", which he says often, and always very solemnly. We are trying to teach him the difference between "uh-oh" and "on purpose", not that I expect much success in that department at this point in his life!

Here are some of my favorite photos from October:

A Special Visit from Papa and Nana

Reading with Nana