Happy Sweet 16!. . . Months That Is

Well, my sweet little Tater Tot. . . another month has come and gone and you are already sixteen months old today!  You continue to change and grow every day.  Your personality continues to be huge and brings life, laughter, and smiles, wherever you go!

What can I say Taylor, you are an absolute (but precious) mess!  You keep Daddy and me on our toes every day!  The one word that best describes you right now is "busy."  It's like you have a motor in you that never stops.  Like the Energizer Bunny, you keep going and going and going. . .

My favorite thing you are doing right now is your signature "big smile."  Whenever we say, "Show us your big smile Taylor," you close your eyes, scrunch up your nose, smile as big as you can, while poking out your bottom teeth.  It is hilarious and no matter how many times you do it, I never get tired of it!

 When Daddy and I are at work, you spend the day with Mrs. Joanna and four other little girls.  You are already a huge flirt and a ladies man.  You love all of your friends at Mrs. Joanna's house, but your favorite is Caroline.  Mrs. Joanna told me she caught you leaning over and kissing her the other day.  You're a little young to start doing that buddy, right now, you save those kisses for your Mama!

Your vocabulary continues to grow all of the time.  You are saying so many new words right now, that I can't even list them all!  Here are a few of my favories: "I love you" (it tugs at my heart strings every time you say it to me), "Bible," "night night," "apple," "moon," "tree," and "bird."  Daddy has got you saying "Alright Dude" and "Hey Dude," which I must say is pretty cute.  On Friday, you said your newest word and it made my heart melt when you did.  On our way to Mrs. Joanna's house, we were saying our morning prayer and when I said "amen" at the end, you said it right back. 

On the subject of prayer, I think your Daddy and I have confused you a little bit.  When we pray for the food each day, we always tell you to close your eyes, but when we say that, you see us bow our heads before we close our eyes.  So, now when we say "It's time to pray Taylor.  Close your eyes."  You bow your head instead. . . which is incredibly cute.

You still love music and have started to "sing" along.  In the car, you have a Baby Einstein's book that plays classical music.  You love the button that plays "Flight of the Bumble Bee."  When it comes on, you put on your "big smile," shake your head back and forth and start shaking your body.  You also feel it necessary to have your own song book at church when we start to sing.  If you don't have one, you make it a point to let us (and every one else in the auditorium) know that you need one. 

Right now, you love to watch Sesame Street and Curious George.  You are also a big fan of all of the i-pod commercials that come on t.v (especially the one with Cake).  Whenever they come on, you stop whatever you are doing and start dancing.  You still love books and Daddy and I took you to meet Mo Willems.  We had a lot of fun listening to him read Knuffle Bunny Free and getting your books signed.

You still love cars and trucks and anything else that has wheels and a steering wheel.  One of the newest things you love to do is "drive with Daddy."  Sometimes, when we get to the top of the neighborhood, Daddy will let you "drive" home.  You like to have one arm on the wheel, while the other one (and your head) hang out of the window.  What can I say, you are a mess!

Your best friend is (and I'm sure will continue to be) Bruiser.  You love to climb, push, play, and jump on him.  When it's time for him to go outside, you think that you need to be right there with him.  You always make it a point to say "Bye-bye Boo" before we go anywhere and tell him "Nite nite" before going to bed.

You are on a definite night time routine and get excited when I tell you it's time for your chocolate milk.  You run into the kitchen and plop yourself down on the floor, so you can watch me get out the milk and the chocolate mix.  While I'm stirring it up, you start to laugh and shake your torso.  Then I say "Okay Tay, it's time to snuggle."  So, you hop up, run into the living room, climb on the couch, and wait for me to bring you your milk.  We snuggle under the big blanket while you drink your milk and then it's off to bed.

While we love your cute personality, you have started to show your temper a little more too.  Sometimes you become frustrated when you don't get something you want, even after saying "puh, puh, puh" over and over again and giving us your cutest smile.  Other times, you get upset when you can't get a toy to work just right.  When these things happen, you usually cry or throw yourself backwards for a few seconds. . . long enough to realize that you aren't getting any attention for it.  So, your newest thing is to either throw something at us (or Bruiser) or come over and try to hit us.  Which is how you have come to know about a little place we like to call "time out."  We put you next to the big chair and have you face the wall.  It's not for very long, but it's long enough for you to know that you are in trouble.  You usually start off crying, then switch to a pout, and then calm down.  You always come out giving hugs and kisses and we make sure you know that we love you.

I can't wait to see what this next month will bring!  Happy 16 months my little pumpkin!  I love you more than you will ever know!