16 Months Old

Favorite Foods:   String cheese is really the only new addition to Liam's usual favorites.  He's slowly starting to increase the quantity of what he eats, but breastmilk is still his main source of nutrition.  He has recently discovered the sample ladies at Costco, and he will usually give those foods a try.  I seriously have no idea how he decides what he will and won't eat.

Breastfeeding:  He is starting to go much longer stretches during the day without nursing (especially if I don't offer it), and has every so slightly slowed down his nighttime nursing too.  I don't think he is anywhere near weaning himself, but it's nice to have him a little less reliant on it.  Conor put him to bed one night without him nursing, which was amazing!  And to be honest, I had no idea what to think about it...  I'm not ready for him to wean yet either.  So we will continue on!  :-)

New Words:  This little boy has such a huge vocabulary (that he actually uses on a regular basis)!  I'm not sure I can remember all of his new words, but some of our favorites are: turtle, beaver, lights, nose, eyes, baby, cheese (when smiling for the camera), book, snow, Nana, & Pops!  He's also understanding so much of what we say, so now Conor & I have to spell out some words when we're trying to make plans for the day and don't want to excite Liam to much (particularly bath & walk)!

Sleep:  He is just barely holding onto the 2nd nap; usually only a couple days a week can I squeak a second one out of him.  He has started sleeping some longer stretches (3 hours instead of 2...don't get too excited for me) and has even started the night in his crib a few times.  Co-sleeping is still working well for our family, and we'll keep it up until he is successfully sleeping for much longer stretches.  Long enough to make the effort of getting him down in his crib worth it!

Favorite Interests:  Books.  I hope this will always remain his number one interest!  I can already imagine the evenings that I will spend reading him Charlotte's Web & James and the Giant Peach aloud when he is much older.  He is starting to handle regular pages rather well (we've only had 1 big tear so far) and he is discovering new things in many of his books that he has read over & over.  Slides.  Liam can now climb up the stairs and go down the slide all by himself at the park (although he would still rather prefer I go with him)!  Animals.  He loves them in his books, in real life, the stuffed variety, and even the wooden ones from his Noah's Ark.  He learns new animals each day and has many of their sounds down.  Sometimes he mixes them up, or he gives an animal some random sound even if it doesn't have one.  His absolute favorite animal right now is the turtle, and he says it slowly and clearly with the cutest voice ever!  Kisses.  He has been giving these out left & right lately.  Sometimes just because, sometimes when he's scared, sometimes when he doesn't want to do something.  It's his way of saying, "everything is going to be okay."  Naked time.  Conor lets him run a muck all over the upstairs after bath time.   This crazy side to his personality really shines when he's in his birthday suit, and I just can't get enough of those soft baby butt cheeks!

His personality just continues to develop, and I enjoy each new day that I get to know him more.  He knows what he wants and is slightly stubborn like his mama.  He is extremely affectionate, which just warms my heart.  I will mourn the day that he decides he is too old to kiss him mama (or hopefully this day will never come)!  I am enjoying our little family of three more than ever right now.  Things are so great, we might really start to talk about adding another to the mix...

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