Little Bibi: 16 months (Actually 18)

Edits in blue, for timeliness. Haha. That's what happens when I go back to a draft that never gets published and half of life has changed. Hilarious.  

Hi Monkey!

You are growing so fast and learning more every day. You are such a delight. 95% delightful.

Making a mess, per usual.

Every day your bapa and I talk in disbelief at how much you've grown. You crack us up all the time.

This sums up any outing we have. Random objects become obstacle courses.

Some of your favorite things right now:

Your bedtime. Did you hear the angels singing? You have a bedtime, and it is glorious, and beautiful, and it has added years (ok, at least a few weeks) back to my life. After a few decent months of a sleep routine, you suddenly became much more aware of your surroundings and would wail after we put your in your crib. This was around your 11 month mark. Instead of maintaining consistency, we regressed back into some nasty habits--letting you stay up too late, putting you in our bed to fall asleep, moving you to your crib, then putting you back in our bed when you inevitably woke up at 2, 3, or 4 am. It wasn't pretty. Finally, bapa and I said, "Enough is enough." It was back to cry-it-out 2.0. I have to tell you, bibi, your bapa is a trooper. He listened tuned out your crying while I left the house. It took about 4 days before you fell asleep without a fight. FOUR! You were ready for a routine. I think we are all better for it. When I see you reaching for your crib after your bedtime stories (All Things Bright and Beautiful, Olivia, and Goodnight Moon), I want to cry tears of joy. Maybe I have. This is a hilarious paragraph because probably 2 days after I wrote this you tried to climb out of your crib and I aged 15 years. I'm sorry, but you're gonna stay in your crib forever. Or at least until I am mentally and emotionally prepared for the toddler bed, which will be never, so I guess forever it is. Sorry, boo.

Ugh kill me.

Your Lola and Gocki. I also love your Lola and Gocki. They continue to be my lifeline. It is so much fun to watch them with you because they adore you. I'll say it a million times--they wouldn't notice if I was on fire if you are in the room. Hopefully you'll make up for any shortcomings I had/have as a daughter.

Just a tad loved.

Throwing things on the ground and saying, "uh-oh."

Acorns. Rubber ducks. Legos. Crayons. Flowers ("wawas"). Bubbles. Your baby dolls. Throwing tantrums. Double fisting any objects--sharpies, pencils, cheerios.

Not really sure why this is happening.

I am starting to love children's areas at free events.

The Wiggles. You love dancing! Maybe I'll put you in dance class. Dance Moms, here I come!

You love Frozen (aka "Anna"). Although the songs NEVER leave my head, your father and I have started talking about the characters as if they are real life people ("Don't you think Elsa would really benefit from therapy?"), I'm grateful for the distraction it provides if only for 8 minutes.

Your favorite babysitter

You are starting to "read" books and it's precious and gives me endless hope! You love your tiny Mickey Mouse and Friends books. You actually love most books and recently began preferring certain books over others during bedtime. 

Healthy eating, part 1

You still love to eat. I'm grateful you aren't a picky eater (yet). You're starting to become a picky eater. You love noodles ("oo-da"), rolls, yogurt, rice and beans from La Guadalupana, avocados, cookies, and pretty much anything starchy. You still enjoy the jarred vegetables, which makes me happy because at least I'm feeding you something healthy.

Healthy eating, part II

Your language skills are developing rapidly. Some of the many words you say on a regular basis: eyes, nose, teeth, ears, duck, dog, meow (pronounced "mao"), eat, milk, bottle, Michael, yes, no ("oh no"), bubble, Anna, baby (bibi), cow, water.

Millie pie, you are super crazy but I love you.

FYI, your mom dominated the Easter egg hunt this year, but next time it's all you!

xoxo,
Mommy