Julianna - 16 month Update

Julianna is 16 months.
At the risk of sounding cliche' - Where does the time go? It goes by like a freight train!

Here are some milestones & happenings from the past month.
 

Julianna is in the 90th percentile for her height at  her 15 month checkup.
Julianna is wearing 18 month clothes comfortably. I haven't purchased any 24 month clothes yet (except her winter coat) because I want to see how far I can get with these 18 month clothes. This is the hard part- that in between size. (Why can't they make 21 month clothes??!?!)
 Julianna is in size 4 diapers still... maybe size 5 soon. She's kind of skinny... so they fit fine still.

Words she says: Mama, Dada (Daddeee), ut oh, Hi, Oh sheee (Hmmm, we think she is saying sh*t ; I can't imagine where she got that from?! LOL), and a whole lot of other babble words that I have no clue what she is saying, yet she clearly is speaking full sentences! haha!

Getting smart. Julianna imitates everything we do. Everything.
She took my keys, went over to the door the other night and pretended to unlock the door. She takes her nail clipper when I am changing her diaper and pretends she is clipping her toenails and finger nails. She takes her comb & brush, and pretends to brush her hair. She helps us take off her clothes and button her jeans. I sneezed the other day and she imitated the noise I made. Too cute. It was then that we realized she watches our every move. No more giving the finger to the Boston Redsox on TV while she's in the room I guess. LOL.

Food and eating:
Julianna just started using a fork (kind of) with her food. We have to hold her hand to help her with the fork but she loves to use it.
She also just started eating yogurt. She wasn't crazy about it for a while, and now she loves it. She eats it daily. Yo-baby rocks.
Julianna loves fruit. All kinds. Our {awesome} daycare provider Cathy says that Julianna eats more fruit than the other 2 kids combined!
She also just started snacking on whole grain Ritz crackers and whole wheat goldfish- lovvves them. I question how much whole grain is actually in those snacks... but it makes me feel better if it says it on the package at least.
Squeeze Fruit - She loves them. What a great invention. Squeezable applesauce. Genius. Why didn't I think of that? I could have quit my day job by now!

Julianna claps, waves bye-bye, points & squeals with delight over everything. I love her hysterical laugh! She is a pretty happy kid. Most days. She does have her days where she turns into the "Beast from the East". The beast surfaces out of nowhere and usually doesn't go back underground for a few hours or so. We just have to 'wait it out'. We knew those days were coming ...and expected it. It's now here. She's a toddler. We are dealing with it.
I try to tell myself as she is kicking, screaming {horribly loud} and waving her arms, that it's only temporary - and my sweet little girl is under that sinister facade somewhere. She is that sweet girl 95% of the time. The other 5% - look out! All  you moms know what I mean! She has just learned to do that annoying whiny cry - the "I want something" Or "attention" cry. Ugh. I hope this phase passes soon. Then again, if this is my biggest complaint in life, then I think I am doing OK.

Julianna is a late walker... but the pediatrician says she is doing great and not concerned. She finally took her first lone steps this month (video here). She still prefers to crawl as her way to get around- but she is walking more and more. She makes it across the room now - she's wobbly but it still counts! Good girl my Julianna!

As I wrap this up, I am thinking about tonight before Julianna went to bed. She had a fun bubble bath and was so cute and perfect. She played with her bath toys and giggled. I look at her precious face and I think how much love I have for this girl. I hear about horrible stories of moms who put their kids in harms way, neglect them or worse things. I can not imagine ever doing that to my child. Brian and I will always make sure Julianna has a happy, joyful & healthy household to grow up in. Being Julianna's mommy is a privilege and an honor. I wish all moms in the world looked at it the same way.

This picture is from the beach this summer