16 Months

Our toddler is 16 months old today! I would like to emphasis the toddler descriptor because she had her most toddler-like day to date, the highlight of which included throwing a 20 minute tantrum. This is so out of character for her that I was just certain she was ill or in pain. I came up with nothing, and she woke up from her nap happy as a clam, so I can only deduce that the cause of said fit was due to her dislike of the lunch I served. Awesome. I'll keep telling myself that her emerging eye teeth are bothering her, and that she will return to her easy-going self as soon as those poke through. Right.

 I mentioned her exploding vocabulary in a previous post. One of my favorite things about her language use right now is how she so intently addresses me as "Mommy" or "Mama". She's said those words for some time now, but lately it seems as though she really gets it. She'll pat my shoulder as I carry her and sweetly say "Mommy" as she nods her head. She also does it to get my attention. I hear, "Mommy" and then some sort of toddler-speak rant of serious jumbled conversation. It's as though she's giving me an earful, or telling me about her day, or begging my permission for some forbidden activity. It's so cute I can hardly stand it. Other words I need to record are "baby-dah" (baby doll), "cee-re-uh" (cereal), "mee-nee" (Minnie, as in Jillian's Minnie Mouse doll), "Ah-sha" (Tasha, as in Jillian's Tasha (a Backyardigans character) doll), "El-muh" (Elmo. She has a shirt and a bath towel with Elmo. She thinks he is awesome. Just wait til she sees him in action on Sesame Street someday!), "jee-seh" (Jesus), and "neat" (eat, said while standing at her high chair and demanding someone feed her). She says " heh-o" when she sees something that looks like a phone and often replies with "uv-oo" (love you) when you tell her you love her.

Adrienne is a busy little bee these days, and in constant motion as she relentlessly explores every single nook and cranny she can find. Opening/closing drawers and cabinets are top on her list. You'd think I'd put locks on them, but I just haven't done it. (No worries, the unsafe stuff is out of reach.). Instead, I just spend my days redirecting or letting her pull towels, tupperware, etc out of the kitchen drawers. She knows she isn't supposed to be in them because she opens them, looks at me, and says "no no" while grinning. Practice what you preach, A! This level of busy-ness leaves me feeling frustrated because I can't get any good pictures of her. So, instead of fighting it right now, here are some appropriately blurry shots of our beautiful, sensitive, talkative, appropriately busy 16 month old! Just keeping it real, people.

I took a couple pics of the previously mentioned tantrum of epic proportions.

Wiggling out of Grandad's grasp. Can  you see the little flower bow over her right ear? This girl likes her "mows". I got all sappy when I realized I had taken a picture of Jillian at this exact age in this same sweet outfit.