Sixteen Months

Happy sixteen month birthday to Alex and Ari! It seems like we just celebrated their fifteen month birthday...how do the months seem to fly by faster and faster?

We're home from Orlando and happy to report that the return flight was MUCH better than our outgoing flight. We learned our lesson the first time and gate checked the carseats this time, so Alex and Ari each had their own seat with more room to spread out. They played happily for the first few hours- our flight was delayed due to storms in Orlando so we sat on the plane for an extra hour!- and then Alex fell asleep in Mommy's arms while Ari played with Daddy one row back. No luggage was lost and we all arrived home happy and unfrazzled.

This morning Aunt Lori came by to visit after she tried to go to an event that was advertised as being scheduled for "Sunday, July 28." She didn't catch the error at first glance- i.e., Sunday was July 29 (today) and July 28 was YESTERDAY...so she showed up at 9:00 a.m. only to find out the event had taken place yesterday. Because it was just around the corner from us, she made the best of a wasted trip to come by and spend some extra time with Alex and Ari before they went down for their morning nap.


The rest of the day we spent preparing to host our monthly "neighborhood gang" BBQ. Mommy has a monthly "Girls Night Out" with six other mommies in the neighborhood, and once a month we also get all of the families together for a BBQ. We were hoping for nice weather so that we could take advantage of our new, inflatable pool, so Daddy spent a good half hour pumping the pool full of air while Ari enjoyed hanging out in the center of the action:
Unfortunately, right before everyone arrived the skies got dark and thunder boomed, so we ended up having the party inside. Six boys ranging in age from 16 months to 3 years old made for some lively times. Here is what six boys can do to a playroom in about ten seconds flat:
Ari was a bit outnumbered (the only other little girl in the house was 4-month old Lauren, who isn't quite mobile yet) and started the evening afraid to even get out of Mommy's arms and down on the floor (who can blame her with all those rowdy boys?!) We think in about 13 years she'll have a different take on being one of the only girls in her group of friends in the neighborhood. Eventually she warmed up to the idea, though, and joined in on the fun:

So what are Alex and Ari doing at sixteen months old?



Alex is continuing to develop his language and motor skills. He is now saying "more" in addition to signing the word. He says "night, night" while resting his head on a pillow, the floor, or the couch. He also tries to repeat a lot of words he hears, and mimics gestures in his favorite books (Hey, Wake Up and The Zoo Book in particular). He is a wonderful listener and loves to help out by getting things for Mommy and bringing them to her. He loves to climb- unfortunately that also means climbing on things he's not allowed to climb onto, like the coffee table, kitchen chairs, etc. He is eating a few veggies lately- namely, peas and corn, and has impeccable fine motor skills that enable him to pick up one pea or one kernel of corn at a time. He is very polite and always signs (and tries to say) the word "please." This makes it very hard for Mommy to resist his requests for things like cookies and juice (who could turn down such a sweet face and polite request?!) Alex also gives big, sloppy kisses and warm hugs. But don't for a second think he isn't a typical boy, running around like a Tasmanian devil about 99% of the time he spends awake.


Ari is still working on her walking skills. She knows HOW, she's just too stubborn (and probably spoiled by Mommy) to do it on her own and insists on being picked up instead. She has gotten very good at stacking blocks and putting nesting cups together over the past month and will build a tower or put the cups back together with ease. She loves her brother and as soon as he's out of her sight, she yells "Ayex, Ayex" (she can't quite say the "l" yet) until he returns into the room. She loves the Baby Babble DVD (an excellent program designed by pediatric speech pathologists) and will repeat the words and sounds she hears as she sits rapt throughout the entire 45-minute DVD. She can smell a cookie a mile away and still only eats one vegetable: edamame.

Here's one last shot of the birthday girl and boy laughing uncontrollably while playing with bubbles: