Caleb - 16 Months

Caleb at sixteen months is a 2 foot tall spitfire of a child. He's off and running from the moment he awakes to the moment he goes down. We've got a fun routine where I get him up, changed and dressed for the day, then say "Go find Daddy for breakfast!" He runs as fast as he can across the length of the house to find Brian sitting in the kitchen, waiting for him and he always giggles and hollers when he sees Daddy. It's the cutest thing ever and I love that I don't have to carry him around as much. For the most part he's a happy kid, full of smiles and giggles, but that toddler stubbornness has emerged in full force. When he wants something, he can make it fully clear.

little boy, big personality

His favorite thing to do is go outside. He wants to run around, to grab dandelions, play with the other kids on our street. He wants to be taken for a ride in the stroller, and he tells you by getting the stroller and trying to pull it out of the garage himself. He prefers not to walk on the grass. He waves excitedly at anybody passing by. He assumes everyone, especially kids, want to be his friend and will walk right up to them and ask for the ball they are playing with. He runs with abandon, propelling those tiny legs forward with no regard for the hard pavement below.

A special treat: homemade strawberry ice cream

His favorite foods continue to be fruit: applesauce, mandarin orange. And french fries. He's shown an interest in my green smoothies, mostly because they taste like fruit! And yogurt, he'll eat an entire cup for a snack. The new food I was surprised by with him is corn dogs. That kid will eat a corn dog like nobody's business. He's still at the stage where, when he's full, he's full. There's no, "but I want dessert."

Daddy's little helper in the workshop

Post-dinner is chase time. No matter when we are, when he's done, he expects someone to get up and chase him around. Maybe this is what they do at school? It's certainly what he does with Daddy!

A rare Mommy-baby photo

We've quit bottles altogether, as of a couple weeks ago. We no longer have to do a "nighttime" drink. He's still in cloth diapers on the weekends (pray Jesus for saving money on diapers.) He's not talking much at all yet, but he's babbling like crazy in long sentences. I swear, when he does start talking it's going to be in full sentences, not a word here and there. He loves his sleep and continues to be the best baby when it comes to sleeping.

Mondays are hard, yo...

As always, it seems like the current stage is the best stage, even if we're seeing defiance in our little guy's eyes. We can't wait to start on swim lessons, take Caleb to the beach and see what words he starts with first...

Reading in his underwear. As you do.