Sixteen Months

Phoebe is now 16 months old.


Here are some of the highs and lows of this month.

Highs:

• Consistently going around calling for Chris: "Hi Dada! Dada? Dada!"

Case in point - she loves watching Chris outside and will go from window to window, laughing hysterically. So cute:

• Dancing and clapping to music. It's so cute to see her spin around in circles to a song she likes (her favorite song, which actually should be considered a low, is Starship's: "We Built This City", prominently featured on the movie The Muppets. I helpfully linked to the music video because if there's anything worse than this song, it's the music video that accompanies it! You're welcome.)
•  Finally signing more consistently. In fact, she signs "more" for anything she wants, but hey, it's a lot better than shrieking.
• Swimming. So far, this girl loves the water. We've been spending a lot more time in the pool and after a cautious start, now she loves chilling in her floatie. Our pool has a large shallow shelf, so Phoebe's able to walk along it and reach down and pick up her sister's diving sticks. She also loved when we put on Charlotte's goggles and she could see under the water. Too fun.

Phoebe and her BFF Gabby in the pool on the 4th of July (photo credit, Gabby's dad)

Lows:

• Major separation anxiety. Although her favorite thing is to wonder where Daddy is, she gets super unhappy if I leave the room. And by super unhappy, I mean epic screaming tantrums. The screaming is so loud that Charlotte spends half her time covering her ears.
• Communication. It's progressing, but very slowly. She is really only saying a few words: hi, uh oh, Dada, and ball, but she is combining hi and Dada. She's only signing "more." I went to a class this week taught by two Kaiser developmental providers called "Help Me Communicate." It was actually very helpful and gave me a lot of tips to try at home. Mainly, we should be using the "Plus One" method of talking. Basically, we should only be using as many words as she's using, plus one. Since she's really not using any words at all, we should really be talking to her one word at a time. This way, she's not overwhelmed by the barrage of words being thrown at her. Of course, this is easier said than done, especially with a sweet 4 year old who never stops talking. In any case, it seems to be working. Anything we do, I start talking one word at a time. "Phoebe, car! Car vroom." Yesterday, she actually mimicked me and said "car vrooom!" We'll see if the other tips pay off. In any case, we're still on track to start speech therapy at around 18 months, but since that's only once a week, these tips will help us for the rest of the time.
• Bumps and bruises. Phoebe is much more adventurous than her sister every was at this age. She loves climbing on things. I'll turn around for a second and then next thing I know, Phoebe has climbed on top of the table. Not a week goes by that she doesn't sustain a bump or bruise on her head. This month, she took a pretty serious tumble at our friend's house. She was climbing down the stairs of their patio and miscalculated the last step and face planted. Her poor nose was all scraped up. Three weeks later, it's still showing the remnants of the fall; I'm wondering if this will be her first scar. Here's hoping it fades with time.

Our little adventurer