16 months BIG!!!

I can't believe our little girl is already 16 months old!  I thought I'd take a moment to provide you with an update on her new talents!

Stats: At her 15 month appointment, Mackenzy weighed a whopping 18 lbs and was 30.5 inches tall.  She wears a size 18 month in clothes and a 5.5 in shoes.  I have no clue how this child eats so much and only weighs 18 lbs, but the doctor reassured us that as long as she is eating and gaining steadily then there was nothing to worry about.  He did say that since she is on the go all the time that she may be burning off the calories she eats and if she isn't sitting still long enough to eat a full meal then she may not be consuming enough calories.  So as a result we bought her some Pediasure, which she LOVES, and she now gets to sip on that after dinner.  The thought is that if we give her a high calorie drink at bedtime, during her most inactive time of the day, then she will pack on some pounds.  I think it's working, but I'll know for sure at the next doctors appointment.

Sleep: On average, she sleeps around 11-12 hours at night.  She goes to bed between 6:30 and 7:00pm and sleeps until around 6:00-6:30am, sometimes later if she's really tired.  She typically takes 1 good nap a day and it lasts around 2 hours.  On busier days, she may catnap all day when we're not out and about.  She's very easy going and doesn't seem to get bothered when her schedule is changed. 
 
Personality: She is miss independent and wants to do everything by herself, which sometimes creates frustration for her.  She wants to feed herself, but the darn food won't always stick to the utensil and she hates it when Mommy tries to help with difficult food....  She wants to put her clothes, shoes, and coat on by herself, brush her hair and teeth, and close all doors. 

She is talkative, loves to say "hey" and "bye bye" to everyone, loves meeting new people and hates it when people don't pay her any attention,  loves to "talk" on the phone, loves to feed Mommy, Daddy, and Nicholas, loves to put lids on everything, and loves reading books with Mommy.

Words: Snow, snowing/snowy, ha (hat), baw (ball), Mimi, Nana, Pop Pop, Mommy, Daddy, Nick Nick, doggie, car, baby, boy, gir (girl), go, mine, key, one, ly (light), hey, bye bye, nanana (Banana), bear, owl, mow (mouse), ca (cat), boo (book), Digo for Dora the Explorer, Boots from Dora the Explorer, neck (necklace), no no, more, Kenzy, hanga (hanger), mik (milk), tank you (thank you), ba-oon (balloon), bubbles, booger, bird, pabi (paci)

She knows and will point to her belly, ear, nose, head, and eye upon request!

Communication: She signs eat, more, cracker, thank you, book, sometimes please, and we are working on apple.  She's starting to put 2 words/phrases together like "Bye-bye Daddy", "Hey Mommy", "Get doggie" and "No more".  She understands simple directions and requests like "Go get your paci", "Put your coat on", and "Give it to Daddy".  She understands a lot more that she is able to say but usually we can tell what she wants by her gestures and expressions.

Reading:  She recognizes pictures of Mommy, Daddy, Nana, Pop Pop, Nicholas, Mimi, ball, and herself.  When she sees a picture of herself she says "Kenzy", but I don't think that she really knows that that is her in the picture.  We're working on that! 

As you can see, we no longer have a baby!  Mackenzy is a full grown TODDLER and she is starting to give us glimpses of the terrible twos...  She throws tantrums, slaps people when she doesn't want to do something, throws things, climbs on furniture, runs, and squeals at the top of her lungs when she is happy.  She steals things that she's not supposed to have like the toilet plunger, toilet bowl cleaning thing, keys, tooth brushes, and glasses.  Turns the dishwasher on.  We've had to start disciplining her for things she does wrong and she's shed some tears, but she's definitely learning the meaning of "no".

There's never a dull moment with her that's for sure and we're loving every minute of her!