Edward is 16 months old

My sweet baby boy, time is flying! I'm a little disappointed that this is my first update on you in four months, but at the same time, I'm proud of myself every time I hit the "Publish" button no matter how long it has been since my last post. Life is so full these days that it would be so easy to justify letting the blog fall by the wayside, but I'm trying so hard not to let that happen. More and more lately I have found myself saying "I'll have to check the blog" when Dad and I are struggling to remember a particular milestone, holiday or trip. I love that this blog allows family and friends near and far to watch you kids grow up, but to be honest, that's only the icing on the cake. The main reason I write this blog is to ensure that these months and years don't just fade into one big blur in my memory! I want to preserve as many details of this time in our lives as I can!

But I digress. You are 16 months old now and you have changed so much in the last four months. The biggest is that you are a walker (and more and more lately, a runner)! Shortly after Christmas you started standing on your own without pulling yourself up on anything, then taking a step or two over to grab onto something before falling back onto your bottom. You did this sporadically for a couple weeks. Then you started "hovering" for a few seconds after taking a couple steps (not grabbing onto something) before dropping back to your bottom. By the second half of January you were walking clear across the room and never looked back. I tried on all cute hand-me-down shoes we received (as well as Ellie's first couple pairs of walking shoes) and was disappointed to find that none of them fit--your little "cherub feet" (I read that online and decided it sounds nicer than what I previously called them--"hobbit feet") are just too thick and chunky. So Eddie got himself a new pair of shoes! It took a couple weeks for you to feel comfortable walking outside but now you charge around everywhere. You love exploring the back yard.

You are transforming from a baby to a little boy before my very eyes. I can't say I have a favorite stage of development since there is so much I love about every one, but this time between 1 and 2 years is especially fun because the helpless little creature I have been pouring so much energy into caring for can finely start communicating with me! (Albeit much like a person don't speak a word of the other's language...through a lot of sounds and gestures!) While you seem to understand just about everything we say, you don't say many words at all yet. You say "hello" ("heh-lo!") and "bye" ("bah"), "oh" (usually when you drop something,  as in "uh oh"), and "ma ma" and "da da" (though you don't actually address us by those yet). You mostly holler and grunt and point and rattle off a bunch of gibberish, a stage which which I appreciate all the more now that I know how exhausting it can be to converse with an intelligent, inquisitive little person all day long. ;)

Your growth has slowed down and you are actually a pretty average-sized 16 month old now (with a gargantuan head, that is.) You might even be a little on the short side because most all of your pants are too long. You wear 18-month sized clothes with some 2T shirts and sweaters, size 5 shoes, and size 4 diapers.

Your sleep has vastly improved in the last few months. You go down in your crib around 9:00 every night and sleep through about 8 hours on average. After waking to nurse in the early morning hours, I will put you back in your crib or in your swing to sleep another couple hours (and then go back to sleep myself). Yes, we are still using the cradle swing. It got put away briefly but we brought it back when your sleep got particularly bad a few months ago (most likely due to your first molar breaking through). I know you are too big for it, but hey, you still have another half pound to gain before you reach the official weight limit (you're 24.5 pounds). ;) I'll be working on weaning you off the swing again, but dang, you sleep so well in it it is hard to give up.You still take your nap in it every afternoon and sleep anywhere from 2 to 4 hours.

You have 8 teeth, 4 on the bottom and 4 on the top, which includes 2 molars, both on your left side. As is typical for me, I haven't been recording the dates and order which your teeth have come in. That's just something I have never been able to keep up with. Hopefully you and your sisters don't have a burning desire for that information someday. ;) Your first molar (bottom left) came much earlier than is typical, and as I mentioned, was pretty rough on you. You have been weathering teething very well ever since that sucker broke through, however. Like Eloise was at your age, you are an excellent chewer. I admit that I have a slight paranoia about choking, because Avalon was such a bad chewer (actually she would just try to swallow stuff almost whole), but I don't worry about it as much with you.

You eat most anything and everything, and usually have some form of whatever we're having for dinner. In typical Third Kid fashion, I have already given you some junk foods that I waited until your sisters were much older to introduce them to, such as pizza and mac and cheese. While we are giving you more and more meals to eat on your own, fortunately you still let us spoon feed you from a bowl as well. For breakfast and lunch your typical baby cuisine includes oatmeal with smashed banana, yogurt (plain) with smashed banana, cottage cheese, apple sauce, refried beans, a pancake (homemade, with butter only), a piece of bread with almond butter, cheese shreds, and for veggies, green beans and steamed carrots. For snacks you love munching on Cheerios, and Happy Baby Munchies (think Cheetos for babies). Occasionally I'll give you a few Saltines, which you love. You have sneaked a couple of your sisters' Goldfish on occasion and they absolutely rock your world; it is so funny how much your mouth waters when you're chewing on those bits of cheesy, salty goodness.

You still nurse twice a day, once in the early-morning hours when you wake for the first time (between 4 and 6), and then again when you wake from your nap (around 3 or 4). I'm fine with that and am making no attempts to wean you at this time. You are officially my longest-nursing baby now; your sisters both lost interest in nursing and weaned themselves at 14 months. Daddy gives you an 8-ounce bottle of warm cow's milk in the evening before bed, which you love. You won't drink cold cow's milk from your own sippy cup if I try giving it to you during the day, but you will steal Ellie's and polish it off when she's not looking. (??)

You seem to have somewhat sensitive skin, though we're not exactly sure what you're sensitive to yet. Sometimes your back and chest breaks out in a rough, scaly rash, and though I have a feeling it is food-related, we haven't been able to pinpoint it aside from it happening after you have indulged in a too-big amount of rich and/or salty "table" food. Though you usually have whatever we have for dinner, I have learned to keep your portions of it small (even though you have an enormous appetite and will eat as much as we let you!)

You HATE having your diaper changed (but only by me--you don't seem to give Daddy as hard of a time), and poop like crazy (3-4x a day, typically). You get diaper rash quite often, because often you will poop again immediately after I change your diaper, and if it isn't particularly stinky I won't think to check you for another hour or two (unfortunately, poopy diapers don't seem to bother you one bit).

You have a temper! If I take something away from you that you shouldn't have, you slap the wall or floor in anger, or you will throw yourself on the floor in protest. If you know I'm about to take it away, you will throw it before I have the chance and then throw your tantrum. I often diffuse your little fits by mimicking whatever you do, which you think is hilarious. You also hit and slap and even claw my face when I pick you up out of a mischievous situation, Again, mostly only me! Daddy doesn't suffer quite the abuse when he does the exact same thing. Some hand-slapping may be in order if I don't break you of this naughty habit. For now I plop you in your Pack-n-Play (which you generally hate, being as "free-range" as you typically are) and hope that you make the association.

For as fiery as you are sometimes (a la Eloise), you are also very obedient (a la Avalon). While you don't always listen, most of the time you respond well to "no", "stop" and "don't".

You are obsessed with remote controls, power cords, and electronic devices of all sorts. Our house is pretty well baby-proofed except for these types of things laying around, so, naturally, those are the first things you go for. You are also quite fond of the vacuum's extension tube attachment. Oh, and dog food. I have to keep the door of the laundry room (where Rose's food bowl is) closed because you like to take pieces from her bowl and walk around with them, or even sometimes put them in your mouth.

You often pretend to pop things in your mouth, probably because you know it freaks me out (the choking thing). Sometimes you pretend to chew, as well. You also stick your fingers far enough into your mouth to make you gag, also probably because you know it freaks me out.

Lately you have begun crawling up onto and standing on our kiddie folding chairs. Another one of your antics is pulling out every last tissue from a box of Kleenex.

You lean in for a hug when we say "hug", and kiss when we say "kiss"... although your version of a kiss is more like a dog's. :-P We're trying to teach you to keep your tongue in your mouth for kisses, but no luck so far! I seem to remember Eloise "kissing" in this way at your age, as well. :)i

You are a real music-lover. You love to bounce and sway to music, or anything at all rhythmic (even the sound of the treadmill!), and you always applaud when a song is over. You are a wonderful audience to Eloise, who is always singing one thing or another. Unsurprisingly, you particularly love all the songs from "Frozen" and sometimes seem to be singing along.

You never really warmed up to a pacifier. You take it to fall asleep, but flat-out refuse it at any other time (actually, you chuck it angrily). For your sisters. the paci was one of those never-leave-home-without-it items, but the only time we bother to take one along for you is to the doctor's office when you're getting a shot (though you almost always refuse it then, also).

You have the most hysterical "cheese" face. I don't even have to ask you to smile, or say cheese; as soon as I hold up the camera, you squish up your face in a funny way that you no doubt think is a smile. We must have dozens of photos of you doing this and it cracks me up every single time.

You are such a delightful, happy little boy, and even though you're growing up much too fast, it is such a joy to witness. As I come up on my 5-year anniversary of being a stay-at-home mom (my last day earning a paycheck was March 14, 2011), I couldn't be more thankful for the time I've had to see my babies grow and learn. It is so fun watching your personality develop and getting to know you better every single day. I love you so much!