Hailey turned 16 months old yesterday. 16 months is pretty big because now when strangers ask her age, they look at me funny when I say her age in months. I figure I’ll quit saying months when she’s two years old because I don’t want to be like the person I met who told me her child was 39 months old. I can’t do that kind of math on the spot!
Anyways, what is going on around here? Pigtails.
I can’t get enough. I love her little hairstyles (and the fact that she still hasn’t had a haircut and I can’t tell you if she’ll have one anytime soon), but my favorite is Hailey in the mornings. Messy hair, sleepy eyes and big hugs. She wakes up around 7:45 or 8:00 and will play quietly in her crib for a looong time if I need her to, but I usually grab her at 8:00. She’ll rub her eyes, throw her pacis down and reach for me. After a big hug, she pulls back and like clock work says Ba-Nah-na?
When she is hungry she holds onto her chair, begging to get in. She uses a spoon now, quite well, and is clearly proud of herself. I’m sure it has nothing to do with my enthusiastic applause every time she successfully gets a bite I her mouth.
I’ve decided to only count words when she uses in context, so she says dada, banana, ball, hi, no and Koda. She has said ‘up’ a couple times. She can moo when I say cow and ruff ruff when I say dog. Out of context she says every word there is. Babble babble babble.
Her non-word communication skills are pretty fun. She understands everything. I can ask for a book and she will bring it to me, she’ll follow me when I ask her to, she’ll shrug her shoulders and raise her hands to say I don’t know or what happened, she throws her hands up for SO big, claps her hands when ‘if you’re happy and you know it’ plays, rolls her arms in circles when the ‘wheels on the bus go round and round’, she blows kisses, gives high fives, can point out my nose and eyes, shows us her tummy when we ask (and sometimes when we don’t) and flaps hers arms like a chicken when we say eat more chicken (yes, cousin Alex, we stole that one ).
Basically, she’s funny.
I wouldn’t call her strongly independent, but the girl is a lover. She doesn’t cry when I drop her at gym day care, but she adopts one of the ladies each day as her own and won’t let them out of her sight. She likes to be held or have them sit right next to her when she plays. In fact, I almost fell to the floor in amazement when I went to pick her up and she was actually sitting by herself at the table. I had to snap a picture of my BIG girl.
Our days are so busy now and there is no hope of me doing anything while Hailey is awake except to focus on Hailey. We color a lot.
We tried to paint, but I think I have a neat freak on my hands. Not only does she like to line things up in perfect rows, she does not like to get her hands messy!
Luckily Koda helps a lot with the entertainment. Hailey loves chasing her and grabbing her tail. Koda loves rolling on the floor and licking Hailey’s face while she giggles. They are quite the duo.
I’m hopeful that Hailey inherited some of Mema’s musical talent because she has become quite fond of the piano.
She actually sits and pushes the keys, without banging on them.
At least it’s another thing to do to keep us busy! Busy is certainly the toddler theme word. It’s a lot of fun, but there are definitely days I am exhausted by 4pm and kick toys into a pile rather than trying to pick them up.
What else am I forgetting? She naps once a day, usually 12-2. She goes to bed at 7:00 on the dot. She can open doors. She sometimes throws tantrums. She likes to help put on her socks and shoes. She’ll actually sit and try to push her foot into the shoe by herself.
…
Too many details? I’m turning into that mom that thinks everything their child does is noteworthy, aren’t I?
Eeks, sorry.
Even when she sleeps, I’m busy snapping pictures.
At her 15 month appointment she weighed 22 lbs (40%) and was 31” tall (75%). Healthy girl. She wears a size 4 diaper and most clothing is 12-18 months.
On a daily basis she runs to me, smiling, and buries her head in my leg and giggles. When she does that I feel like my heart could explode.
Let the adventure continue!
Erica says
Pigtails are the cutest thing ever.
As are the pics of her on the piano and crying from the pain in her high chair. I envision that one being shown to her future boyfriends in attempts to embarrass the heck out of her … at least that’s what my parents did lol.
Hanna says
What a doll!!
Amy@ahealthyandhappyheart says
You have every right to think what your daughter does is awesome because she is awesome!!! I love reading your updates!
Sherry says
Love all the pictures and updates!!
Shari says
Oh my gosh, the pigtails! SO CUTE!
Hannah @ CleanEatingVeggieGirl says
Your daughter is adorable, and I especially love the piano picture. So cute, plus I love seeing a child find interest in music at such a young age! 🙂
Chantal says
Ahh this is such a FUN age!! Penny is 13 months now and basically the same size as Hailey, though an inch or two shorter. She won’t let me put her hair in pig or ponytails anymore, she rips them out, so we are keeping her hair down for now. She likes a good mess and painting was fun, except she mostly just ate it.
Brittany says
Hailey chows down on a crayon every now and again too 🙂
Kaitlyn @Keeping up with Kaitlyn says
She is ADORABLE! My favorite picture is the one with her little legs crossed as she sits on the piano bench!
Kristin says
LOL at “Eat more chicken!” Did Hailey’s daddy teach her to show her belly like he taught cousin Alex??
Brittany says
YES! It’s adorable, but I’m starting to rethink the idea of teaching a girl to lift up her shirt… we have to break that habit soon!
Katy @ MonsterProof says
OK, I may have a child that’s only a little older, which may make me a small percentage of the audience…but I love reading all the little details! And, as for ages, I’ve gotten to the point that I say “1.5” almost as much as “19m”. It sounds like she’s about to have a huge word explosion if she’s babbling so much!
Brittany says
Oh I hope so! I’d love to be able to understand her babbles. I might start saying 1.5 soon, too. I feel a little silly saying months 🙂
Kelly @ Runmarun says
Oh my goodness, where has the time gone? H is getting so big! L has the same elephant pjs, by the way. She is wearing them right now. 🙂
I love the pictures of H sitting at the piano- she is such a big girl! I am with you on not getting much done once L is awake for the day. She gives me a little time in the morning, but otherwise, I need to be moving around or playing with her.
Also, the temper tantrums! L has been displaying those ever since Christmas and the first few shocked me…but now I am starting to figure out how to deal with them…okay, so I try to stay calm while she rages. 🙂
Thanks for such a great post- I love seeing these updates!
Brittany says
I try to ignore the tantrums when they happen, too. I’ve tried holding and rocking her, but sometimes that just makes her more angry, so I let her rage it out. I can’t wait for the terrible twos! 😉
I hope you are feeling well!!
stefanie says
Love the updates! She just keeps getting cuter (if that’s even possible!).
Avery @ Southern Belle Living Well says
Oh good golly, she is precious! 16 months seems like such a fun age!
Kayla @ Lovely Ride says
Spoon in the left hand?! Do you think she might be a lefty? I just can’t get over how much personality she has! The feet crossed neatly under the piano. COme on?! She’s amazing.
Brittany says
I don’t know! She uses both hands fairly equally, but probably favors the right a tiny bit. I’ve wondered before if she’ll be a lefty, too. I guess only time will tell!
Madeline @ Food Fitness and Family says
I wish Em would let me do pig tails! She just got her first hair cut because she had a mullet haha. The sides need to catch up to the back.
H is so freaking cute!
Megan says
Oh my goodness what a big girl in her pigtails. I had to LOL at the messy finger painting freak out. So cute! I want my baby to stay itty bitty forever, but I guess it’s fun when they are up and about too! I’m trying to be ok with it 🙂
Brittany says
I remember wanting H to be small forever. I remember thinking other moms must be so jealous that I have such a tiny baby. But truly, each day gets more and more fun. They are amazing when they are so tiny, but getting to watch your child grow and learn is pure magic. Congratulations!!
Shanna, like Banana says
Love reading these. And the pic of just her feet with the piano is amazing. I seriously can’t stop looking at it..so artistic, so cute.
My baby is such a chunker — he’s 25.1lbs at 12 months (90%)! He’s also tall..31.25″ so I guess it evens out..but still … 😉
Lauren B. says
I love love love these posts! And I could die seeing that picture of her legs crossed at the piano! So cute!
Lisa says
Oh goodness, her hair is absolutely adorable! I wish I looked cute in pig tails hah. I love reading these updates. The piano picture is kind of the cutest thing!
Sonya says
OMG the pic of her sitting at the table by herself soo cute! And the legs at the piano!!!
Karen says
OMG Hailey is ADORABLE and I love the pigtails. Keely is 12.5 months and we are doing whole milk now & half whole/half formula at night but I give her two sippy cups & two bottles a day. How was the transition limiting the nighttime bottle. I am thinking of starting it this weekend with a bath at 6:15 then sippy cup with milk at 6:30 then bed at 7:00. Any suggestions you have from weaning the bottle, let me know. Have a great weekend!!
Brittany says
I think I got off easy because never did all that well at taking a bottle (our fault, we weren’t consistent). She never fell asleep nursing at night, so it wasn’t a big obstacle for us. I just started giving her milk from a straw cup before taking her upstairs at night and that worked just fine. Good luck!!
Maria says
Aww. Her little legs crossed by the piano. I die.
I cannot comprehend months. Same with pregnant women. I always ask “So how many months is that? Shoot, just tell me when you are due!” 🙂
Heather @ What Does She Do All Day? says
I love little sticky out pigtails! Cupcake hasn’t had a haircut and she’s 2.5! Her pigtails don’t stick out any more, but they’re still stinkin’ cute!
Kristen @ notsodomesticated says
I love this post! These are even more interesting to me now that I’m expecting my own little girl! So fun!! 🙂
Elizabeth says
What a doll! I have to say, we went to one of those pottery painting studios last night, and the convertible car that Whitney picked out was only about 5% covered in paint before she started painting her hands and squishing them together and telling me she wanted to “go to a different place.” LOL
Bethany says
What a cute picture of Hailey playing the piano with her little feet dangling, aw! And I love how you ended the post, little ones really are an adventure!
Emily (The Culinary Couple) says
I love her pigtails and how she has her little feet crossed while sitting at the piano. Sam is such a snuggler, too, and he makes me laugh every day. What a fun age!
Kaye says
Hailey is SUCH a cutie-pie…LOVE the pigtails 🙂
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