16 months

A few days (week) late, John turned 16 months on the 31st. I am super inconsistent with posting monthly updates, but since he is about to be a big brother, I thought I would jot some things down for our memories. 

John is a wild man. Into everything and nothing deters him. He is walking and running at a pretty good pace for having legs on the shorter side :) Nothing is a challenge to him. He has mastered climbing up onto beds, stairs (forwards and backwards), tubs, toilets, bookshelves, chairs, tables, anything that is above his head.. done. The park is pretty miserable with him, as I am not that fast these days and climbing through a small tunnel while moms sit and watch from the sidelines is downright embarrassing. Same thing with the pool, our pool days are sadly slowing down.. good thing my sister in law was the only was to witness me getting stuck in a Lazy River tube last weekend.

FAVORITES:

• Kisses! He loves to give massive, open mouth, slobbery kisses to all his loves. I am lucky enough to get lots of them, and could just cry thinking one day he won't want to give them up! 
• Reading. Any book, he is not picky! We read about 5 stories a night and it could go on for days. 
• All things trucks, tractors, fire engines, trains. He has a sound effect for each one and could push them around on the carpet for hours. 
• Water. The pool, the bathtub, the hose, the sprinkler, water out of a cup. Doesn't matter. He loves to swan dive into the baby pool and just lay on his back and stare up at the sky. 
• Mommy!  My little mama's boy. 
• Shoes. The boy loves a good pair of shoes. He loves to try and size anyone up with a good shoe laying around. 
• Bauer. John is just a boy with his dog. He loves to give "Ba" her treats, food, toys, lots of pets and love. Sometimes too much love. We can't leave the two of them alone, because Johnny is not super gentle all the time. 
• Foods: Waffles, bananas, cookies, animal crackers, milk, turkey, cheese, cereal, juice. John is a pretty good eater. And like his sister, when he is hungry, he can eat.. but when he isn't, don't even try. 

John is sprouting a new tooth it seems like every week. Teething has always plagued the poor boy. He is not a good teether. While John is a pretty standard 7pm-7am sleeper, on teething nights we are up pretty much every hour on the hour. Hopefully the rest of the teeth come in the next 3 months. I figure I will be up anyway, what's another one in the mix? 

Words are pretty limited at this point. I think he lets his sister do all the talking. We have our standard "mama", "dada", "ba" (Bauer), "ma" (more, milk, mom, whatever floats your boat), "ball".. but that is about it. We are working with him, but also being totally patient as we know the words will come and then will never stop (again, like his sister). He will figure it out soon enough. Today he is still my baby and that is okay! 

John is in a size 4 diaper and is wearing 12-18 month clothes. All that walking, running and climbing really thinned him out :)

He is still the sweetest boy just with fewer visits to mom's lap. He is too busy for long cuddles and hugs. I know John will be the best big brother, but the first few months are going to be entertaining. We really need to work on our "gentle" skills--- oh wait, first work on how to teach a 16 month old gentle skills. 

We love you John Patrick, John, Johnny, Moose, Mooser, Moosey, Moosey Boo, Moosey Bear, Bear, Bear Boy, Johnny Bear, Bubby, Bubbs, Boo.