Asher: sixteen months

Growth/ development: Asher's fifteen month checkup was in the middle of last month. That day, he weighed 26 pounds, 6 ounces. He was 30 1/4 inches tall. He's at the very top of the growth chart for height, and average for weight. Since he started walking this month, he's slimmed down some :) If he's wearing a cloth diaper, 18 month onesies are too tight. He can still wear pants in the 18 month size, as well as 24 month. He wears size 5 shoes and has 8 teeth. Still seems to be working on molars, as he is drooling like crazy and constantly putting his fingers in his mouth. He seems extra fussy this month, as well.

Asher is finally walking! I'd say he walks 85% of the time, and crawls the last 15%... mostly on unstable ground like playground mulch and garden soil. Or when he's very upset or exhausted. He is pretty steady on his feet these days, and can carry things while walking and turn around to walk another way. He gets this proud look on his face. It's the cutest!

Communication: Asher has a lot to say. He babbles a lot, and when he talks to his grandparents on FaceTime, he goes on and on as if he's been wanting to chat with them! He will point and gesture with his hands, and raise his voice to make a point, though we rarely know what that point might be!

He still has the same signs, but the number of words he says seems to be multiplying rapidly. I can't even keep track of how many words he knows. The ones he says most frequently are: Noooooo, Daddy, ba-ba (ball, bottle), car-car, baby, Hiiiii, Bye-bye, choo choo, and Mama.

Sleep/ schedule: While he's doing a solid job on his one nap (2-3 hours daily), Asher's night sleep wasn't great this month. He rarely sleeps all the way through the night, often waking in the 2-5 am range, fully awake and fussing. If we give him a warm bottle and put him back to bed, he will usually sleep until 7 or 7:15am. It's a bad habit, but I'm using the excuse that our whole morning is better if he sleeps until 7, as opposed to waking for the day at 6am. His nap is almost always at noon, but we adjust it slightly based on his morning wake time.

Food: Asher's kind of unreliable about his eating, still. He LOVES to drink whole milk from a bottle, which kind of drives me crazy, though I'm not willing to go cold turkey on the bottles because I know the comfort helps him settle for sleep and I'm too exhausted to mess with his sleep.

Some of his favorite foods are black beans, cheese, steamed baby carrots, bread (and pizza!!!), yogurt, smoothies, meat sauce, and all kinds of fruit.

Activity: As always, this little man stays busy! He adores being outside, and just started liking to swing again. He will whine at the door, saying "Wheeee" and pointing at the swing until we take him out to play. He likes to be pushed fast. He also loves to explore the yard and open the doors and windows on our play house. If Charlotte is nearby playing, Asher will be happy to hang out and do his own thing. He also loves to wrestle and snuggle and read books. He's such a sweet, communicative guy. We adore him!