The Mouse Family Blog

Well, we missed the usual 15 month appointment at the doctor due to our busy travel schedule in August, so we went today. Lauren turned 16 months on Sept 2. She measured in the 90th percentile for height and weight.

Her stats are:
26 pounds
32 inches

As for a general update on Lauren, we continue to be amazed at how verbal she is. This past weekend in Oklahoma, so entertained family with her ability to make animal sounds. If you say "What does a sheep say?" she responds with "Baaa!" She makes the sounds for cat, dog, horse, pig, monkey, cow, sheep, duck and elephant (usually with a raised arm like a trunk), she sometimes even gives you a goat or chicken sound. When you ask her "What does momma say?" she responds with a loud "no no" - she knows how to get a laugh. She knows the names of most of her foods and friends (stuffed and human). She puts words together, for example she says "hi momma" "hi daddy" "go outside" "all done" "momma hold you" "daddy's shoe on "no Indy"(haha, she hears that too much). If my phone rings she says "mamma's phone." It's hard to capture here, but she really knows what we're saying and communicates back to us - it's awesome. The other day she found her sand shovel in the toy box and carried it to the front door and looked at me and said "car go beach umm hmm" "umm hmm" is her way of saying yes. I was amazed. Sadly, it was not nice enough weather to hop in the car and go to the beach.

In motor development, she is pretty normal for a kid her age. She climbs up and down our stairs (with mommy or daddy there to spot her). She is pretty much running and she can walk backwards. She also is able to climb down off the couch but not up onto it yet. She is working on her shape sorter, usually getting all the shapes in with a few encouragements to turn it or try it in a different hole. She can stack up several blocks and is working on drinking from an open cup without totally dousing the front of her shirt. She needs more practice with a spoon and fork, but that's really more mommy's fault for not offering enough chances - Lauren is still an excellent eater with her hands and puts away a good amount and variety of foods. Fruits are her favorites.

In social skills, she is doing pretty good. She finally showed signs of separation anxiety, but they are really mild. She quickly gets comfortable around most people, even ones she meets for the first time. She even let the flight attendant hold her and take her for a walk several seats up the aisle on our most recent flight. She takes longer to warm up to men. She usually doesn't mind getting dropped off with a babysitter or at the church nursery and if she does act clingy, all it takes is to get her interested in some toys and then get out of eye sight.

She has 4 front teeth on top and 4 on bottom as well as 4 molars (one in each quadrant). The first week of cutting the molars was tough but she seemed to adjust and the rest came through without interrupting sleep. She sleeps from 8pm to about 6:30am and still takes 2 naps for a total of 3 hrs sleep in the daytime. Mommy is not in any hurry to drop that morning nap, that's mommy's coffee time :) Oh, and in case you haven't noticed in the pictures, she has the most beautiful curls in the back of her hair, which is finally long enough for ponytails!

As I'm sure it is for most parents of a 16 month old, these months since she turned one have been amazing. Her ability to walk and communicate with us has made our ways of relating more complex and rewarding. I know that introducing discipline is coming up soon and after that potty training, so we'll just try to enjoy life now while everything seems perfect.

Labels: Monthly Photos