16 Months and Going Strong!!!

Annabelle Rae and Stephen Michael are 16 months old and it is pretty much super awesome all the time. Except for when it is not - like when Stephen wakes up at 2:00 in the morning on a weekly basis or when Annabelle gets mad that she has to keep her pants off and throws herself on the floor in a fit of rage. But most of the time it is pretty awesome.

Words We Know!

• Stephen: Button, Grandpa (sounds like Wam-pa!), Nana, Mommy, Daddy, Buddy, Mimi, Puppy, Oh Yes, Woah!, Auntie, Addy, Abby (Abby Cadaby), Elmo, Bath (Ba! Ba!)
• Annabelle: Nanny (for Nana), Jo-Jo, Mommy, Daddy, Elmo, Juice, This, Mimi (which she equates with the phone), Abby Cadabby, Elmo, Puppy, Bath (Ba! Ba!)

Sounds We Know!

• Santa Clause says, "Ho Ho Ho"
• The Puppy says, "Woof Woof"
• The Choo Choo Train says, "Choo Choo"
• The Car says, "Vroom"

Sign Language We Know!

• Please
• Thank You
• Milk
• More
• Water
• Apple
• Baby
• We are in the process of learning "I'm Sorry"

Stuff We Understand

• Um, pretty much everything.
• They can throw their diapers or anything else you tell them to away in the trash can
• They lay down when it is time to get their diaper changed
• Kiss Kiss
• Dance
• Hands Down! Touch the Ground! (They do a Downward Dog position on the floor and then you flip them over)
• They can point to their Head, Eyes, Ears, Nose, Cheeks, Toes, Feet, and Belly.
• Around 6:30 every night, they go to the stairs and say, "Ba! Ba! Ba!" b/c they are ready for their bath. Sometimes they get very upset if we aren't giving them a bath that night.
• How to brush their teeth

Other Stuff

• Annabelle loves to wear her jacket all the time. She gets very upset if you won't let her put it on or if you try to take it off too soon.
• She also really likes to get naked. We have at least one meltdown a day in which she wants to take her pants off and I will not let her.
• They received Elmo and Abby Cadabby dolls for Christmas. They learned their names very quickly.
• Stephen loves to talk and babble.
• Annabelle associates the phone with her Aunt Mimi. Anytime she sees a cell phone, she walks around saying, "Mimi, Mimi, Mimi"
• Whenever Stephen hears the train go by, he points the window and goes, "Choo Choo!!"
• They definitely understand when they are being disobedient.
• Annabelle's way of venting, it seems, is to bang her head on the ground.
• Stephen's most annoying habit is whining, "Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah" continuously. OMG.
• They are both great cuddlers sometimes. 
• They loved loved loved my parent's dog JoJo. 

Favorite Memory

Last month, Stephen was up from 2:30-5:00. He cried and cried and we were going in and out trying all of our "tricks".  Here's a bottle. You have teddy. I will hold you. I will rock you. Daddy will hold you. Daddy will rock you. Finally Brian was laying with him in the guest room and Stephen is almost asleep and then he starts whispering to Brian, "Hi! Hi!" and then starts blowing in his face. He then starts baby babbling and Annabelle hears from the other room and starts babbling back. It was 3:30 am and they were just talking back and forth across the hall. I ran downstairs to find the video camera but by the time I got back upstairs, Brian had put Stephen back in his crib.  He did not think it was as cute as I did.