16 months strong

Do you realize that my sweet baby Peapod is now 1 and 1/3 years old? Is this possible? Somehow between our long trip over the holidays and resettling at home with our many many new toys via Christmas, this date has really snuck up on me. You wouldn't believe how much this little girl has grown recently. I know its only been a month since her last monthly post, but for some reason it feels like so much longer because she has grown so much so fast. I can't pin point how, but she just has.

Here's my girl:

She's ALL OVER THE PLACE! All the time. Walking. Running. Climbing. You name it- she's probably doing it. With only one child, I can barely keep up sometimes. What in the world am I going to do when I have three more? (See that Giant? That one was for you- for now).

Her mind is constantly curious. When she gets something new, she likes me to show her ONE time how it works then its her turn. Toys, tupperware, books, whatever… she sees it done once, then inspects the mechanics of it over and over again. My observant child.

Her four favorite lovies remain (in this order- and yes she has FOUR): blankie, Puffin (her small white puffed seal she got at the aquarium, Mr. Bear and her Mickey Mouse from Daddy. Of course, there still remains the dreaded paci (pacifier) but I still refuse to acknowledge it as a "lovey."

She "talks" all day long until someone else is around, then suddenly all her words become grunts or pointing gestures. I guess that's still the shyness in her. Her newer words are "Go go!" which always includes a very enthusiastic point forwards, "dis" for this, "hello", "no", "ju ju" for choo choo,  "cheese", "Ne ne" for Nana AND Skipper, and "baby" for baby. Obvi. There are very few people that she will show off her new words for. Mostly me. One day Daddy too I hope. And when she doesn't know the word, it tends to be called "MomMom" or "Baba". For example, "Cheyanne, what is this?" as I point to her toy cow. "MomMom" she responds. No. No Cheyanne. Lordy. We're working on it. She's not great for the ego right now.

We sing our body parts song on a daily basis. She's got most of her parts down. The newest ones are her shoulders, knees, and as of last night her elbows. So working from head down that would be: head, eyebrows, eyes, eyelashes, ears, nose, cheeks, lips, mouth, (no chin yet), shoulders, boobies, elbows, belly, bellybutton, hands, fingers, legs, knees, feet, and toes. She loves the body part game. Doctor maybe? :)

She also loves other identification games. I am amazed how much she recognizes and knows even if she can't say the words yet. We're not clear on colors yet, but she has her animals down pat. People, if you have a toddler, know a toddler, are a toddler, get this book. I know its about colors, but there are other versions of it too for words specifically that would be great too. She got it for Christmas and we pour over multiple times a day. This is the book that really made me realize how much she knows and picks up on just by conversation and observation. It astounds me what she knows. Am I bragging yet?… Hello?… Uhmmm.

Anyways, back to Miss Smarty Pants.

Cheyanne is hysterical. She definitely has a good mix of her Daddy's and my sense of humor. She likes to do subtly funny things and will look out of the corner of her eye to make sure you're watching and think its funny too as she chuckles to herself- her Daddy. But, when you get her laughing, she quickly feeds off of the extra attention and will purposefully do things funny to get more laughs- her MomMom. She LOVES to make people laugh. She is pure joy.

When she wants something, she'll let you know. She will come across the room, stop me from whatever I'm doing, grab my hand and lead me to what she wants. And if I'm not picking up on it fast enough, she'll place my hand/fingers on it to end the guessing game. Then, there's never a question.

She loves being outside. I have to time checking the mail right because if we're out, we're out for a while. So, on rainy or cold days, I have to make sure I go out during nap time. She doesn't care the temp, outside is where she wants to be at all times. And for being such a girly girl, she sure does love to dig in the flower bed dirt. I can't walk by my flower beds without pulling out a weed or two. That's always her cue to stop and dig in whatever dirt pile is around too- ugh.

She is gentle and sweet spirited- most of the time. But, this girl has a temper faster than lightning when she's focused. Not usually around other people, but at home watch out. Being around other kids recently though, her gentleness and lacking desire for confrontation has shown through. She has no desire to bully other kids or even be around kids arguing. She is so mild and observant. When she sees other children arguing or fighting, she immediately backs away and doesn't want any part in it. Still a little too young to understand the concept of sharing, she does get her feelings hurt if another child takes her toy. But she has never shown any desire to confront them or show aggression but usually just watches for a moment afterwards. Not something that she got from her Momma- uh hmm. I may or may not have been known to bite a time or too. I plead the fifth. But, I'm pretty sure that little boy from day care probably still has teeth marks on his arm. *Thank the Lord she's as sweet as she is.*

This is her "How big is Cheyanne? Sooooo big!" pose.

So, that's my girl. My sweet, funny, loving little girl. I am more than blessed. Thanks for 16 months of fun Missy.