Amelia - 16 Months

Our Amelia is 16 months old, and while we didn't get our "formal" photo shoot, I snapped these few pictures of her one day after turning 16 months old in her brand new chair to match Madeline's.  This little girl LOVES furniture her size....up, down, up, down, repeat over and over.

Amelia is a full fledged biped, and it's wonderful!  She wants to walk everywhere!  She can mostly keep up with Madeline, and her frustration level is down now that she can get to where she wants to go rather quickly.  She's pretty good on the steps, and she's becoming more proficient coming down the steps.  She wants to use the handrail just like Big Sister, so she gets super agitated that her arms don't go up that high.  Amelia finally got her OWN pair of Stride Rite kicks this month, and to say that she LOVES her new sandals is probably the biggest understatement of the year.  She loves to put them on, and then stand with her arms up in the air while shouting, "Ta-da!"

 Amelia continues to be a HOT MESS.  I dress her up in all of Madeline's little prissy outfits with a bow and all, but within 20 minutes, she's a sticky, snotty, bow-throwin' disaster.  She's a feisty thing.  Whew.  She wants what she wants STAT, and if she could speak in sentences, she would no doubt say something along the lines of, "like this needed to be taken care of yesterday, Mom!"   The terrible two's have risen...Madeline went through a similar terrible two preview, and this one has given me a not so exciting preview.  Hardheaded, loud, and stubborn would describe our little Amelia Bedelia to a tee.

 Amelia is so silly and funny!  She loves to rough house, laugh, dance, and be wild.  She squeals at the top of her lungs, dances to any music, and adores being outdoors.  She loves her bike rides, swinging on the swing set, playing in the sandbox, and roaming through the yard.  If we're not outside outside, the screened in porch is the next favorite spot for this little one.  Daddy just may have his little hunter/outdoorsy girl after all. 

Amelia's language development has come a very long way in a month.  She now says:  Madeline, Mama, Dada, down, up, night-night, uh-oh, thank you, no thank you, off, no, bless you, ta-da, and shoe.  Most of her words have to do with making sure we know her needs.  She's not super interested in pointing to things and knowing what they are.  She's more interested in knowing how to get out of her chair after a meal, removing her bib, & communicating basic needs to us.  We have a lot of frustration in our house right now due to Amelia not being able to say what it is she's trying to say.  We're working very hard using words right now.  Amelia has pretty much figured out how to use her fork and spoon at mealtime...messy but she can do it.  She wants to be big like Big Sister, so she's trying like crazy to do all the big girl things.  Amelia is rough and tumble, but my girl loves her accessories.  Just like Madeline, she'll turn anything into a bracelet, and she loves wearing sunglasses and necklaces.  It's funny to watch her accessorize herself with random stuff around the house.

Amelia keeps us on our toes, and we love her to pieces.  Our family definitely has some character with this little turkey in it!  Here's to another great month, sweet Amelia!