Claire at 16 months

Claire is 16 months old!  It is such a fun age.  I am really excited for the age she'll be at during my maternity leave.  It's almost like you can literally see the millions of neurons forming in her brain (did I sound like I know anything about science?  Cuz I dont.  But it sounded right).  She is adventurous, playful, joyful, strong, determined, loving, empathetic and smart.

At 16 months, Claire....

• has 11 teeth... 6 on top and 5 on the bottom.  Teething is still a struggle but doesn't feel as hard as it used to be.  It's obvious when she's teething because she'll have trouble going to sleep, refuse to suck on her pacifier, and want to cuddle.  Despite the increase in teeth, she still prefers to chew with her front ones.
• wears size 12 month and 12-18 month clothes.  This morning I put size 18 month sweatpants from Osh Kosh on her but had to fold the thick waistband over and they were still a tad long..but they were cute!
• goes to be about 7:00-7:30 PM and wakes up pretty consistently around 6:45AM.  Although this morning (Saturday), it was about 5 minutes to 6:00.  But that was one extra hour I got to spend with her. :)  She naps usually twice a day.
• has been exploding in the verbal category!!  It seems like she has a new word almost daily! I don't know if I could count them all because I would surely leave some out.  Some of the new ones I like are: Josh, milk, please, shoes, boo.
• is very empathetic!!  If you tell her you have an owwie and show it to her, she gets upset- she'll scrunch her face up and whimper and look like she's in physical pain.  She's even seen some freckles on my arm and thought they were owwies and gotten sad.  It's cute and sad at the same time! 
• throws trantrums, but fortunately they aren't too terrible and it's pretty easy to distract her out of them.  But the scary part is that she'll throw herself on the ground and throw her head back, without regard to what's behind her.  Yesterday I caught her head right before it slammed into the bottom of the end table.  This morning she threw it back and hit the hard floor.  The joy of becoming a toddler!
• knows what "no" means and says it all the time.  She also frequently scrunches her face when she says it and forms a double chin- I should try to get that on camera!  She'll walk up to an outlet, turn around, look at me, and say, "no no no no no".  She even tells me and Josh now!  I've heard "mama no" a couple times! 
• is quite strong and believes she's even stronger than she is.  She will try to lift or push anything, even picnic tables.  She can carry objects that are large and awkward and 3/4 her size.  And she wants to carry EVERYTHING.  I am proud of her determination and self-confidence!  I pray she always believes in herself. 
• is enjoying her time with her cousin Brody.  Now that he can sit up, they can interact more and are having lots of fun!  She gives him kisses and hugs.  She tried picking him up the other day but they weigh the same amount! 
• has become motherly.  She's attached to her babies and blankets and wants to carry them everywhere.  She'll tell you her baby is sleeping by putting her finger to her mouth and "shhh"-ing.  Sometimes she tries to carry 2-3 blankets and 2 babies at the same time!  It's amazing to see this motherly instinct develop- where did it come from or is it just purely natural for young girls?  Hopefully she'll feel this fondly about her baby brother. 

I could go on and on about our sweet girl but I must get ready for the day before she wakes up from her nap!  Have a blessed weekend!