Theo at 16 months

Playing with a B52 at the indoor mall

 Each month I write another one of these posts, I can hardly believe that Theo is another month older.  The time is going by so fast.  Theo and I were watching some of his baby movies yesterday and I can't believe how small he was, since he's getting so big and mobile now. 

Found a mud puddle on a rainy day

I think this month, more than any other month, Theo is asserting his spunky, sassy, personality.  He is so fascinated in dogs.  We take a daily "dog walk" in the afternoons to see all the neighbors dogs. Theo knows where they all live and we know a few dogs well enough where Theo is allowed to go up to the fence and pet them and get doggy kisses.  We've taken a few field trips to the pet stores in town.  The last time we went was on a Saturday, so there were a lot of dogs in the store with their owners, so he got to pet a few little ones.  He was somewhat interested in the birds and turtles, but he really likes the fish because he can touch the tanks and see them without being held.  I was tempted to bring home a 13 cent fish and flush it before the move- but decided not to.

Playing with his friend Sawyer

Theo's chattering more and more.  I understand him, but not sure if anyone else does.  Unfortunately "nooooooo" has become part of his little vocabulary.  He also is starting to differentiate "uh oh" (something small is wrong) and "uh ooooooooohhhhhh" (a bigger mess).  It's hard to not laugh sometimes, and also figuring out different ways to teach what things are "not acceptable."  He knows several animal sounds, although he doesn't like to perform for others.  We're working on body parts and getting dressed.  He knows his nose/ears/eyes/mouth (sometimes).  When we ask where his eyes are, he blinks.  It's pretty cute.  As far as getting dressed, he knows how to take off his shirts and pants, sometimes and he tries to put on his socks and shoes.  The biggest thing he's been getting into is taking off his diaper if he doesn't have pants on...now for potty training.  :)

Sometimes it's hard to be Theo

He has also been playing with his toys for longer periods of times.  He'll sit and play with the same time for 20-30 minutes sometimes, and it's really fun to see him exploring different aspects of those toys.  He really likes his little people barn, and little people school bus right now.  He's also sooo into books, and we read all the time. 

The cow says moooooo

His favorite show is Sesame Street, and Theo and I often snuggle in the morning in bed watching.  He's stopped butt dancing and picked up a little head bob instead. With Mason being gone, we did watch Lady and the Tramp- BIG HIT!  We also watched Cinderella, which he likes, and Mary Poppins which he's not that in to.  I recorded The Tigger Movie, which we'll probably watch in the next few weeks. It takes a few days to watch the longer movies.  

Mom, you have teeth too??

Some other highlights:
-He can walk up the front steps holding onto the railing
-Got another bottom tooth, totaling 8 teeth
 -Only getting his pacifier at naptime and bedtime unless he's teething
-Will put trash in the trash can if you tell him too (although puts other times in the trash too)
-New hiding place is the bathtub
-Wearing 12-18 month clothes

Uh-ooooooooohhhhhhh

Mason's been gone for two weeks this month, so Theo got to Skype with him for the first time, which was a funny experience for him.  He's also really missed Mason a lot.  The first few days, he would stand at the window and peek through looking for "dada".  he went through a tough time in the middle, but I started showing him more and more pictures of Mason.  Before Mason heads out of town the next time, I'm going to record Mason reading some books and some messages for Mason so we can play those while he's not here.  He comes home tomorrow, and Theo isn't even going to know what hit him.  

Dada, I want to touch you

Pretty cute

His little world is about to change a lot in the next month with our big move North, but hopefully he'll adjust well since Daddy will be there!