16 Months

Clara has become even more stubborn this month which equals more tantrums. They are still usually short lived and she is easily redirected, but if she is overly tired watch out world! There have been some days this month where Clarita refused to take one of her naps or took really short naps. Those nights were basically one giant tantrum and one night I put her to pet at 7:30 because I couldn't deal with her anymore. I think she will be transitioning to one nap per day soon so hopefully this problem will resolve itself.

It's never too early for yard work!

She loves taking selfies with Dada

The little Wiggle had her first real sickness this month. She had a fever and runny nose once before but didn't seem sick. This time she seemed sick. Her poor little eyes just looked sick and she just wanted to sleep and snuggle. She spent one night in the carrier for almost the entire period after I came home from work until she went to bed. Luckily the sickness only lasted two days with one really bad day. Then she was her normal always on the go self again.

Poor sick baby

Clarita has really become attached to her soft monito that she sleeps with. She likes to carry him around the house and give him hugs. She also takes him with her when we go places and he seems to be her favorite stuffed animal. She will request momo and if I give her a different monkey she throws it on the ground and says, "nah."

This little girl loves the water! Her new favorite word is agua and she points out water wherever she sees it. Clarita loves to run through the sprinklers, play with the hose, and of course swim. If we are around a pool, river, or lake it is difficult to keep her out of the water. Once she's in the water, it is difficult to get her out without a tantrum. Dada is very happy about this as he has always been a swimmer and would love for Clarita to follow in his footsteps.

Is that a bomb around her waist?

Drinking water from the hose like Dada

Speaking of Clara's obsession with water, she walks around saying awa awa all day long! She loves to drink her water and requests in frequently throughout the day. Clarita began sleeping in her room when she was around seven months old. Until this month we had never had to go up to her room during the night. Twice in the past week Clara has awoken during the night standing in her crib saying awa awa. The first time I thought it was a fluke and that she would go back to sleep if I ignored her. She did not, and after five minutes of her repeating awa over and over, I went to her room and gave her water. She drank a ton, I changed her diaper, and she went right back to sleep. The second time I gave her water, gave her a hug, and she went right back to sleep. I guess it makes sense that she gets thirsty during the night, I do, but if she keeps it up we will have to leave her water bottle in her bed so I don't have to get up to satisfy her thirst! I can't get too annoyed because I am obsessed with water and carry my water bottle everywhere. I think she is following in my footsteps!

Clarita also loves to be outside. She loves playing in the dirt, helping with yard work, and running around loquita style. Clara often cries when it is time to come inside or leave the playground. Usually if we tell her she gets to do something one more time and then fin she will be ok. She then says peen and waves goodbye to whatever it is we were doing.

Building her immunities

Clara has always refused to sit still long enough for me to cut her nails. I used to file them when she nursed, but since she nurses only at night for a tiny bit now that doesn't work. This past month she let me clip them while watching Baby Signing Time, but she was fighting me by the end. The other night I decided to make a game out of it and every time I cut one I said Wooo! Turns out she thought this was super fun and not only let me cut all of her finger nails, but insisted that I cut her toenails too. I am hoping this was not a fluke and that she will continue to think it's a fun game so she doesn't grow claws that she uses to scratch everyone including herself.

I finally got some finger paints and let Clara go at it. It was a huge hit and she kept asking me to put more paint on her paper. She also decided that she should paint her stomach and chest. When I told her it was time to finish she screamed and threw a giant tantrum. I'd say it was a hit!

This has been a month of imitating. Clara tries to imitate words, actions, really anything she sees others do. She has also developed quite the little imagination. One day she was at the park with Abuelita and found a piece of bark that she declared to be a boat. She then insisted on floating her boat in puddles. Another day she decided that a block was an airplane and flew it all around the house. She also likes to put things on her head and call them hats. It's fun to watch her imagination grow.

What a cute hat!

Clarita's Stats

Weight: 19 pounds 

Height: 31.5 inches 

Head Circumference: 18 inches

What Clara Wears

She is now wearing mostly 12 month outfits. Some fit pretty well and some are still big. Her 9 month shorts still fit her pretty well, especially when she has on a disposable diaper! She is just starting to fit into size 4 shoes.

Things Clara Loves

Mama and Dada, going for walks, naked baby time, pacifiers (especially her monito), reading books, people, taking showers, playing with her toys, animals (especially her cats), eating, playing peek a boo, running, empty bottles, cardboard boxes, phones, remote controls, brushing her "teeth",climbing up the stairs, Baby Signing Time DVDs, stuffed animals (especially her monito), getting the ABCs sung to her while pointing at them on the wall, being swung through the air, swinging, sliding, being outside, water, swimming, blowing bubbles with Abuelita, dancing, shoes

Things Clara Does Not Love

This still really just depends on the day/Clara's mood. She is a happy girl, but gets very angry when she does not get her way. Then the tears pour out until she is distracted by something else and stops mid cry to move on. Lately she has hated having her face or nose wiped, being told no, and having to do anything she does not want to do at that exact moment.

How Clarita Sleeps

Clara still takes two  naps, the first between 9:30 and 10:00 and another between 2:30 and 3:00. She has had some weird naps this month. When she was sick she spent most of the day sleeping. Other times she took a four hour nap in the morning and none in the afternoon. She also refused to take naps or spent two hours in her crib happily playing before falling asleep. Clarita sleeps in her sleep sack in her crib with her pacifier, monito, and pinguino. She has been waking up around 7:00 this past month and there have been a few times where I had to wake her up at 7:15.

Nicknames

Clarita, Snugglepuff, Snuggles, Wiggle, Baby/Bebe, Sapita, Munchkin, Birthday Twin, Monkey Butt, Loquita, Midget, Pipsqueak (thanks Abuelita)

Sign Language

Clara loves sign language and can sign eat, more, please, thank you, hat, ball, sleep, baby, banana, water, milk, bird, dog, cat, mama, dada, hurt, shoes, socks, wash hands, frog, book, dirty, all done, car, bus, train, apple, horse, yes, no, bath, bubbles, airplane, boat, bear, balloon, bubbles, cow, corn, cold, game, hot, monkey, cereal, elephant, mouse, fish, peach, sheep, music. Clara made up her own sign for motorcycle in which she squats down with her hands out in front of her and says vroom vroom (she also does this for bike), she also made up a sign for outside that looks like she is turning a deadbolt.

Talking

Clara really picked up a lot of words this month! She says some words in Spanish and some in English. She says banana "nana" no "nah" (she can actually say no perfectly but prefers to say nah), more/mas "ma", bye bye "buh ba", ball "ba", monkey "mo mo", eat/comer "mer", yes "ya", thank you "da", "Baba" for Baza (this now translates to her word for all cats), milk "meh", dog "daa daa", yummy "mmm", water/agua "awa", Abuelita "Aba", grapes/uvas "ubas", dirty "duhdee", flor/flower "fla/fowa", all done/fin "peen", apple "apa", hat "aaa", hot "aaw", necklace/cadena "nena", cheese "chees", shoes "choos", pan/bread "pa", boo, boom, Please "peez". She says some animal sounds, mau (meow), woo (woof), (ney) neigh, moo, baa, rarrrrr (for a bear), and woo woo (when she hears a train). She also likes to walk up to people and start laughing in a deep totally fake sounding laugh. You can't help but laugh when you hear it!

Teeth

Four! Two on the bottom and two on the top. It seems like she grows one per month and at this rate won't get them all until she's in school!

Monthly Exciting Events

July 19, 2013: First time finger painting

June 30, 2014: Clara finally finishes the frozen breast milk 

and starts drinking cow's milk

June 29, 2014: Clara starts walking on her tiptoes

June 28, 2013: First time swimming in a lake

June 23, 2014: First mud run/swim in a river

Monthly Pictures