We’re starting to rack up the memories here, and there’s still a looonnngggg time to go! But that’s a good thing, no need to rush through life, right?
I’m going to have to start cutting down on my word length so as to not draw everything out. Well, at least not more than I already do! See, I’m doing it now? Damn.
So, Avery, let’s cut to the chase and get on with the memories, shall we?
1. Your popular phrase this month has been “Say cheese!” Mommy kept telling you this while taking the thousands of pics we take of you, and eventually you just started repeating what Mommy said. You’ve slowed down recently, but still surprise us by saying it out of no where.
2. We’ve been “playing” peek-a-boo with you since you were just 2 weeks old, but now you’re finally playing back. Although, you tend to draw out the amount of time you have your hands over your face. Either way, cute as ever!
3. Having hit the weigth limit in your infant car seat, we needed to upgrade to a convertible seat. The extremely generous people at Britax WOW’d us by sending their Boulevard ClickTight seat. It was a breeze to install, and, you were obviously WOW’d too!
4. We watched our first movie, Puss in Boots, together as a family. You could hardly sit still enough to actually watch any of it, and you didn’t miss much since the movie did not impress! It was still a good bonding time and hopefully we’ll have another one soon!
5. Another family “experience” this past month was that we all got sick. I mentioned how both you and I got sick in my last “Memories” post, and Mommy had her face time with the toilet not long after. Whatever it was, I’m glad we’re all happy and healthy now!
6. You are finally holding and drinking from the bottle on your own! Holding it upside down is still an issue, but you’re getting better each day. This is great, because I had just wrote about our frustrations with how you should’ve been holding it already. But, since you are still breastfeeding, we attributed it to that at least a little bit.
7. The hypocrite in me came out this month when I gave you one of those applesauce-in-a-pouch things. I was going crazy trying to prepare several meals at once as you ran around my legs, so I busted out the GoGo Squeez pouch you received as a party favor from our neighborhood friend’s 1st birthday party. You were unsure of the puree being squeezed into your mouth at first, but quickly finished off the whole thing!
8. After years of talking and having what my late grandpa (your G-Ma’s Dad) called the “I Wanna Disease”, I finally bought an indoor rower. Thanks to Amazon Points and Mommy’s fitness reimbursement at work, I felt somewhat justified in the purchase. When it arrived, you were a huge help in getting it put together quickly!
9. While people in Boston were getting feet upon feet of snow, Texas had it’s own “extreme” weather hit with *gasp* a few inches of snow! It actually was pretty bad since the roads were iced over almost everywhere, but we still made the most of it and you got to walk around in your bear suit for your first ex-snow-perience.
10. Since you started playing peek-a-boo, saying “Say cheese”, and holding your own bottle, it only seemed fitting for you to bust out some high fives too. And that you did! Maybe too good at times, since you’d give my five when I had food in my hand and was offering it to you.
11. The creator (and wonderful father and husband) of the Dad Bloggers group I am a part of, Oren Miller, passed away after battling stage 4 lung cancer for almost a year. I never met him personally, but was a part of a group-wide initiative to raise funds for him and his family to go on one last vacation together. As a tribute, many of us dad bloggers lit up social media by having a #LoveWalkForOren and tagging #Dads4Oren. You and I shared in the heart-warming tribute with our own walk. Things like this make me realize how much I love you and Mommy more than ever!
12. I recently have been given the honor to help our Dallas Dads Group branch out to the Fort Worth area which is closer to where we live. The first meet-up I scheduled was for a bounce house called Jump For Fun in Southlake. We had a blast, and since it’s free for 2 and under, we’ll be going back soon for sure! 
13. For G-Ma’s most recent visit, she couldn’t believe how much you had grown after only not seeing you for 2 weeks. G-Ma was excited to see what all you can do now, but didn’t expect your eyesight to be so good as to point out food in her teeth! 
14. Mommy and I have been trying to teach you a few words in sign language for a while now, but we weren’t too consistent in the beginning. We picked it back up this month, and the sign for “more”, as in food, is your ultimate favorite. Now you’re signing more all day! You’re a bottomless pit, but thankfully it’s all healthy goodness with things like NuttZo! 
15. With you doing so well at signing for more and holding your own bottle, I figured I’d start setting several bites of food for you to have as you roam around the house. But, you still don’t understand the concept of “one at a time”, so that was short-lived. You just stuff your face with everything in front of you at once! While signing for more, of course. 
16. Annnddd, finally, the last one this month. Our Texas weather just started warming up (hopefully for good since it’s almost spring), and I’ve been bringing you to the playground to get some outside time. You can’t do much with the equipment yet, but it’s obvious you just enjoy being outdoors.
Happy 16 months, Avery, Mommy and Daddy (and a lot of other friends and family) love you so much! Keep on growing, not too fast, and lets work a little more on keeping your bottle upright. 😉
Thanks for reading through this post that gets longer and longer each month.
What were you finding about your kid around 16 months?
