Baby Love: 16 months!

Maude is now 16 months old and at every “birthday” Mike and I exclaim “this is the funnest age!!” She’s a total blast right now and so full of personality. She makes us laugh our heads of all day and night. We lie in bed at night and recount stories of the funny or cute thing she did today. We spend a lot of time marveling at her impressive (to us) vocabulary. She seems to pick up dozens of words each week, if not more. I’m amazed at how much one little person can absorb and learn every day. One of her favorite words is HAPPY. She says it over and over again wandering through the house. It makes us laugh and can’t help but make us happy even if we’re not in the best of moods. She also learned her name although it sounds more like “Bod” than Maude.

This little girl has had quite the exciting past few weeks. We went on a trip to Seattle early this month and realized we were there the exact same week last year. We took Maude’s 4 month pictures in Seattle last year and took her 16 month photos this year. This was also her third trip to Seattle. She’s become a pro traveler! During our week there, she saw the Pike’s Place Market, the Space Needle, the impressive downtown library (libraries are one of her favorite places to visit), the children’s museum, the aquarium, and Mount Rainier. We stayed in downtown Seattle for most of the trip and then the last few night’s with friends just outside Seattle. They have three basset hounds so Maude got her doggy fix during her week away from Stella.

We got back last Saturday and in the first week we were home, more fun ensued. Monday night was her very first swim lesson which she loved and hated leaving (lots of crying). Wednesday, she had a playdate at the park and then music lessons. Thursday was a trip to the aquarium (where she very clearly identified the shark when it swam past even though we don’t really remember ever showing her sharks). Friday she went to the zoo with her buddy Quentin. Saturday, we had breakfast with Curious George at the Children’s Museum and Sunday we took a long bike ride with Maude in her new bike trailer and stopped at a local college campus to check out the pond with the ducks and geese. Maude loves the ducks!

The Curious George breakfast was a massive hit. We weren’t sure if she’d be afraid of the larger than life size character or not, but as soon as he came out, she yelled “GEORGE!” and wriggle out of my lap then went running up to him (video below). The picture below with him doesn’t do her excitement justice. She was amazed by him and kept trying to give him kisses. As we were leaving, she was hollering after him “Bye.” It was really too cute.

She’s trying to master dressing herself which provides some entertainment for us as well as some guaranteed time to get something done for ourselves if we need it. Just hand the girl some pants and she’ll work on it forever.

I’ve been traveling a bit more lately and for the first time last week, I came home from an overnight, and Maude was more snuggly with Mike than me. It was sweet and heartbreaking at the same time. I’m on a plane right now and will get home after bedtime which means I will have missed bedtime two nights in a row. I’m anxious to see her tomorrow and see if her bond with Daddy is even stronger.

Enjoy the pictures below. It’s been a fun month with lots to document!