Joanna Prefers to Crawl

Joanna took her first real walking steps on Valentine's Day, shortly after she turned 15 months old. She'd scooted on her feet a bit before that day, but it was the first time she walked two or more real steps. At 16 months old, walking is still not her preferred mode of transportation. Jo prefers to crawl.

We've been slacking on getting video of Jo's first few steps. Finally, the other day, she walked a bit when I was filming her. I told my husband now we have real proof that she can walk but chooses not to. Jo will walk when we bribe her. She'll also walk as a sort of parlor trick. She lifts her hands up in the air and takes a couple steps before looking back at us for applause and cheering.

Oliver was a late walker, too. He took his first steps around his first birthday, but he wouldn't walk around until he was 16 months old. I don't really mind, and, in some ways, it makes my life easier. There are few falls and worries when your little one is crawling around. Still, it also is a little off-putting to see some 11, 12, and 13 month olds walking circles around Jo!

Here are a few of Joanna's steps on film. Funny stuff.
                       

16 Months

I'm delighted that Oliver has finally started to walk more than he crawls! This phenomenon just started this week, and I'm so excited! I love seeing our little guy get up and walk across the floor. So far, it hasn't made him any more mischievous as other moms warned.

He's repeating random words upon hearing them. The other day, we got a space heater from Andrew's parents (our furnace died), and Andrew explained to him that we don't touch it because "it's hot." Now, every time he sees the space heater, he points to it and declares, "Hot!" He's also started saying, "Eyes," and, "Head." When the washing machine is done, I yell, "It's done!" and Oliver always responds with, "Sess!" I think that means, "It's done!"

Oliver's new list of words:
More
Mom
Shoe
Dog
Dad
Head
It's done
Eyes
Nose
Hot

Oliver understands a lot more than he says, of course. He knows commands like, "Close the door," "Put on the lid," and "Hand me the book." He understands words like, "Squirrel," "Buckle," "Milk," "Water," "Light," "Upstairs," "Toes," "Knees," "Ears," "Feet," "Mouth," and "Laundry."

Starting mid-January, Oliver started napping twice a day again. The extra break is nice, but it's hard planning a day around two naps. I'm ready for him to go back to a nap once a day, and I think he's ready now, too. It's taking him about 20-30 minutes to fall asleep. However, I'm going to Miami for the weekend, and I want Oliver to nap twice a day for Andrew. I think I'll wait another week to push him to one nap a day.

Oliver also loves books. He flips through them by himself and constantly brings us books to read to him. His favorites are "Isn't Pig Won't Naughty?" (from Julie), "Jamberry" (from the Thornes), "Animals" (from Uncle Scott), "Baby Animals" (from the health department), "The Littlest Mouse" (my parents), and "Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed" (Andrew's parents).

Here's a list of his current likes and dislikes:

Likes
*Being held
*The Alphabet Song
*The Washing Machine
*Books
*Cheese
*Omelets
*The park (especially the slide)
*Sharing
*Rocks
*Squirrels and dogs
*Pointing to things when we name them
*Monkey, Froggy, and Panda (his stuffed animals)
*Putting away dishes
*Elmo
*Videos

Dislikes
*Being told, "No."
*Being put down instead of being carried
*Leaving the park
*Staying at the grocery store for too long (more than 10 minutes)