Officially a little boy.

It's true. He seems more like a little boy every single day. Where did my baby go?

After his 16 mo. check up, here are his new stats:

Weight: 22.4 lbs. (16th percentile)
Height: 31.5 in. (30th percentile)
Head circumference: 75th percentile

So he's got a giant head and a skinny little body, but the doctor wasn't worried so I'm not either :)

Some awesome new things that he is doing:

1. He has been trying new words just in the past few weeks: Momma, Dada, Duck, Cheese, Grandpa, Grandma, Jesus, Leah. The first time he said Grandpa he pointed at an elderly man as we were walking into the grocery and said: "Ampa." I'll take it. He tries to say lots of other words, but they don't really sound like much yet.
2. He understands almost all of what we say. Just today Chuck asked him to point to a bunch of different things. It was cool to see all the things he knows, stuff we rarely ever talk about, like the TV, the fireplace, the fan, etc. 
3. He can point to almost all of his body parts.
4. He loves it when I clip his toenails and fingernails. Mainly, because if he is patient and good I will let him hold the clippers and "clip" his nails after I am finished.
5. He loves the bath! He could play in there for hours. He knows how to "swim" (lay on his belly with his head out of the water and kick his legs). He used to get pretty upset about getting out, but we've started to tell him to say goodbye to the water as it drains and that has helped. He just waves continuously for 5 minutes until it's gone. It's pretty cute.
6. He loves to play with older kids, but hasn't quite learned how to get along with the kids smaller than he is.
7. He LOVES to play outside. Now that the weather is warming up, he points to the back door every five minutes. I'm hoping these nice days keep coming!
8. He knows how to sign: thank you, thirsty, eat, more, all done, sleepy, book and please. 
9. If he really wants something we will drop everything he is holding and sign please. It's really cute.
10. He loves to color. If he sits in my lap to color he puts the crayons or markers in my hands and just watches me color. If he colors in his own chair he usually draws one line in one color, picks a different color and draws one line and so on. However, if I ask him to write his name and start spelling it out, he will start drawing loops and lines until I finish :) It's cute.
11. He loves to climb. 
12. He loves to "help" sweep, do laundry, push the laundry basket, put away his toys, put his books back on his shelf, throw trash away, cook and vacuum.
13. When he goes down for naps and to bed at night we read books and then I sing him a song while we cuddle. He sings with me now and sometimes will pop up and give me kisses or grin at me. These are my favorite moments of the day.
14. He loves to "talk" on the phone. He will put the phone up to his ear and babble away. He even left a voicemail for Grandma Woods today :)
15. His is fun and playful and independent and determined and strong-willed and happy and active. And we love him to pieces.

And because I didn't feel like having a post without pictures, here's what we have been up to this past month:

Sensory Bin! I have just now discovered the miracle/mess of sensory bins. This one is with rice and split peas (that's what I had on hand). And I used the easter eggs because I was trying to be festive :) But, I set this down in front of him and he played continuously for an hour and twenty minutes. He mostly liked pouring it into different containers and then dumping them back in. After a while he got curious about the peas and tried to taste them. When I said, "They are peas but they aren't cooked yet," he prompted pulled out a saute pan and started to meticulously put all the peas into the pan. Love it.

Love that belly.

Surveying the damage.

Helping mom with the clean up.

Haircut! He officially had his first haircut. I only cried a little. Okay, maybe not, but cutting off his little curl in the back that he loved to play with and seeing the difference it made in how much older he looked. That hurt a little : / Also, we gave him a bowl of water to play with and he was extremely still and good the whole time. I think he might have been a little nervous.

The finished product.

Pipe Cleaners! We needed something new and different to do inside (silly cold weather), so I pulled out one of our trillion yogurt containers and made holes in the lid. Then stuck some pipe cleaners in it. Instant fun. 

Mess-free finger painting! I squirted some paint into ziploc bags and taped them to the back door. He liked to mix the colors and then draw in the paint. Although, this one wasn't as big of a hit as I thought it would be, he still enjoyed. 

I miss that little curl in the back!