out of the mouth of a babe.

Our Wild Thing hit 16 months last week.

A complete list of words she can/has said:

"hi"

"dah-eee" = doggy

"preeee" = pretty

"bye bye"

"tinktink" = stinky

"yeah"

"dada"

"bah" = ball
"uh-oh"

"baba" = pretty sure she means mama

"ah ah ah" = monkey noise

"naynaynay" = horse noise
"Jeejee" = Jesus

~

A few things I don't want to forget:

She loves when daddy comes home. There was a short time there when she would get so excited when he walked in the door, she would scream so loud and stomp her feet in excitement. "I feel like the Beatles" Chris said. He is funny like that.

She also loves bath time. Chris gives her her bath each night and I think its something everyone looks forward too. I get a break and get to hear my two favorite people laughing and screeching and splashing. Chris gets fun time with Carly when he often hasn't seen her all day. And Carly gets fun bathtime with daddy. On the few occasions I do give her a bath, she just looks at me like, this is so boring. So its a win/win/win.

She is a meticulous and strategic player. She organizes things and puts things in other things strategically. Like how she puts finger puppets in her stacking cups. But the right puppet has to go in the right cup, and only she knows what that is. And she puts her Little People animals in the dishwasher basket, and utensils in buckets. She also likes to organize puzzle pieces and move them back and forth between two locations. You can see in her eyes that her brain is always working hard.

A few nights ago, before I gave her a bath, I was getting everything ready and she went and sat by the wipes and said "tinktink". Stinky. I asked, "do you have a stinky?" I usually smell a dirty diaper a mile away so I didn't think she really knew what she was saying, but I went and checked, and she was right. Her very first time telling me to change her diaper. She also points to the toilet after I use the restroom and says "tinktink". This means she will be an early potty-trainer, right?

She is very independent. This week I was trying to get her out the door so we could run an errand and she was not letting me put her boots on. So finally I said, "ok, I'm going on an adventure out in the fresh air. have fun all alone stuck at home." I put my coat on and left, standing outside our front door. I expected crying or whining or pounding on the door. Instead I hear through the door: "bye bye! bye bye! BYE BYE!". I stood out in the freezing cold trying to make a point, then went in to find her playing with her puzzle pieces right where I left her. We are in trouble, I think.

A few days ago when I put her down, she was not acting too tired. But I leave her in her dark room anyway. I close the door, and hear "BYE BYE!". Cutest thing.

She still isn't a big eater. Though I discovered she likes BBQ chicken, so she actually gets protein occasionally.

When daddy gets home, she goes to him and he picks her up and she kisses him, then me, then him, then me. She could bounce between us for a long time, if we let her. And sometimes we do.

She is smart.

She has a total diva attitude.

She knows how cute she is.

She wants things done her way.

She is busy.

She is crazy.

She is sweet.

She is hilarious.

She is the bestest.

I love her.