Month 16: Camping, Father's Day, Dancing and Fun!

At 16 months, Sophia has turned into this little girlie girl, playing with necklaces and pocket books over trucks or balls. She is pretty independent and will play for a long time on her own, but she is also really social and likes to be the center of attention at any party. When she wants something like food or rest or change of scenery, she will definitely let us know with some major screeching or a full out rolling on the floor temper tantrum. But that is what makes Sophie, Sophie...



AT 16 months Sophia:

• is climbing in and out of small chairs
• climbing on to the couch without assistance
• has 15 teeth
• is catching (sometimes) when you throw a stuffed animal to her
• loves to boogie, especially the chicken dance
• says Uh oh, Dada, Mama (rarely), NO, teeth, shoes and I think she is saying other things that I can't decipher yet
• REALLY enjoys playing drums, "driving" her toy car and wearing Daddy's baseball hat

Here are some highlights from Month 16:

At home:

Sophia loves to dance. When she hears a familiar song, she will start to bop and do the chicken dance





Playing the "drums" is also one of her favorite things to do at this age







Sophia cannot get enough of her little car. She sits in there and pretends to drive, honks the horn, even grabs her snacks and brings them in there to eat.







Sophia actually found a hat that she can tolerate wearing. .Daddy's baseball cap!







She also LOVES to help her Daddy update his fantasy baseball teams on the laptop.

Sophia can eat with a spoon and her bowl now, although it is still very messy. I have also found that if I keep putting the spoons on the high chair with food on them already, she will pick them up and eat from them.







Grandma visiting this month and playing with the musical toys .

And Chuck came for a visit too for the start of the summer Dexter's chili burger.

Nothing beats playtime with Daddy.

Even finding a place to sit where you are not supposed to is not nearly as fun.

Merry Christmas in June! Yeah, Sophia's First Christmas 2008 ornament from Lenox finally arrived, having been on back order for 6 months. She loved it so much that all she wanted to do was play with it. Thanks Jennifer & Rob for making Christmas come back for a day...you are right, it was actually EARLY since it was supposed to come in July!

Father's Day:

Sophia wished her Daddy a Happy Father's Day early by giving him a movie he couldn't wait another day to see. Fan Boys -- of course he loved it since it is about Star Wars fans trying to break into Sky Walker Ranch.

Pop pop came over for a Father's Day BBQ and Sophia enjoyed extra playtime with her Daddy too. And Happy Father's Day to Grandpa in Colorado!

Camping:

We had quite a camping experience this month. Ok, we actually slept in Ali's cabin while everyone else slept in tents, but we still ate smores by the fire, so it is camping.

On the way to the cabin, we taped Sophia saying one of her first and now favorite words, NO. I guess she learned that from hearing me, but I am going to try to explain things rather than use that word as much so I can save it for something really important.

When we arrived, we had to put on the music and boogie. Sophia started to perfect her chicken dance.



Then it was time to cool off in the pool.

Here are all the babies on with their Daddies (and Jodi since they have twins) before we went on a fun and tiring hike.

After the hike, Sophia had her first whole apple and loved it since it was also entertainment for her.

Dinner time brought more singing and dancing before the babies went to bed and all the grown ups got to party! We had such a great time.



Playgroup Friends:



Playgroup at Pike's house was a blast. Sophia had so much fun driving the boat and playing with all the other outdoor toys that she had to take a rest on this chair for a bit.

Sophia with all her friends at an indoor playspace that was supposed to "completely change our world," but it was just OK.

We also went to the Stepping Stones museum which actually did change our world. The toddler section and water room are perfect for their age. The outdoor playground was also loaded with fun toys.

The summer concerts in the park started up again and we all went for some pizza beforehand.

We spent a nice Sat afternoon at the park with Leah. Since Randie will be off work in the summer, we are looking forward to more days like this soon.

We went to the zoo this month

One Friday playgroup we found a new park to play in with a jungle gym that was the perfect size for toddlers.

Sophia loves any kind of toy that she can sit on.

Sophia and her friends at another children's museum. She is just like her Daddy and doesn't like when other people drive.

We went to a music demo this month as well. She was not happy until Amy showed up. She ran over to her and spent the entire class in her lap.

Sophia used to be scared of the big drum but now she really likes it.

So that is all for month 16. We had a lot of activities and there will be even more this summer as we enjoy the nice weather.