16 MONTHS

16 Months, How can sixteen months have already gone by?

Growth & Appearance:

To me, you look very much like your Dad; with soft, soft skin the colour of burnt honey. You have one tiny freckle in the elbow crease of your left arm. Your hair is soft Caucasian hair, the exact same colour that Tamika’s was when she was a baby. It has grown so much in the last month, so much so, the feathery fringe often hangs in your eyes, and the back now resembles a mullet. But I cannot not bring myself to cut it, not yet anyhow. For some reason every time you sleep your hair falls into the most amazing mohawk.

You have gotten so tall, yet you still are such a skinny thing, which is surprising considering how much you eat.

Eating:

You eat so much food! I often think, no I know, you eat more in a day than you big sister. You are not fussy and will eat almost anything I give you, though your favorites are any rice or pasta dish. It does not matter if the food is spicy you will still gobble it up. The only time I have seen you spit out food in rejection was I once tried to give you canned spaghetti instead of homemade. Your face cracked me up; you looked at me and spat it out and your eyes where like “what the Mum? I do not eat canned stuff’. You love your yoghurt and if I ask you if you want any, it has you running to the fridge trying to yank open the door. Justin and I have agree to limit your intake of anything we consider ‘junk’ food. The only time you have had ice-cream was on your birthday, other than that we occasionally let you lick our spoons. I am not sure how much longer we can get away with not giving you any crap food, when so many people try to give it to you. 

You drink so much water, and the fruit tea from T2. You are still breastfeeding three times a day, each time before a sleep. Sometimes you scam an extra comfort feed.

Talking: 

If anyone is around you go all quiet and shy. However if it just us, you are a noisy chatter box.. You vocabulary is limited, yet I understand what you are saying. If music is on, or if Justin is playing the guitar you like to sing/hum. I keep reminding Justin to speak Cantonese to you, but he often forgets. I want you to learn it, so you can communicate with your Grandparents, plus I think everyone should learn another language.

Sleeping: 

You do everything so well, except for sleeping. You fight going to sleep and you cry when you wake up. It is as if you think you will miss out on life. You will sleep two hours in the morning and two hours in the afternoon, sometimes more, but only if I am cuddling you, or we are driving in the car. At night you go to sleep around 8:30 and will sleep on your own for about five hours, but when you wake you will not go back to sleep unless I cuddle you. This means I am still not getting much sleep.

This is what you look like before you go to sleep and when you wake up, and not because you have Harry High Pants. 

Development:

You are a crazy, active, busy boy. You are always on the go, running and climbing. You love climbing, so much so it scares me, but thrills you. I leave you alone for a minute to come back into a room to find you have climbed up onto something.

You are going so well with your swimming lessons, you pull yourself up and you kick your little legs. We are lucky how much you enjoy the water.

I have spent the last month teaching you body parts. When asked where your nose, or someone others, for that matter, you shove a finger up there so high. Yes, you pick everyone’s nose. With the bellybutton question you have to poke your finger right in. If I ask where someone else belly is, you love to blow raspberries on it. In fact you love to blow raspberries, the only problem is you get over excited and this turns into bites. Justin, Tamika and I have all been chomped on in your rough play, and I have no idea how to stop you. I say no loudly and sit you away from us on your bottom. This results in your bottom lip quivering and many tears. But then with-in minutes you are up and often attempting to bite again.

You still love all music and instruments; you will spend ages playing your Dad’s Casio and assorted guitars. This is often accompanied by much dancing on your behalf.

Your face is amazing in your ability to control it, I cannot even begin to describe how many facial expression you ‘pull’.

Raspberries are a new thing

Favourites: 

You are still very much a Mumma’s boy, oh you love your Dad and can hear his motorbike coming home from work way before I can, but I still am the one you cling to. Not sure if it is because I am the provider of milk, because I am with you 24/7, or if I am just lucky that you love your Mum. 

Your Dad is your favourite playmate, you have the cupboard game, the under the bed game and the hiding game which you love to play with Justin. You also love to hide your Dad’s thing. If Justin leaves stuff laying around you get it and hide it. Lucky your hidey hole is always your nappy basket. 

Tamika is the one you prefer to muck up with, hmm love the game you two do, of how loud you can both scream at each other. 

Favourite things…paint brushes, make-up brushes, toothbrushes, (not sure why you love all brushes so much) any cooking utensils, wooden blocks, bucket and spades, anyone’s mobile phone (you are so quick at grabbing them and then taking off with them. 

You also prefer to play with slightly older kids around six or so, then kids your own age. You also love any person with long hair, preferable blonde or red.

Your favourite thing is also to be naked, of how you have turned into a little stripper; you are so clever at getting your clothes and nappies off. But you love shoes, to get you dressed I have to bribe you with the game of “lets pick which shoes you are going to wear”. 

You love to climb

There is so much more I could write about you. As I have said before, Jarvis you are a little man with a big loving personality. 

Your brush thing is enabled by the make-up artists at Justin's work

I got the idea for this list/layout from Ashley over at theStork and the Beanstalk. Thank you Ashley it is so much easier to remember everything the last month has bought in changes when I follow your idea.