Barrett - 16 months

Barrett is now 16 months. Can I still call him my baby even though he looks, acts and sounds like a toddler? I say YES and since I'm the mom, I get to make the rules, right?

He is transitioning to the toddler room at daycare. It's so different! They sleep on cots, eat at tables and chairs instead of highchairs, and talk to each other. There's a little jungle gym with steps and a slide, although Barrett hasn't quite figured out that he needs to sit to slide so it always makes my heart jump to see him standing at the top of it. I still stop by at least half the days around lunchtime to hang out with him for a few minutes. Some days he's thrilled to see me and other days he's like "mom, what are you doing here on my turf?" But he always is sad for me to go so I know he is happy I stop by. The other kids in his class crowd around me and fight to get on my lap, so at least I'm sort of appreciated. The other 4 will be fighting to sit on my lap and get my attention, as the new face in the class, and he'll go walk away to check something else out. Ah, I'm already being taken for granted.

His personality is coming out more and more every day. It's fun now, because I can tell what he's thinking. It's fun to see those little wheels turning in his head. Sometimes they're cute wheels, like "how do I fit this shape into this hole?" or "if I throw this ball, Payton will go and chase it!" and sometimes they're naughty thoughts like "I'm going to wait until Mommy's back is turned and then I'm going to drop this piece of food on the floor!" He is generally a really gentle child. I see the other kids his age pushing and shoving and grabbing, and that is just not him. When other kids take his toys, he just looks confused, not angry and it's just not in his nature to push another kid down. Sometimes the mama bear in me wants him to push back and stand up for himself, but I'm glad I got the loving and sweet child and not the bully.

He gives these sweet open mouthed kisses and has started giving great hugs. Lately he's been pretty clingy to me sometimes and puts his arms around me and rests his head on my shoulder. Very sweet!

Things he says:
Momma
Daddy
doggy
shoes
milk
more
blanket (doesn't sound much like blanket but I know what he means)
Barney (a new one!)
up
down
uh-oh
hi
bye
bubbles
baby
papa

He's definitely going through a verbal phase lately and seems to be constantly picking up new phrases. What a fun age!