Crib Notes: Month 16 (and a half)

I'm beginning to sound like a broken record, but Park's 16th month was another one filled with lots of big firsts. For starters, he has built up enough strength over the last couple months to crawl on his hands and knees all by himself ... not that he will. While he's been giving his back and biceps a workout at therapy every week, he's also become a very fast and efficient scooter. It's his mobile method of choice. There is just no stopping him. But we're still thrilled with his progress and are now working on standing and getting his balance in check. It is definitely baby steps, but we are getting there. Slowly.

The other big news, at least from the parenting standpoint, is that we've found a new pediatrician that we absolutely love. We had been disappointed in our first doctor for some time but really liked the nurses in the office and were hoping it was just us and that things would get better. It didn't. So we finally left and found a new doctor based on some recommendations. I wanted to cry after the first appointment with her, she was just that good. Perhaps our other doctor was just that bad and made this new woman look better than she is. But to have someone sit down and listen was amazing.

On the teething front, Park's first year molars decided to all come in at once. To celebrate, we took the bottle away. I don't think he noticed one bit. Park hasn't yet accepted a cup of milk with a meal, but a cup while reading books is OK. Again, baby steps.

As for flirting with the ladies, Park has added blinking to his bag of tricks. Craig is trying his best to take the two-eyed blink up a notch by getting him to wink with one eye. Watch out.

Eating with Park continues to be messy and fun. He'll eat anything, but he prefers whatever we're eating. Even if it's the same thing on his plate. He's added veggie burgers, pancakes and chicken nuggets (not the "mc" variety just yet) to his list of favorite foods. He's finally figured out how the straw works and he continues to improve with the spoon (although using the fingers is so much faster - just like scooting).

And finally, this kid has been given the gift of gab. He went through a period this past month of squealing as loud as he could. In public. In the car. In close spaces. It appears we might be done with that phase, but are experiencing a whole new thing now ... more to come on that in the 17-month post. Park is also getting good at imitating animals. He just says "duck" for duck (and bird and anything else that flies), he pants for a dog, he oinks from his throat for a pig, he loves to mimic cows (especially in the cow-covered dairy aisle at the grocery store), he can neigh like a horse and he squeals for a monkey.

As always, we continue to look forward to all the new discoveries, challenges and adventures the next month will bring.