Dylan update - 16 Months!

 

I can't believe this little ray of sunshine is already 16 months old!  She's now a full-fledged, active, hilariously crazy toddler who fills me with so much joy every day.  I'm still so obsessed with her.  I just read an article where Amy Poehler said her kids were so delicious that if she could eat them she would.  I can totally relate!  I just want to gobble Dylan up!  I can't resist those squishy cheeks, big blue eyes, chubby hands and curly blonde hair.  She's so darn cute!

 

Dylan has changed so much in the last few months.  The biggest and most impressive leap is her language explosion.  I think at her 12 month update she said about 20 words and 2 sentences.  Now she's up to at least 50-60 words and regularly speaks in 2 and 3 word sentences. She tries really hard to communicate with us so she attempts to say everything.  Her favorite phrases are "all done," bath time," and "I love you."  The other day she brought me my flip flops and said, "shoes on mama."  Not bad for a 16 month old.  And she loves to sing parts of her favorite songs - she can sing a lot of Itsy Bitsy Spider and Twinkle, Twinkle.  She blows me away how much she comprehends and communicates.  I thought the boys were early talkers but this girl takes the cake.

 

My little girl is still charting pretty big for her age.  At her 15 month well-check last month she was off the charts for her height at 33 1/2 inches.  And at 24 pounds she's 75th percentile for weight.  She's built a lot like Jack...long and lean but pretty solid.  I guess I have a little athlete on my hands.  The girl loves to be outside with the "BOYS" as she calls them.  She loves playing with cars, planes and superheroes.  But her absolute favorite toy is her new scooter.  She was obsessed with Gavin's blue one and fought him every day for it.  So we just had to buy her one of her own....pink, of course!  But much to my delight she also loves girly stuff...Minnie Mouse, baby dolls, glittery shoes and hair bows... so I'm ok to let her be a tomboy every once in a while.  She also adores her besties so I know she's going to be a girls-girl!

As far as her personality goes, she's still quite a firecracker!  We call her the little Diva now.  She's very passionate about everything and has a flare for dramatics.  She's also very bossy and knows exactly what she wants, exactly when she wants it.  And when she doesn't get her way, look out, the girl can throw a major tantrum!  I'm hoping that she gets it all out of her system now so that she will be the most pleasant teenager.  But when the girl is on, she's so much fun to be around!  She's hilariously funny, so silly and loves to joke, play and wrestle.  Her favorite game right now is hide-and-seek...she can play it with her brothers forever. They seriously crack her up and she has this wonderful laugh that reminds me so much of Jack's as a baby.  She loves her family and her sweet little girlfriends but she's still not so good with strangers...she tends to get really serious around them.  But otherwise she's just the happiest little love.  I am so lucky to have her!  I'm really looking forward to the upcoming holiday season with her and the boys.

Here are some recent pictures of my favorite girl...

We ran a 2k fun run with Jack's school last weekend and I think Dylan had the most fun out of anyone.  We thought she would sit in the stroller but the little athlete wanted to run with the kids...she ran about 75 percent of it!  She was quite a hit with the other runners...



 

We just finished a music class with all of her little friends.  Dylan LOVES music so she had a blast...

 



More music class...

Dylan loves hanging out with her friends Natalie and Audrey so we do a lot of activities with them.  I wanted something we could do with Gavin so we picked this art class....there's play dough, paint, crafts and coloring...but of course, the girls just want to play with the dried beans...

Me and my girl at a pumpkin patch...

I call her my sweetness and light...

Someone adores her brothers and just loves to be with them.  And they like to show her the ropes...

 

 

She's quite a little athlete and is pretty good at dribbling a soccer ball...

 

 

 

But she also loves pink and girly things.  Every time we go to Toys R Us she sits in the Barbie jeep...

 



 

 

The next two pictures depict Dylan perfectly....furry white coat, fluffy yellow shoes and a Ninja Turtle doll...

 



 

 

Perfect little Minnie Mouse, dressed in pink, riding a blue scooter...

 



 

 

Her most prized possession....her brand new pink scooter.  Every time we go outside she goes right for it and rides it until I drag her in the house.  She's pretty good at it too!

 



This is my favorite picture ever!  I don't think it needs much description.  I hope she always has this free spirit and unabashed confidence...