Taylor, Matthew & Brayden: 16 Months Young

Brayden is 16 months old now. Wow! Time is slipping through my fingers. I've said this before, but I am acutely aware of how fast my children are growing. I wish I could freeze-frame so many parts of my day (and fast forward through many other parts!).

At 16 months, Brayden is not talking yet. He has a grand total of zero words in his vocabulary. Zilch. None. Nil. Well, unless you count "egh!" as a word. While he seems so far ahead of Taylor and Matty comparatively at 16 months, his verbal skills are a distant third. He is not signing either (T&M were pretty good at sign language by this age). I am not worried. I believe he will catch up. More than anything, I find it amusing that he is so much different than his siblings.

I watched some videos of Matty tonight when he was 16 months old. He had several words by now: momma, cheese, bye-bye, yeah, jump. Watching the videos made me so nostalgic for Matty at 16 months old - I know I need to enjoy every last minute of Brayden at this sweet age. The videos also layered on the guilt that I have not been better at taking videos of Brayden. I'll add that to my to-do list.

Even though B is not talking, he is starting to understand more and more. When I ask him for his pacifier, he will take it out of his mouth and hand it to me. When I tell him we are going outside, he runs to the door and opens it. When we say "cheers" during a meal, he will lift his cup to be part of the toast. So, he is getting there... just slower than I'm used to.

Brayden loves his pacifier (another paci addict in the family!) and his lovey. He loves to pull all of my nail polishes out of my bathroom drawer and hand them to me. He goes nuts when I make my coffee every morning and will not stop until I hand him a K-Cup to hold on to (don't worry, I give him an unused K-Cup). He loves to grab Tommy's nose spray off of his nightstand and pull the lid off. While he cannot communicate with words, he can get his point across. If he's hungry, he will stand by the refrigerator and say "egh Egh EGH!" until I open the door. If he's tired, he will grab a lovey and rub it across his face. I believe Brayden adores his siblings but relishes the times when they are away - he can play independently for a long time! He is fearless when it comes to climbing and jumping. I see many boo-boos in my future.

Brady is long and lean. He certainly has a different build than Matty did at this age. He is very strong and definitely has more confidence on his feet. He just cut his top two molars in the last week, so he has had a constant runny nose and has been pretty needy. I just love to snuggle him, though, so I do not mind the extra cuddle time. He is a great sleeper at night and sleeps 12 hours. His daytime nap is always unpredictable, but most of the time that is my fault. We are on the go a lot and he can't always go down for a nap when he wants... then he falls asleep in the car and power naps... and then he won't go back down once we're home.

I am still giving Brayden a bottle in the mornings and at night. I know I need to take it away, but he loves it so much and I love that time we have together. He no longer sits in a high chair. He ditched it about a month ago and now uses a booster or restaurant-style high chair that we can pull up to the table. I have also turned his car seat around. He is a big boy like Matty now. I love seeing the two of them in the car - they will pass snacks back and forth to each other.

Last, but not least, I am Brayden's favorite person in the world. By far. And I love it. I remember this stage with Matty and now he feels differently about me, so I need to make the most of this with B. Brayden does very well when I leave him in childcare at the gym or at church (he rarely cries, which is very different than Taylor or Matty). However, there is nothing better than the reaction I receive when I pick him up. I want to imprint a permanent image in my brain of his little face lighting up when he sees me and realizes that I'm there for him. He squeals with delight, runs straight toward me, and shakes the gate until someone opens it for him. It is a sight to behold. I love this little boy. I am so proud to be his momma.

The kids have daily arguments over who gets to "drive" the cozy coupe. A few weeks ago, I was with Brayden in the family room when Matty started to walk downstairs. As soon as Brayden heard Matty, he ran over to the car and jumped into it... you know, to secure his territory. Stinker!

My kitchen looks like this on a regular basis. Gross. We need a dog to clean up the copious amounts of food/crumbs on the table, on the floor, on the kids, etc.