Hope at 16 months

We tend to break the kids into 1 of 2 categories. The big kids, which includes Elizabeth, Anna & Nate… and then the babies, Hope and Luke.

Hope however, does not see it that way. She truly considers herself to be one of the big kids. And she can be convincing at times!

She will try to help the big kids clean up, she runs to Luke’s side if he is fussing and tries to give him his pacifier. She follows commands very well and does what she can to obey and be helpful.

Hope is on a good schedule and I think it is one that won’t change for awhile. At least once jet lag is over again.

She wakes between 8-8:30 in the morning, sometime talking before then, but rarely gets up before then. She then has breakfast… she likes oatmeal, but wants nothing to do with eggs. We will have to work on that one. Eggs are cheap protein where I come from! :)

She then plays hard all morning long, only getting fussy when she is hungry and in need of a snack. She drinks water all throughout the day and Steve teases her that she drinks like her mom. Gulp, gulp, gulp.

She eats really well and tries her best to use her spoon, but when she is hungry she doesn’t have the patience and uses her hands. She LOVES mac & cheese. That is her most favorite food. Especially when there is a tray full of it and she can grab it up by the handful and then use her gooey hands to also style her hair. That’s the best part about being the 4th child. Mom sometimes just lets you do those things, then after the meal, just sticks your head under the kitchen sink faucet to clean you off. Moving on… She also really likes brocoli and cauliflower! She likes anything (except those eggs) as long as it is well seasoned. If I was to feed her plain pasta she wouldn’t eat it. She needs flavor. We laugh at the things she can eat! Spicy wheat thins, pickles, meatloaf… the list goes on!

She goes down for her afternoon nap, and ONLY nap now, at 1:30. Occasionally a few minutes earlier if she is cranky. She will then wake at 3:30, fuss for 3 minutes or so, and then back to sleep until around 5. She wakes up thirsty and ready for dinner!

Hope is still our favorite entertainment. We all enjoy watching her, making her say funny things, and seeing her act crazy. She is always on the go. She will run from stealing a toy from a big kid, to grabbing my favorite water bottle, to climbing into Steve’s seat the second he stands up. Then she will hear Luke make a noise and will jump back down to go find his pacifier to give him. If I accidently leave my bedroom door open, she will rush into my room and close the door behind her. Then see what mischief she can get into. We have to stay one step ahead of her at all times.

She is saying a lot more… although often only the family understands. Here are some words she says that I can think of: yes, no, hello, bye bye, night-night, mommy, daddy, nana, water, bottle, cheese, more, please, Jesus, amen, bath. I know there is more, but that’s a good list for now.

Hope loves to SEE people. She goes to the grocery store and says HI to everyone we pass. But if someone tried to approach her, they would get the glare. She still does not want strangers to approach her. We are hopeful she will become more easy going about that when we return to China.

Here are some of Hope’s fun moments the last month… as well as her 16 month pictures.

Holding hands with her baby brother in the car. Oh how she loves him! Sometimes she would rather he wasn’t around (if he is hogging daddy’s attention), but she truly loves him well.

Eating pasta with pesto with her spoon. My big girl!

Anytime she can get her hands on an iPod or iPhone, she just starts chatting away. I guess we talk alot. She hasn’t started texting yet. But I think that will come soon.