15.5 month update

Our almost 16 month baby is growing up so quickly! She is already starting to look like a little girl and it's unbelievable how fast time has flown by. I feel like just yesterday we were celebrating her first birthday and watching her take her first steps.

I am proud to say that Sofia has cut her 9th tooth. She has her front 2 teeth which are quite clear from all the pictures I have been posting, her bottom two front teeth, her back 4 molars and she just got another top tooth. Teething is such a painful time, both for babies and parents. I didn't know much it affected babies sleeping patters until I did some research after Sofia's change in sleeping patters. It seems like when babies are teething, they are exhausted by the pain they are experiencing but won't go to sleep because want to be comforted by their parents. This poor baby would not go to sleep without some baby Orajel and a 30 minute rocking session from either mama or papa.

Not only was Sofia teething but she was also adjusting to a new routine. After hearing the Super Nanny speak, I realized that Sofia had running the show around here when it came to bedtime and we couldn't have that anymore. Since we had moved back from Holland, Sofia was on no real schedule. The time change was hard enough to overcome so we thought it best to let her fall asleep in our bed and then put her in her crib after she fell asleep. Hmm....convenient, yest but not practical. The Super Nanny influenced our decision and also, talking to a friend whose 7 year old daughter STILL sleeps with them.

For the past 2 weeks, Sofia has been getting to bed at 9:00 and waking up at 9:30am. We are blessed to have a child who sleeps so well at night, her nap schedule on the other hand is very erratic and some days, she skips naps completely. Since she has learned to walk, she prefers to stay awake exploring the world.

Sofia is also making strides with her talking. She says 'more' when she wants more food, 'no no', 'ruff ruff', 'moo', 'agua.' She can definitely understand alot more than she actually says but she is repeating everything she hears. We have to be careful with what we say nowadays. Just last week I was on the phone with Syd and I said 'No, no I don' think I'm going to the gym" and all of a sudden I hear, "no, no no". Ahh, so cute!

She is eating everything and anything she can get her hands on but rather than sit down and eat one big meal, Sofia prefers to snack through out the day. She is also a big fan of what I like to call 'smoothies' which is just Yo Baby! and whole milk. I add the yogurt for some flavor.

We are also trying to introduce a plate, bowl, fork, spoon and glass to Sofia. Up until now, we were afraid to use real plates for fear of Sofia breaking them but she has her own plate that she can use now as well as bite sized utensils. She is catching the drift and enjoys the challenge of actually getting the food onto the fork.

And, as I'm sure you all have heard, Sofia is now dancing. She is a dance fanatic and I'm pretty sure she and her 2 year old cousin, Isabella, would win America's Next Dance crew, hands down. So to celebrate my sweet baby's 15.5 month old birthday, here's a video I made of her doing what she does best...among other things.

www.video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7735092515587106206