Pete & Sharmela Hafen: 16 Months Old

When I started this post, I was stumped on what to write. Not because I have nothing to say about her progress at 16 months but because I am so overwhelmed with it all. Each month Harlow is different. She is still Harlow, sweet and sassy. But she is also smarter, more mature, and more talkative. And quicker. Man, she is freaking fast these days! I'm really in for it during her teenage years. Especially if the saying is true that your children are payback for what you did to your parents.

She can spend 5 minutes testing my patience and then turn around and snuggle me the next. She is beginning to understand what is going on around her a little more. When we try to block a pathway, she finds a way around it. When we put one shoe on, she tries to do the other. She has a lot of frustration over doing things herself. Sometimes brushing her teeth, or meal time is a power struggle. She wants to do it all herself but just doesn't quite get it yet. We always try to be patient enough to give her a turn after we're done helping her so she has the satisfaction of doing it herself.

She spent 7 days without eating anything more than a little milk, cheese, and dried fruit. It was pretty stressful for me. But eventually she picked up her normal eating habits again. And now with the help of 4 new teeth.

As usual her vocabulary is growing, but now she is starting to string words together. And she is starting to understand how to use them to tell us what she wants. And she also has become more vocal. When she wakes up in the morning, and her daddy gets her up to change her diaper, she will yell "mommy, mom, mama!" until I come into the room too. This is secretly my favorite part of the day. As well as when she looses sight of me, even for a second. She will yell, "Mom!" even if I'm only around the corner or in the bathroom. If I am behind a closed door, she will bang on it and yell "mommy!" until I answer her.

She surprises us with her comprehension every day. For example, Pete and I took her grocery shopping one morning and as soon as we entered the produce area she scrunched up her shoulders, hugged herself and said "cold". It made Pete and I stop in our tracks and stare at her. How did she know that?!

She is also starting to understand more facial expressions and emotions. When I stub my toe or bump my funny bone she becomes very concerned and always comes over to hug my leg or pat me and give me a hug. Or if she tells me "no" and I pretend to be sad or pretend to cry, she always rushes over to me. I hope she never figures that one out! I love that she is so sensitive and caring. Hopefully she doesn't get the ridiculous gene of being overly emotional like her mama!

Her newest words include:

I see you.
See ya
Good boy (which she tells Buddha about 100 times a day)
Lion (and she can make a roar like a lion)
Yucky
Dance
Run
Jump
Ride
Morning
Push
Beep Beep
Let's go.
Do you see it?
Outside
Nick (for Uncle Nick, though this word is a little tricky and doesn't always sounds like it's suppose to, if you know what I mean...)
Bri (for Aunt Brianna)
Dev (for Uncle Dev)
Aiko (for Aunt Aiko)
B (for Grandma B)
Jiichan
Baachan
Chipmunk
Sister (for a toy who is the sister to another toy)
Shower
Ice Cream
Cheese
Muffin
Cute
Bow
Pete
Blueberries
Tomato
Katie (for 2 of the wives out here in Colorado)
Kid
Cold
Strawberry
Toys
She can make a siren noise, like Grandpa Brent's firetruck
She can make a woof woof sound for a dog bark.
There are probably a ton that I have missed because she can mimic EVERYTHING you ask her to. That is not an exaggeration. Makes me nervous for what she might pick up from watching TV or listening to people talk. So far, so good though.

Anyway, enjoy some pictures I took of her at the park this morning.