Ramblings about a 16 month old
Ellie turned 16 months old today. The last post I wrote about her was 15 months old, and nothing much has changed since then. She still wants to hold your hands to help her walk, she's finally past the "I will only eat baby food" stage, and talking nonstop.
Her new words keep adding almost daily. The ones she says the most: Mama (any thing to do with eating or nursing), Daddy, Grah-ma (Grandma), Gah-pa (Grandpa), more (helps at meal times), done, down, no, book, Abby (parent's dog), apple (sounds a lot like Abby), and ball. Some words we've heard her say before but not repeatedly: Sam (her cousin), dog, moo, oww, uh-oh (usually when something drops).
It has truly been a blessing to us to have her know all these words! Communicating with a toddler can be very difficult when you don't know what they want or need. They can't speak their mind. And they definitely know they are frustrated!! So lately it's been helpful to have her at least be able to say words at meal time so we can help her know what she wants. She's definitely learning words in areas that are helpful. Of course all her words right now are mostly people, things she likes to do, and words needed at meal time. Because why would I force her to say things that won't really be beneficial right now?
The other day Jon taught her whisper. It has been very helpful, since she is very good at knowing the right timing. ;) She also knows "hi" and bye but usually waves. But bye gets confused with "nigh-nigh" meaning nap or bed time. :) She usually likes that and says back to me, "Ma-Ma." Because she knows soon after picking her up and taking her to her crib means she's also going to nurse!
Here are some of my quick and easy meals for Ellie since she's past the baby food jar stage....which is so much easier!! hallelujah! However I still pick some up for when we go out to eat or having something she can't have yet (thanks to no back teeth).
Today while she was eating lunch I put a pan of BBQ chicken in the oven and two big sweet potatoes. That should be enough for 5-7 meals (note I didn't say days).
It's super easy and I pick a pan that goes in the dishwasher! As soon as it cools I put it in a container that has a lid and label it. I also take the skin off the potatoes and mash it up a bit so it's all ready to go!
For fruit I do strawberries (she can't get enough of those), applesauce, and some day hopefully more. But this time of year is a pain to try more fruits. Plus applesauce is just so easy! And she doesn't care for bananas unless I blend some with a bag of frozen strawberries. I know she will like more fruits (since she eats them well from baby food jars) but right now this time of year is hard to get it. Let's just say I stock up well on applesauce right now and love to get the pouches when I'm at Target.
Besides BBQ chicken she also likes honey mustard chicken. It's always an easy change up for her. Since she's not picky yet with how often she has the same thing, it's nice and convenient! :) I also picked up some already cooked and cubed breakfast ham and it's such an easy, not as messy, lunch option!
For breakfast I just do whatever I think is necessary based off of what time I think we'll eat lunch or work it around her nap(s) for the day. Like this morning she slept in so it was more like a brunch. I put green pepper, ham, and cheese with eggs. She ate it up like crazy! She also ate some applesauce. :) But typical breakfast looks like one or more: scrambled eggs, toast, yogurt, fruit, etc.
She's quite the eater! She's also nursing as much as she was about six months ago! However that makes it hard for me to be away from her for very long since pumping is quite the ordeal. I'm going to start having her try room temperature whole milk during the day whenever I can to try to have her adjust to less feedings. Then I can pump and have more on hand when I'm not with her. However with her stuffiness I don't want her to drink a whole lot of milk.
People ask me how long I think I'll continue nursing her and I have no idea. Back when I was pregnant I thought I would just let her let me know what she wanted and adjust with a newborn. Since the two would be so close in age I didn't want her to think someone had taken over her position as Mommy & baby time. But now that we don't have that issue I have no idea what I'm going to do. She doesn't give any impression that she wants to do less nursing anytime soon. And she's not a chubby baby so I know if anything it's benefiting to continue to nurse her. It's soothing, and comforting for her and I don't want to force her to stop. Our sweet, sensitive girl will just let me know when she's ready to stop. Until then I might slowly adjust to one or two less each day. She eats really well and sleeps well so I know she's doing okay!
Mean time: Her mom is pulling her hair out (not literally) getting ready to move at the end of this month. Today I already grabbed 30 items of clothing from the closet to give away or start collecting for garage sale collection. Even though we're moving to a house and not another apartment we don't need to hold on to clothes I don't think we'll ever wear again. I also need to go through our filing cabinet and reorganize our papers. Then go through the room of doom. My parent's storage room is filled with all our stuff....slowly over the past 11 months it has gotten a little crazy! Living in boxes for 11 months isn't something I would recommend! We also started to purchase things for the new house and didn't put it in a box. For moving day we need everything ready for the movers! There's lots of things I need to do here. However so much more needed at the house! (We still have nothing usable in our bathroom.) A much needed update post on the house is needed...but can't be done until I get to the house and take some pictures!
Looking forward to the day I can show you pictures of our house before & after! :)
Especially now since our new couches will be arriving to the house on Feb 27th!
Her new words keep adding almost daily. The ones she says the most: Mama (any thing to do with eating or nursing), Daddy, Grah-ma (Grandma), Gah-pa (Grandpa), more (helps at meal times), done, down, no, book, Abby (parent's dog), apple (sounds a lot like Abby), and ball. Some words we've heard her say before but not repeatedly: Sam (her cousin), dog, moo, oww, uh-oh (usually when something drops).
It has truly been a blessing to us to have her know all these words! Communicating with a toddler can be very difficult when you don't know what they want or need. They can't speak their mind. And they definitely know they are frustrated!! So lately it's been helpful to have her at least be able to say words at meal time so we can help her know what she wants. She's definitely learning words in areas that are helpful. Of course all her words right now are mostly people, things she likes to do, and words needed at meal time. Because why would I force her to say things that won't really be beneficial right now?
The other day Jon taught her whisper. It has been very helpful, since she is very good at knowing the right timing. ;) She also knows "hi" and bye but usually waves. But bye gets confused with "nigh-nigh" meaning nap or bed time. :) She usually likes that and says back to me, "Ma-Ma." Because she knows soon after picking her up and taking her to her crib means she's also going to nurse!
Here are some of my quick and easy meals for Ellie since she's past the baby food jar stage....which is so much easier!! hallelujah! However I still pick some up for when we go out to eat or having something she can't have yet (thanks to no back teeth).
Today while she was eating lunch I put a pan of BBQ chicken in the oven and two big sweet potatoes. That should be enough for 5-7 meals (note I didn't say days).
It's super easy and I pick a pan that goes in the dishwasher! As soon as it cools I put it in a container that has a lid and label it. I also take the skin off the potatoes and mash it up a bit so it's all ready to go!
For fruit I do strawberries (she can't get enough of those), applesauce, and some day hopefully more. But this time of year is a pain to try more fruits. Plus applesauce is just so easy! And she doesn't care for bananas unless I blend some with a bag of frozen strawberries. I know she will like more fruits (since she eats them well from baby food jars) but right now this time of year is hard to get it. Let's just say I stock up well on applesauce right now and love to get the pouches when I'm at Target.
 |
| they are cheaper than baby food pouches! |
Besides BBQ chicken she also likes honey mustard chicken. It's always an easy change up for her. Since she's not picky yet with how often she has the same thing, it's nice and convenient! :) I also picked up some already cooked and cubed breakfast ham and it's such an easy, not as messy, lunch option!
 |
| Because some times a messy lunch is not something I'm up for |
She's quite the eater! She's also nursing as much as she was about six months ago! However that makes it hard for me to be away from her for very long since pumping is quite the ordeal. I'm going to start having her try room temperature whole milk during the day whenever I can to try to have her adjust to less feedings. Then I can pump and have more on hand when I'm not with her. However with her stuffiness I don't want her to drink a whole lot of milk.
People ask me how long I think I'll continue nursing her and I have no idea. Back when I was pregnant I thought I would just let her let me know what she wanted and adjust with a newborn. Since the two would be so close in age I didn't want her to think someone had taken over her position as Mommy & baby time. But now that we don't have that issue I have no idea what I'm going to do. She doesn't give any impression that she wants to do less nursing anytime soon. And she's not a chubby baby so I know if anything it's benefiting to continue to nurse her. It's soothing, and comforting for her and I don't want to force her to stop. Our sweet, sensitive girl will just let me know when she's ready to stop. Until then I might slowly adjust to one or two less each day. She eats really well and sleeps well so I know she's doing okay!
Mean time: Her mom is pulling her hair out (not literally) getting ready to move at the end of this month. Today I already grabbed 30 items of clothing from the closet to give away or start collecting for garage sale collection. Even though we're moving to a house and not another apartment we don't need to hold on to clothes I don't think we'll ever wear again. I also need to go through our filing cabinet and reorganize our papers. Then go through the room of doom. My parent's storage room is filled with all our stuff....slowly over the past 11 months it has gotten a little crazy! Living in boxes for 11 months isn't something I would recommend! We also started to purchase things for the new house and didn't put it in a box. For moving day we need everything ready for the movers! There's lots of things I need to do here. However so much more needed at the house! (We still have nothing usable in our bathroom.) A much needed update post on the house is needed...but can't be done until I get to the house and take some pictures!
Looking forward to the day I can show you pictures of our house before & after! :)
Especially now since our new couches will be arriving to the house on Feb 27th!
Comments
Post a Comment