An Update: 16 Months Old

My little girl sure is getting smart. Every time I turn around, it seems she has learned something new or acquired a different skill. I've been trying to keep track of some of the smart things Charlotte has done recently to share with you.

Charlotte loves to play in my plastics cabinet. It is the only one without baby-proof locks on purpose. It is "her cabinet." I keep several large plastic cups in there in case there are no clean dishes is unexpected company. Recently she has enjoyed pulling them out and stacking and unstacking the pink, green, and purple cups. One day, I decided to play the carnie and put a small ball under one of the cups and mix them up for her. After some vigourous mixing on my part, I asked her to show me which cup had the ball in it. She guessed right the first time, but I thought that might be because she had to choose between a purple and a pink cup, and remembered the ball was under the pink cup.

So next, I took 2 purple cups instead and did some more mixing and moving. When I asked her to pick which cup the ball was under, she got smart on me and picked up both purple cups. I am pretty certain she knew what she was doing too, because she had a big grin on her face as she did it. As if she had foiled me.

We have also gotten to the point where we have to spell certain words so she won't know what we are talking about. I totally didn't expect this from her at such a young age. I remember my parents spelling words for me at 6 and 7 years old. But I can't say, outside, milk, or banana, without her immediately thinking she will get any of them. Is this normal?

It is also fun to watch Charlotte anticipate some funny event that is about to happen. For example, if she knows her daddy is going to pick her up and swing her around, before he even lifts her off the bed/floor/couch, she just starts giggling so hard. I love to watch her wait for the joy of the fun and not be able to hold it in or contain herself. She is so free like that; I suppose most toddlers are.

And, even though photographic evidence is hard to come by, Charlotte has broken at least 5 new teeth in the last few weeks. The first 4 were all in the same week, and I noticed another one yesterday. Now we have 4 top and 4 bottom in the front, plus 2 top molars (one on each side), and at least 1 bottom molar. That makes 11!

And as evidence that she still enjoys hanging out in the cabinet, Bruce shot some short video yesterday. I've mixed in a couple of other cute clips just to show you what she has been up to.

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