16 month update

Josiah meets Pooh at Disney World!

Late entry again - but I blame it on exhaustion, both from my big baby and the little one in my belly!  It's been a real challenge to pregnant with a toddler, along with being in the throes of busy season at work.  I have no energy and all Josiah seems to want these days is for me to hold him!  While sweet that he's all about mommy these days...his wriggly, 26+ pound body is just too much for me to handle.

This month kicked off with a bad start - Josiah and I both got really sick and had a miserable few weeks of fevers, coughs, and overall crankiness.  And with the dry air, Josiah had a tough time sleeping, often waking up with a bloody nose or in desperate need for water.  And of course this coincided with Shaggy's business trip and my parents in Korea, so I had nobody to lean on for help.  And once Shaggy came back, he got sick.  Hopefully we've had our fill for the year and will be healthy from here on out.

On top of this, Josiah has become very picky and strong willed lately.  He is constantly shouting gibberish and signaling for our phones to watch his favorite YouTube videos.  If we don't relent, he freaks out and throws whatever he can to make his point...often his dinner.  And once we do give in, it's hard to keep track of his preferences - one day he's jamming to the Elmo Song, the next day, he throws a fit when we play it.  We've desperately been looking for new videos to keep him calm, and so far he really likes the Sesame Street music collaborations (there's good ones by Will I Am, Train, and Feist) and Veggie Tales ("Barbara Manatee" and "Cheeseburger" song are his faves). However, we need to keep up with other options since he's probably going to hate these sometime soon!

Enough with the negative, onto the cute stuff...

• Josiah is still super chatty and social and really seems to love interacting with people.  He says "buh-bye" and blows kisses to just about anyone he comes into contact with.  He'll even run and hug people spontaneously.  On the plane ride to Orlando, he developed a big fan club and enjoyed every bit of attention he got.
• His language skills are expanding and he's starting to add a few more words to his repetoire.  He says "Dada", "Appa", "wow", and "OK".  His minion gibberish is also faster and more forceful, as if he's REALLY trying to express something to us.  I think he uses "Dada" universally for both of us, as he'll bang on our bedroom and shout it out if he's looking for either one of us.  He also misuses "Wow" - he'll just randomly say it, whether he's happy or throwing a tantrum on the ground.  It's hard to stay mad when he's rolling on the ground saying "Wow wow wow"!
• He still loves books and toys, but really seems to love the remote controller and his foam alphabet letters.  I'm not sure what the draw is, but he'll eagerly rifle through the box and pull out two letters and walk around the house with them in hand.  I can't tell if he just likes the soft material or if there is a deeper affinity there.  Of course, he equally loves water bottles and styrofoam containers, so it's hard to tell what he is drawn to these days.
• Josiah was Eeyore for Halloween and enjoyed his first trick-or-treating experience.  I wasn't sure if he would understand any of it, but he picked it up instantly.  He ran out the door, banged on doors (even the Trash room), and grabbed all the candy he could until we yanked his body away kicking and screaming.  Thankfully, he doesn't know to want the candy, so Shaggy and I are enjoying his bounty!
• Josiah just came back from his first Disney experience and seemed to have a decent time.  He seemed perplexed most of the time and just stared out at all the singing and dancing characters.  He wasn't too keen on the rides and cried at some of the scary parts (e.g. Ursula and Scar).  But the one time that he lit up was when he got to meet Pooh.  He ran over to him and gave him a big hug.  That made the entire Disney experience, as exhausting as it was, worth it!