I’m cheating a little bit. That picture up there is from a few days before Abe turned 16 months, because I didn’t get any pictures I was super in love with on the actual day.

Abe at 16 months is in full on toddler mode. He drags chairs across the room so that he can climb on them to reach the most dangerous things in the room. He rarely sits still. He’s learning how to throw a killer tantrum. He is endlessly delighted by the dogs and cats and gives them really good hugs and kisses. He says new words every day and is especially fond of words that end with a k or ks sound (Jack, socks, box, etc.) He never gets tired of walks around the neighborhood in the stroller, and, between the five of us stroller pushers, he often gets several a day. His hair is crazy long now and curlier and curlier as the summer humidity gets going here.

He still loves his Music Together classes and “sings” along with things regularly now (like the ABC song that his Leapfrog refrigerator magnet toy plays). He’s an excellent clapper, too. We think he’s very talented.

He’s pretty into books, although sometimes only the first few pages. He went through a very intense “Goodnight, Gorilla” phase that’s just starting to wane. Other favorites are “Pat the Bunny” and anything by Sandra Boynton.

After months of resisting socks and shoes with a fierceness rivaled only by his hatred of hats, he brings socks and shoes to me constantly now and insists that I put them on. I think it’s because he associates them with going outside.

He is utterly enchanting and exhausting.

(further evidence of full on toddler mode: busted upper lip from when he fell outside the other day).