Liesel Grace is 16 months!

Our happy little girl turned 16 months this week!  She is still pleasant and happy most of the time.  She now has eight teeth and it seems she'll be getting more soon.  She likes most foods and has started using her spoon almost as much as Jason does, ha, ha!  She has no stranger anxiety and is happy to go to almost everyone.  That said, she often prefers to run around everywhere rather than let anyone keep her still.  She likes to pause in her walking about and rest her head momentarily on people's knees.   

She is still very petite.  At her fifteen-month visit, she was 29.5" tall (20%), 18 lbs. 9 oz. (3%) and has 44.5 cm head (15%).  Strangers ask me if she is an early walker as if she isn't yet one.  She'll still be facing backwards in the car for quite sometime it seems!

Liesel doesn't say a lot of words yet.  She does say, "Dadda" (Daddy) and "Je-juhs" (Jesus) every time she sees a painting.  She occasionally says "Momma" (Mommy) and "sheeze" (cheese) when I have a camera.  She says "bye-bye" and every night she says, "nigh-nigh" (night-night).  She points to everything and says "dis?" (this) asking what it is called.  She also uses lots of signs: please, more, milk, eat, all done, etc.  She claps her hands if anyone says hooray or anything similar.  She can point to several body parts, but "nose", "tongue" and "hair" are her favorite.  She likes to grab her brush and comb her hair and choose her own outfits and shoes.  She is a Mommy's Girl, but she adores her brothers and Daddy.  She always calls to him and waves when she sees him up on the stand at church.

She likes to pick up little specks she finds on the ground and bring them to an adult (it's much better than putting them in her mouth).  She is good on the stairs, but lately has been trying to go down forwards, which nearly gives me a heart-attack every time I see it.  She has started "talking" on the phone to Daddy.  She says, "Dadda" and then a bunch of nonsense chatter.  She ends with "bye-bye".  She usually folds her arms and bows her head during the prayer.  She's usually just quiet during the prayer, but sometimes she mumbles nonsense like she's the one praying and ends with "amem-uh-men".
 She likes to read books, but we can't leave her alone with any unless they are entirely plastic, because she finds a way to tear off little pieces from even the sturdiest board books.  She has started playing with her dolls.  She'll give them loves and hugs and will briefly put them in her little stroller.  Inevitably, however, she tries to get in the stroller herself.  She tries to get into the little strap and gets herself stuck almost every time, ha. ha!  We love our little Sweetheart!