sweet sixteen

Garrett is sixteen months old today, and in honor of that, I thought I'd share some of his latest shenanigans.

• He barks at dogs, squirrels, and pigeons.
• He builds towers with his little alphabet blocks (which has made me seriously consider asking Santa to bring him a set of bigger blocks for Christmas).
• Without any prompting, he folds his arms and gets ready to pray whenever I put him in his high chair.
• When he's finished eating, and I ask him to give me his hands so I can wash them, he holds them out and gives them to me. (This gesture, however, doesn't ensure that he won't scream and dodge the washcloth when it's time to clean his face.)
• He now holds his hands up to his eyes (palms out) to play a game of Peek-a-Boo. He starts spontaneously and hopes you'll notice and join right in.
  
• He helps clean up his toys.
• He thinks it's so funny when he beats on his bare chest like Tarzan.
• He also thinks it's funny to, when he finds me kneeling on the floor doing something, sneak up behind me (a phrase I use quite loosely) and hold onto my shoulders for a giggly game of You Don't Know It, But I'm Right Behind You And Ha-Ha -- You Can't Even See Me.
  
• He understands that binkies are only for bedtime and will rip his out of his mouth and chuck it into the crib whenever I retrieve him in the morning or after a nap.
• He helps me sort laundry (i.e. he does a good job of emptying the hamper, whether or not it's laundry day).
• He says "hello" and "night-night" and appears to now have attached meaning to his "mama" and "dada." My favorite is when he cocks his head to one side, looks up into my face and says, "Hello? Hello?"
  
• He babbles conversationally, and will even occasionally throw in a fake laugh just to liven things up.
• He also reads books out loud to himself. His current favorites are Moo, Baa, La La La; Freight Train; and Blake's book on Piet Mondrian.
• He can now also turn lights ON.
• He does GREAT walking,
• and likes pushing his own stroller.
• He is mesmerized by Charlie Brown cartoons, Veggie Tales, and obnoxious iO cable commercials.
• He not only waves to that kid staring back in the mirror and/or piece of reflecting glass, but he also waves to family photos seen posted on our fridge and on the computer.
• Speaking of, though he's never met him, when I ask him where Henry (his newborn baby cousin) is, he points to the photographs of him hanging on the refrigerator.
  
• He moves items from one spot to another (i.e. toys from the red box to the blue box, from the toy basket in the living room to shelves of varying levels, or blocks from their plastic container through the bars into his crib).
• He is attached, Linus-like, to his silky blue blanket and loves to hold it up to his ear and snuggle right in.
• He is still obsessed with airplanes.
• When I hold out a pillow and say, "Go night-night," he plops his head down and pretends to sleep.
• He dances (i.e. either bobs up and down or sways back and forth) to whatever groovy music I have playing.
• He turns on and off the TV, as well as changes the channels. (And all without asking.)
• He still drives cars, only now more vigorously.
• And, as always, he is still my sweet, super happy, little boy who I love more than I can ever describe to you.