16 months old

Easton's new signs: popcorn, apple, alligator, and a sign he made up for color

new words: bubbles, diaper, Papa,

new skills: throwing. Easton is very proud of this one. He throws food, books, utensils, and of course, balls.  He's got quite an arm.  Easton can make sounds for snakes, owls, sheep, and elephants now too.  He regularly recognizes Nana in pictures and on video chats, and says her name regularly. We have to get down to visit soon so he can show off in person.

Easton really enjoys our family circle time. On days when Gabriela doesn't have preschool, we have family circle time with a candle, we sign songs and read a story and say rhymes.  Easton is getting the hang of it.  The other day when I lit our candle, he went right to his spot on the rug, and started doing the hand motions for some of our songs and rhymes.  He loves Ring around the Rosie and always signs for more.

Favorite pastimes: doing the dishes.  Seriously, this kid gets mad when we go and try to do dishes without him.  He races to find the step stool, places it precisely in front of the sink, and gets to work sloshing the water around, squeezing the sponge, and just doing his best to help out.

Easton has been holding a pencil correctly for the past few months.  He can sit happily for quite a while with a jar of colored pencils and a piece of paper.  He sticks the pencils in and out of the jar, usually one at a time. He colors with purpose, picks up his paper, and either shows his masterpiece to us, or turns the paper over to color on the other side. Sometimes he points to the art supplies or asks to sit on a chair and does his sign for color to let us know he's ready to do some art.

Our little boy loves his stories.  He does his sign for book and sits contentedly through story after story. His favorites are Brown Bear, Brown Bear, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, and Time for Bed.  He will go to his section of board books and bring us book after book to read during the day, and when he wakes up in the morning, he will climb out of bed, grab some books from the side of the bed, and ask to get back in the bed for morning story time.