Belton: Sixteen Months

At sixteen months, Belton LOVES his Daddy! He has always loved him, of course. But right now, he is super duper attached! He wakes up in the morning and says "Dada" and looks around for him. He says "Dada" every time that he sees a picture of Matt (that's pretty frequently in our apartment!). He is so excited when Matt gets home from work every day! 

 Belton often mimics us with whatever we are doing. Sometimes when we wash our hands, he  rubs his together the same way. When I put on my shoes he finds his and pretends to put them on. When Matt or I are typing on our computers, he wants to be right with us, "typing" away on the keyboard.

He also repeats most words that we say. He's whispering a lot, and it's often not understandable, but he's trying to talk! He does a very good job of saying "paaah" (please) when he wants something and "eh ooooo" (thank you) when we give it to him.

And he HATES it when Daddy has to leave. This doesn't happen often, but on Wednesday Matt needed to go help someone, so he left. Belton just cried and cried when he went out the door, as you can see be below.

 But he still generally comes to Mama for comfort. When he is hurt or sad, he will either come to me, or Matt will put him in my lap and he'll just lay on me until he calms down.

Belton loves sitting in his baseball chair, playing with his tractor and trucks, watching Curious George, drinking milk or juice (although he is offered his fair share of water, too!), reading books with Mama or Dada, singing, dancing, playing with his little friends, playing at the gym, watching videos (of himself) on Matt's phone, sitting in wagons, trucks, laundry baskets, anything he can fit in!

 Belton LOVES going outside. He would be outside all day long, if we would let him! He's a little explorer and just wants to know more about what's going on around him. As a friend said to me today, "he's curious!".

He got to be like a big boy and eat popcorn on our couch during the super bowl.

 Belton gives us sweet kisses and hugs. He always lays his head down on my shoulder when I ask him for a hug. It's my favorite!

He frequently acts shy when we are meeting new people. But he loves flirting with them too! So he'll grab my leg and peek out at new friends from behind me. He's so sweet and silly!

 He LOVES rolling around in his crib once I go to get him up for the day or from a nap. He shows me his blankets and other things in his crib. He points to things on his pajamas, frequently these snowmen!

 Sometimes he even stands up and jumps a little bit. He thinks that is super fun and totally silly!

Every single time that I sit down at the table with him while he's having a meal or a snack, he immediately folds his arms for the prayer. Sweet kid! And he knows that as soon as we are doing reading our scripture story for the night, it's time to fold his arms for the prayer.

We love watching Belton grow and develop into a little person with such a big personality! We are so blessed to have you in our family, sweet Belton! We love you!!