16 months on the 16th!

My sweet little Jude is 16 months old today! It's been several months since I've done an update on him and his milestones, so I figured it was past time! :) At 16 months old, Jude is a busy, busy little guy! He's into everything and he keeps us alert, that's for sure!

-A few days before he turned 14 months old, he started walking! I can't believe I never blogged about that, but you probably figured out that he's walking by now ;) The secret to getting him to walk was squeaky shoes! I had ordered a pair for him, and the first time I put them on his feet, he fell in LOVE with making them squeak! He literally went from taking a few steps at a time to walking exclusively in a few days. It was SO cute to watch him -- he would get so excited and proud when his little shoes were squeaking :)

And just because it's hilarious, I wanted to post this video. This was the fist day Jude wore the squeaky shoes, and he had been walking more than he ever had. I grabbed the video camera to record him, and this is what happened:
Oh the joys of a new walker! Thankfully, he was FINE! Just a little bruise on the head for a few days. I would never post that video if he had really hurt himself.

-Jude is a picky eater. It's about to drive me crazy. I feel like he never eats anything, but I guess he's getting more than I realize since he's growing and thriving. We're in the stage where he throws everything on the floor and makes a HUGE mess every single meal. Ughh.

-Thankfully, Jude is now a good sleeper! That was a long time coming! Lately, we've had one cold after another on top of teething, so sleep hasn't been great, but usually Jude goes to bed at 8 and sleeps until 7-7:30. He takes one nap a day after lunch (he dropped his morning nap right after his birthday), and it's usually about 2 -3 hours long. He goes to sleep easily on his on which is so nice.

-Our pediatrician had told us to continue giving Jude a couple bottles of cow's milk a day until he was 15 months since he wouldn't touch milk from a cup. We dropped his bottle cold turkey, and he really did great. He had one or two days where he had more trouble going to sleep, but he adapted quickly. And wouldn't you know it, within a DAY of us dropping his bottle, he decided to start drinking milk from a cup! I was glad that he gave it a try :) He still drinks mostly water, but I'm glad that he is getting some milk too.

-Jude really isn't saying a lot of words, but he babbles a ton, so I'm not worried. Recognizable words are: Uh-Oh, Ball (sounds like ba), Mama. That's pretty much it. I'm sure he is saying other things that I just haven't picked up on yet. Aubrey really started talking a lot at around 18 months, so I think Jude will do the same. I know he understands a lot of what we say. He can follow simple commands, like "go find your ball." It's so cute when he goes and gets it and brings it to me!

-He claps when we say "yay!" He blows kisses and gives the SWEETEST hugs. He squeezes so tight and makes an adorable little hug noise (I don't know how else to describe it?). He plays peek a boo, and he waves sometimes (although not a ton).

-He loves Knightly and he will get so excited when he sees him out the window. Precious! Just like Aubrey, Jude loves to be outside!

-Jude has a pretty sweet, laid back personality, but he's definitely not afraid to stand up for himself. If Aubrey takes a toy away from him (which does happen quite a bit), he screams and holds on tight. It's kind of funny, but I know I shouldn't laugh at fighting. He has gotten to the age where he wants specific toys, and usually Aubrey wants the same toys. Of course. We have definitely had some cat fights around here lately! Aubrey and Jude still love each other so much, though, and they play sweetly together most of the time.

-Jude is a little climber! He loves to climb onto the couch or chairs or anything that he can. It makes me a nervous wreck because he will then stand up. Jude is very rough and tumble, and he seems to be ALL BOY so far! :)

-We haven't weighed Jude in a while, but I think he weighs about 24 pounds. He seems pretty average as far as his size goes. He wears a size 18 month in most clothes. He just moved up to a size 4 in shoes (and sometimes 4 1/2).

-Jude has never needed a haircut, and I don't think he will be needing one in the near future. His hair is definitely getting thicker and longer, though, and I love his little curls!

-He has at least 8 teeth with possibly more coming in. He's been working on his molars, and they've been mean to him! He doesn't handle teething well. I think he must be more bothered by pain than Aubrey was, because teething was never this hard for her. Poor little guy!

I love watching Jude grow and develop his own personality. It's so fun to see how all of our different personalities work together to form our family. I can't imagine our family without either one of our children, and we are so blessed to be their parents. Sweet little Jude has brought so much love and laughter (and some sleepless nights!) to our family for the past 16 months, and we just all love him dearly!