Stubborn (and smart and silly) at sixteen months...

Today we hung out at home and took care of cleaning and laundry and everything else that goes along with domestic bliss. I'm actually pleased with the fact that we were on our own schedule today and didn't have plans to meet up with anyone because today, I'm FRUSTRATED!!! Is it possible for a 16 month old child to have opinions strong enough to rival the most stubborn adult? We've been having battles around mealtime lately with Graham and I'll admit that I'm at a complete loss. Graham is very independent and wants to do everything by himself. If I'm feeding him yogurt, he's no longer content being fed and controlling a spoon of his own. He's now insisting that he hold the yogurt container and the spoon. If I'm lucky, Graham will graciously allow me to feed him maybe one bite. As I tried to feed him this morning, he became visibly frustrated and threw both the yogurt and the spoon onto the floor. The new rule is that once Graham begins to throw things onto the floor, his meal is over. This also frustrates him and he usually carries his frustration over to the next meal. Lunch was no better.... Do you understand where my frustration comes from?

On a lighter note though, at 16 months old, Graham is proving to be very smart with a sense of humor to match! For the first time this afternoon, he started to understand how his shape sorter really works. He's able to successfully place the circle and square, it's that darn star and triangle that are giving him a run for his money!




Graham is also able to follow directions (when it's something he wants to do of course), and when I suggest he do "upside down Graham", this is the pose he immediately contorts himself into! He giggles and I'm sure he thinks it's a pretty funny perspective, especially when Annie comes racing towards him!

(no, Graham isn't missing any teeth... he's devouring an animal cracker in this picture and is storing it like a squirrel in his mouth.)