16 Months

I feel like I'm posting milestone updates less frequently now, but not for a lack of Evelyn's achievements. It's because she's totally mobile now and she's keeping me on my toes. And nap time is precious!
I have declared her a full-fledged walker. She is still wobbly, but now prefers walking to crawling. She is climbing steps and anything she's able to, so things that aren't safe for baby reside on much higher surfaces now.
And, now that she's got this walking thing down, she's become very chatty. She seems to have forgotten some of the words she picked up before walking, but that's normal. She still says "hi!" and "yes" but has decided that throwing tantrums (which we are trying our best not to encourage) is preferable to saying "mama" or "dada" to get our attention. But we're working on it.
She likes to be outdoors, but seems indifferent if we have no plans to go out. She's still perfectly content to play in the living room. She likes to run around on the deck, so we've added putting up gates on the steps to our summer to-do list. And when I try to hold her hand to help her keep her balance in the grass, she pushes my hand away. She's becoming more independent, which is both nice and sad at the same time. Luckily, she very willingly still runs over for hugs and will sit in my lap on the floor to play.
She is proficient at the ring-stacker and is finally more interested in putting things back in their containers (so it's not all tearing out and throwing anymore). I gave her a baby doll, which she will pick up and hug. It came with a bottle, which Evelyn "shares" with her. If I give her a brush, she brushes her hair. She tries to put socks on, and she will put her arms and legs through the appropriate holes in her clothes.
She is beginning to show frustration that some parts of the house are gated off...she would be very happy if the one at the bottom of the steps were gone so she could pester Daddy as she pleases.
She is eating 90% table food. She has a puree every now and then, and that's just us trying to get all the jars out of the cabinet. She will eat off a fork or spoon if she thinks she is mooching, but she much prefers to feed herself. We've given her control of the spoon with some yogurt, but she still flings it everywhere or tries to eat the entire container in one bite. But, again, we're working on it.

I'm going to try introducing her to some crafts this summer. I have a finger-painting lined up for the next warm day and we're going to make play-dough stress balls for a busy-bag exchange with the MOMS Club later this month. And, thanks to pinterest, I have all kinds of ideas for kid-friendly gardening. Like planting sunflowers in a circle to make a shady play spot or making a tee-pee and having beans or morning glories vine up it for a natural play-house. We're planning on starting some grape vines and blueberry bushes this year that will give off fruit next summer. (If we can keep the rabbits away). I'm also excited to take her to playgrounds and letting her play. And going for walks or bike-rides.

It's going to be a good summer:)