16 Month Update

Sorry we're a few days late on this one...Here we go with highlights from Month 16
Locomotion: This month, Luca finally gained enough confidence to walk mostly by himself (though he still loves to hold hands and walk). He is a busy little monkey, and one of his favorite activities is to walk up and down the stairs.
Eating: Still sort of the same here. We've decided to start having Luca visit with a speech pathologist who can help Luca begin to handle more textures (since he mostly eats hard crunchy foods and purees, but not a lot in between). I understand that it will be a sort of slow process so we're prepared for patience. On the other hand, his appetite this month has been pretty good and he seems to be enjoying mealtime a bit more!
Speaking: Luca continues to be quite the chatterbox. This month we're working on manners. He has gotten the concept of "please" which sounds like "Pooh?" or "Ploo?" He also says "xie xie" (thank you in Mandarin). Unfortunately, he has also gotten the concept of "no" which he will occasionally say to us. Also, if we say "no" to him, about 50 percent of the time he will just say "na na na" and be happy and proud that he understands the word. Uh oh for us!!!
Schedules: Luca has been fighting a cold for the last few weeks so sleeping has not been ideal these past few weeks. Also our PEPS friends have all been complaining about how their kids are up in the middle of the night, so we're not looking forward to the continued sleep deprivation.
Likes: Throwing things down the stairs, being outside (either on the street or on our deck), going for a ride in the car, DJ'ing on the iPod (his favorite song is 'you can call me Al' by Paul Simon), playing with pens, coloring, the touch pool at Seattle Aquarium and the water exhibit at the Childrens Museum, and watching videos of himself on YouTube, talking about and wearing his orange shoes.
Dislikes: being forced to stay inside if he wants to be outside; staying at home for the entire day (not an option anymore)
Other milestones or stories:
1. Don't judge us, but Luca finally learned how to clap his hands this month. Yes ,we know that other babies do this at month 3 but Luca did not find anything applause-worthy until now.
2. Luca has also started to announce when he toots ("Tah!") or poops ("Pah"). Both words are accompanied by him touching his tummy/diaper area in a very adorable way. Looks like potty training is coming soon!