16 months

Baby Joe modeling his outfit
before heading out for the day

The last month has seen quite a change in our little guy's ability to comprehend the world around him.  He understands quite a lot of what we say and do, even though he isn't necessarily able to communicate back verbally.  For instance, he understands what it means when we say that we're going outside, sitting down for dinner, going to sleep, or changing his diaper (which usually involves him trying to crawl away as fast as possible).

He is also able to recognize motorcycles by sight or sound and makes his little hand motion as if he's revving the engine himself.  He seems to be infatuated with motorcycles at the moment and usually wants us to take him over to touch one if we see it parked on the street.

He's also doing really well at starting to be self-sufficient; he almost exclusively eats and drinks on his own at mealtime - we just need to put the sippy cup and plate in front of him and he'll take care of the rest.  He still hasn't mastered using a fork and still uses his hands but is learning how to take a bite off a piece of food rather than putting the whole thing in his mouth.  Last week Rachael said that the baby came up to her with a diaper and said 'poo poo' - a very obvious indication that he needed a diaper change and a step in the right direction considering he still doesn't like us changing his diaper.