16 months!!

This past month, Samara:
-is climbing on EVERYTHING. She can now get on the kitchen chairs with no help and frequently gets on them to get on the table whenever she has the chance. She also pushes the chairs over to what she really wants to get (like the laptop...the number 4 has never recovered, it currently does not have an actual plastic button to push). Yesterday she also used her little drumset stool to get over to the basement door to try and open the handle. There is never a dull moment around here!
-has become a great hand holder when we're walking somewhere together. She loves to walk around in public and used to try and get away (still does from time to time) but seems to enjoy holding our hands.
-is sleeping so-so. Last month I wrote that she was sleeping poorly and it is slightly better than that but not great. She has gone from 2 naps down to 1 but so far the 1 nap isn't long enough to make up for not having a 2nd one. According to the experts, I just have to push through and eventually she'll "get it". The upside to this is that she's no longer getting up at the crack of dawn...she sleeps until 7-730 most days.
-has all her molars now and appears to be working on the cuspids.
-now has about 33 words (some only decipherable by us!). The latest include: Aunty, no, blue, blueberry, nose, bye, potty, toes, puppy, Sammy, baby, pretty, eggs, cheese, shoes, this, dog and tiger.
-now signs about 10 words...I think she could easily do more but I have to admit laziness since she has started talking a bit, I stopped learning new ones and teaching them to her.
-works out. We're starting her really young. Kidding, of course. But she does play in the workout area while we work out and I will catch her doing squats when I do them, lifting her hands above her head, etc.
-shows us her muscles on command...involves much giggling and putting her arms out.
-does this incredibly cute thing where she blinks as fast as she can while she smiles and looks coy.
-if she is playing with something she knows she shouldn't (like the buttons on Shawn's amp), she tells herself "no" quite sternly but then continues to play with it anyway.
-is quite a firecracker. This one is going to have a temper! Or should I say, DOES have a temper?!
-has started singing...sometimes she sings along to her toys that make noise and sometimes just for the heck of it. SO sweet.

Favorite things this past month:
-wagon rides...can't get enough.
-playing at the park...can't get enough.
-listening to music and dancing...can't get enough.
-reading books...can't get enough.

Things I never want to forget:
-how loving she is. She frequently stops what she's doing to give kisses. She is really good at giving them to the cats too...she'll follow them around the house going "mmmmm" and bending over to kiss them. Yesterday, we skyped with Aunty Chelsey and she kept leaning over to the screen to kiss her too!
-when she hugs now, she pats our back.
-how she kisses her stuffed animals and pats them on the back too.